Rock Battle Royale: Beatles Vs. Rolling Stones

It’s an age-old question: the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Which band was more influential? Had more songwriting ability? Rocks the most? It is a popular debate among classic rock fans, one that started when both groups emerged onto the American music scene in 1964.

The Beatles, who debuted in January—six months before the Rolling Stones arrived in the United States—not only heralded the British Invasion but went on to create 12 studio albums, five live albums, 13 EPs, 22 singles and 67 compilation albums, delivering 20 number-one U.S. hits.

The Rolling Stones weren’t far behind. After they made their American debut in the summer of 1964, the Stones proceeded to produce 29 studio albums, 18 live albums and eight number-one singles in the United States.

But Beatles fans were left bereft in 1970 when the band split—a sharp contrast to the Stones, whose followers can still see them in concert to this day.

While the Beatles represented a new generation separate from its parents’ traditions, the Rolling Stones represented an even bigger departure from authority. The Beatles mop-tops and rock and roll started a new movement in music and culture, and the Rolling Stones carried it forward with their even longer hair and bluesy tunes.

Who is the ultimate legend in rock history? That will be decided next Saturday night, February 7, at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, with “The Beatles Versus The Rolling Stones,” a rock battle royal, following up last year’s 50th-anniversary Beatles tribute at Bay Street.

Local musicians—many of whom also took the stage last year—will play rotating sets of the best dance music that the Beatles and the Stones have to offer. Two groups will represent each band; they will include members of the HooDoo Loungers, Black and Sparrow, Mamalee Rose and Friends, Randall Hudson, Sarah Conway, Joe Delia, and Inda Eaton.

The set list will be played in chronological order, from 1964 to 1970, to level the playing field—considering that the Beatles ceased producing music, and the Stones haven’t—according to Joe Lauro, a member of the Hoodoo Loungers who is helping produce the event, as he did last year.

“It will be the same bands, the same background and the same guests, but we’ll have new slant,” Mr. Lauro said. “Let’s do a fun thing and have an ultimate battle of the bands.”

The idea is based on the Teen Age Music International Show—more commonly known as The TAMI Show—which featured the big names of the 1960s, including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones, Leon Russell and many others. The acts shared the same stage and performed two songs apiece to a horde of screaming fans, according to Mr. Lauro.

Unlike The TAMI Show, the Bay Street concert is a contest. And whoever wins will play the final song. Each musician is ready, his or her side chosen—for the most part. Some dissenting band members are creating a divide, such as inside the HooDoo Loungers.

Mr. Lauro is a true Beatles fan, while drummer David Giacone prefers the Rolling Stones. Lead singer Dawnette Darden is the swing vote, Mr. Lauro said, and may sing with both groups.

“They were our idols, and we tried to imitate them spiritually and musically,” Mr. Lauro said of the Beatles. “The music never leaves you. They played such an important part in everybody’s lives. They were the soundtrack to that era, the top of the pops. They inspired everybody—countless musicians, countless non-musicians. It goes beyond age and trend. It’s just good.”

Joe Delia saw the impact of the Beatles firsthand after his own band, the Bruthers, was signed to RCA by Sid Bernstein in 1964—and walked onstage to be introduced to 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in 1965, just before the Fab Four took the stage for their historic concert there.

But the impact the Rolling Stones have had on the Montauk-based musician is undeniable. Walking down the street, Mr. Delia could have been easily mistaken for Stones frontman Mick Jagger. His curly dark hair, sunglasses and tattoos give off the bad-boy vibe that Jagger has rocked for just as long. He’s good on keyboards, too, and plans to play for the Rolling Stones side at Bay Street.

“The Stones are gonna kick butt,” Mr. Delia said. “I know these songs from the time I was a kid playing and listening to this stuff.”

His childhood dreams came true when the Bruthers later opened for the Stones in Europe and stood just 5 feet from the band, he said, and again in the mid-1980s, this time during Mr. Delia’s set at Tramp’s on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Stones guitarist Keith Richards walked through the door, hopped on stage and joined in.

“The Beatles were the soundtrack of all our lives—and still, 50 years later, it’s still having its effect,” Mr. Delia said. “The Stones, of course, were a part of the music that I grew up listening to. The Beatles were radical, a band parents were not completely sold on. But then Stones came, and suddenly the Beatles were fine.”

So will the bluesy bad boys win the vote? Or will the prolific Beatles take the crown?

The crowd will decide.

The “Beatles Versus The Rolling Stones” rock concert will be held on Saturday, February 7, at 8 p.m. at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. Performers will include the HooDoo Loungers, Black and Sparrow, Randall Hudson, Mamalee Rose and Friends, Joe Delia, Inda Eaton, and Sarah Conway. Tickets are $25. For more information, call (631) 725-9500, or visit baystreet.org.