“Ronnie was a really nice guy – but let’s face it: he ain’t no Mick Taylor, and he’s no Harvey Mandel. He’s what I call a C-plus guitar player”: Harvey Mandel nearly became a Rolling Stone – here’s why he thinks he would have been a better fit

Left-Guitarist Harvey "The Snake" Mandel is shown performing on stage during a live concert appearance with Canned Heat on July 1, 2018; Right-Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones performs during the final night of the Hackney Diamonds '24 Tour at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena on July 21, 2024 in Ridgedale, Missouri.

Aside from being one of the pioneers of the two-handed tapping technique that gained steam in the post-Van Halen era, Harvey Mandel made his mark on rock ‘n’ roll history as a member of the Woodstock-era Canned Heat, as well as playing side-by-side with John Mayall. And oh, he was also almost a Rolling Stone...

“I was living in LA at the time. In the middle of the night, suddenly, I got a call, and it’s Mick Jagger,” he tells Guitar World. “I thought it was somebody goofing around at first, but after I talked with him on the phone for a few minutes, I realized this was Mick Jagger.

“They were in Germany at the time, and he said, ‘Well, we want you to come to Germany…’ He didn’t really say it was an ‘audition’ to join the Stones; he wanted me to come and play to be a part of the record.”

Despite playing on Hot Stuff and Memory Motel, which would later be released on 1976’s Black and Blue, Mandel asserts that Keith Richards blocked his trajectory to becoming a Rolling Stone.

“Ronnie Wood came in the next day, and Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards were pals,” he explains. “They grew up together and hung out. Mick Jagger wanted me to play. Keith Richards wanted Ronnie Wood, who won out because he [Keith Richards] had the power to insist that it was Ronnie Woodor else. So, I kind of got aced out.”

In his heart of hearts, however, Mandel still believes that he was the one who should have landed the highly coveted gig.

"Ronnie was a nice guy. I played at his club and hung out with him a couple of times. He was actually a really nice guy – but let’s face it: he ain’t no Mick Taylor, and he’s no Harvey Mandel. He’s what I call a C-plus guitar player,” he says matter-of-factly.

“He had the show, and he could jump around and be part of the craziness, but he never impressed me as an actual player. So, I think they would have been much better off musically if I was the one playing because they didn’t need Ronnie Wood for the show. Mick Jagger was the show.”

Guitar World's full interview with Harvey Mandel will be published later this month.