Chris LeGrand finally gave in.
“When I was 14 or 15, I was into garage bands and grew my hair out. People said ‘Hey, you look a lot like Mick Jagger,” said LeGrand, who performs as the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, in Satisfaction/The International Rolling Stones Tribute Show. “I was trying to have my own band into my early 20s. I was trying to write my own songs and be my own person, but it kept following me around.”
LeGrand’s Rolling Stones’ tribute teams up with Abbey Road’s Beatles’ tribute for a performance called Beatles Vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 8 at the Imperial Theatre.
Although people said he resembled Mick Jagger, LeGrand has spent years mastering the undeniable sound and moves of the Rolling Stones’ front man.
“The first goal I had if I was going to be able to sell it was – can I mimic his voice as closely as possible?’” he said. “You can have the looks, but if you don’t have the voice, you’re not going to succeed.”
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He spent months watching every VHS, DVD and video he could find in the pre-YouTube days to study the voice and dance moves. And he rehearsed with his band for six months before he attempted to perform in front of an audience.
That was 22 years ago, and LeGrand said “it’s never good enough to me. I’m always working to make it better.”
Creating another persona on stage requires constant work.
“It’s unnatural to be someone else,” he said.
Beatles Vs. Stones takes pieces from each of the tribute shows.
“Each band performs 60 minutes of music,” he said. “Each band has three, 20 minute segments with hits associated with a particular era. It’s two hours of nothing but the hits. There’s a fantastic finale. Both groups come together with a big mashup that’s quite interesting.”
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LeGrand said the two hours are high-energy and non-stop and bring together the greatest songs ever written.
Tickets are $20-$65 and are available at the Imperial Theatre website or by calling (706) 722-8341.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the publisher of Augusta Good News. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Subscribe to the newsletter here.
