Guitarist Harvey Mandel came close to joining the Rolling Stones, but Keith Richards stopped him.
“It was before Ronnie Wood even came into the picture; he didn’t come in until a day or two later,” the musician told Guitar World when asked whether Keith disliked him because he preferred Ronnie Wood to join the Stones. “Keith was just kind of aloof.”
Mandel added, “I don’t think he was intimidated, but he wasn’t really friendly. Maybe it was because I was American, and he wanted everything to stay with British people. I really can’t say.”
“Everyone else in the band – the drummer [Charlie Watts], the bass player [Bill Wyman] and Mick Jagger – were all super-nice. They had some of my early records and two or three of my solo albums; they were very complimentary and treated me really good,” the musician explained.
He went on to talk about his relationship with Richards, “I never got friendly with Keith Richards. If it wasn’t for him, I would have been the Rolling Stones’ replacement for Mick Taylor. He’s the one that screwed me up.”
Mandel played on ‘Hot Stuff’ and ‘Memory Motel’ for the Stones’ 1976 album ‘Black and Blue.’ Mick Jagger wanted him, but Keith chose his friend Ronnie Wood.
The guitarist previously shared with Mojo how the Rolling Stones members contacted him. He stated, via Ultimate Classic Rock, “At home one night, about three or four in the morning, I got a call from Mick Jagger. He said, ‘We’re in Munich, Germany; we want you to come play a couple of songs. Leave tomorrow.'”
“The idea was I’d be a replacement for Mick Taylor, playing the slick guitar. But there was a whole argument in the studio. Keith [Richards] wanted Ron Wood, because he wanted to keep it all English. Mick was leaning towards me, because he wasn’t looking for another guitar player onstage, leaping around and doing crazy stuff. Unfortunately, I lost out,” Mandel revealed at the time.
Mandel was in Canned Heat and played with Charlie Musselwhite and John Mayall. He also has a solo career.
