British Invasion: Beatles, Rolling Stones Win Grammy Awards

Source: From left to right: Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney of The Beatles. (Getty Images)

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards saw a bit of a “British Invasion” in its rock music awards category, although not by newer artists, but by the two bands that led the charge of the original British Invasion over 60 years ago; The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Both bands added to their decorated legacy at the Grammy Awards, with The Beatles winning the “Best Rock Performance” award for their song Now and Then, and The Rolling Stones winning the “Best Rock Album” award for Hackney Diamonds. Coincidentally, Paul McCartney of The Beatles played bass on Bite My Head Off from Stones’s album.

For The Beatles, this was their first award win since the 39th Annual Grammy Awards in 1997, where they won three awards; “Best Music Video, Long Form,” “Best Music Video, Short Form” and “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.” The band has eight Grammy wins with 25 nominations.

Now and Then had been in the works for decades, featuring contributions from all four Beatles, originating from an old demo by the late John Lennon. It was originally intended to be a part of The Beatles Anthology from 1995, but due to the technology at the time it wasn’t possible to isolate Lennon’s voice from his piano. With the emergence and progression of AI-based technology the song was able to be finished, combining Lennon’s original vocal, work from the late George Harrison prior to his death in 2001 and surviving members McCartney and Ringo Starr.

For The Rolling Stones, this was their first award win since the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018, where they won the “Best Traditional Blues Album” award. They have four Grammy wins with 13 nominations.

Hackney Diamonds saw several prominent musicians, aside from the Stones’s Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, contribute to the album’s 12 tracks. It features composer David Campbell, Elton John, drummer Steve Jordan, Lady Gaga, McCarnety, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’s Benmont Tench, producer Andrew Watt, late Stones drummer Charlie Watts (died in 2021), Stevie Wonder and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman. The record peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart.