“Those first two days we got along like brothers, but then after we did the album thing, it was like, ‘This isn’t happening’”: How the gift of a divisive Rolling Stones album scuppered the chance of a collaboration between Nile Rodgers and John Mayer

Nile Rodgers has never been reluctant to talk about his successful collaborations, but he’s now lifted the lid on one that didn’t work out.

We’re talking about a John Mayer team-up that never was. Speaking to Vulture, Rodgers' admission came while he was discussing his work on David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album, which he says he completed in two days.

“We spent most of our pre-production in libraries, going around looking at different artistic concepts,” he recalls. “I’ve always wanted to do that with another artist, to get to know who they were as a person through their taste in art and exchange albums.”

Years later, Rodgers would indeed come back to this idea when he was considering a collab with Mayer. Sadly, though, it backfired spectacularly.

“I actually tried this once with John Mayer and it went totally sour,” admits Rodgers. “He turned me onto his favourite record, which was Coldplay’s first album, Parachutes. I thought it was cool, but I gave him the Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request, which I think is the most underrated rock and roll album of all time.”

Sadly, though, Mayer wasn’t into it at all.

“It didn’t work with John,” Rodgers confirms. “It’s weird, too, because John might be one of the smartest people that’s ever walked this Earth. Those first two days we got along like brothers, but then after we did the album thing, it was like, This isn’t happening.”

Sing This All Together - YouTube

Watch On

To be fair to Mayer, even Keith Richards and Mick Jagger have slammed the album - viewed as the Stones' one and only foray into psychedelia - calling it, respectively, “a load of crap” and “not very good”. Other critics agree with Rodgers, though, and have suggested that Their Satanic Majesties Request has been unfairly maligned.

Whatever your opinion, what we now know is that the record scuppered any chance of Rodgers producing Mayer. It sounds like there are no hard feelings, though, and at least they’ll always be able to bond over that first Coldplay album - even if creative ‘Sparks’ didn’t fly.