At 83, Mick Jagger Reveals The 5 People He Loved The Most

Mick Jagger on What “Greatest” Really Means

Mick Jagger reframes a question he was recently asked—“who are the five people you love the most?”—as something more personal than arguing over “the greatest musicians.”

As he’s gotten older, he says, he values memories of people more than performances: who stood beside him before a show, who he spoke with after everyone left, and the quiet moments that linger long after the spotlight.

Instead of listing fame, he names his five “most loved” people, emphasizing character and presence.

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The Five People He Loves Most

Charlie Watts

Jagger describes Watts as the perfect contrast: Jagger is all motion and chaos, while Charlie was famously calm and dependable. He praises Charlie’s:

• Consistency (“he’d be there before 2:00”)
• Lack of drama, highlighting an elegance that doesn’t need to prove itself

Jagger says the hardest part of losing Charlie wasn’t just losing a bandmate—it was losing someone he expected would keep being there.

Tina Turner

Jagger says her stage presence was extraordinary, but explains she earned a place on the list because she was easy to talk to—and that “was just Tina” when the show ended.

He recalls backstage laughter and conversations that went beyond career talk into real life. He also admires how she carried warmth and kindness through hardship—that success and struggle never hardened her.

David Bowie

Jagger calls Bowie effortlessly noticeable without trying, crediting his constant reinvention—returning every few years as someone new.

He remembers conversations that stretched beyond music into books and films. He lightly jokes that when people mention Bowie’s “dancing in the street,” the first image he returns to is simply the joy of two friends having fun—not whether it would be a hit.

He’s moved by Bowie’s creative evolution, and by the feeling that when Bowie died, it was “impossible” that someone who kept moving forward had gone silent.

John Lennon

Jagger notes that people love to reduce things to “Beatles vs. Stones,” but says it never felt that simple to him. His admiration for Lennon centers on:

• Directness
• Courage—saying what he believed without performing

He recalls conversations about fame, family, aging, and the struggle to live normally despite being known, and he describes the disbelief when he heard the news.

Keith Richards

Jagger closes with Keith, describing a relationship lasting 60+ years—built on real conflict, but also an enormous amount of side-by-side work. He credits respect as the glue that kept them together.

Keith is framed as a lifelong constant: someone he shared stages with, stayed up with late at night, and solved creative problems alongside. Jagger adds that Keith’s presence matters even more now than it did when they were young.

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Overall Message

Jagger concludes that music gave him more than awards and tours—it gave him people. As applause fades, friendships remain: Charlie’s quiet loyalty, Tina’s kindness and strength, Bowie’s endless new perspective, Lennon’s honesty, and Keith’s steady presence through every chapter.

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Personalities Mentioned

• Mick Jagger
• Charlie Watts
• Tina Turner
• David Bowie
• John Lennon
• Keith Richards