Red Sox vs. Yankees. Coke vs. Pepsi. Ali vs. Frazier. Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford. Some great rivalries define, and even transcend, their times. But these pale in comparison to the ongoing debate – sometimes respectful, sometimes not so much – about the relative musical merits of the Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones. (See? Right there, didn’t you instantly have an opinion?)

With 60 years of squabbling still not settling the argument, it was inevitable that eventually, these two legends (convincing facsimiles of them, anyway) would square off under a prizefight-worthy banner. 

“Beatles vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown” certainly promises more excitement than the recent Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight. The epic battle features the longtime Beatles tribute act Abbey Road taking on veteran Stones tribute specialists Satisfaction. This thrilling cage match of music hits the Keswick Theatre this Friday night.

Starting with the sound heard (and seen) ‘round the world – namely, the Beatles’ television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February, 1964 – each band is primed to switch off 20-minute sets meticulously recreating the era-specific songs, stylistic shifts, and yes, costume changes, that defined their historic legacies. The actual Beatles, of course, had a relatively brief, if creatively unparalleled, run that saw them progress from exuberant pop ditties like “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in 1963 to lysergic dreamscapes such as “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” a mere four years later. Meanwhile, the Stones have enjoyed their own ongoing feat of unparalleled endurance: 60-plus years of recording generation-defining classics, and touring nearly every corner of the globe. 

“We adhere to the authenticity of each era,” says Satisfaction’s Chris LeGrand, who has performed as Stones frontman Mick Jagger for nearly 25 years and thousands of shows. “You can dress up and go out there and dance around, but it has to sound right. If you can’t sell the voice, you’re not gonna fool anybody for very long.” 

Channeling a legend, LeGrand says, is hard work. “Jagger is different in each era, starting from 1964 or ‘65 where he mixed James Brown into his dance moves, than he was in 1981 and later on. So you have to portray three different people. You can’t be mixing in modern day Mick with a ‘64 set list. That’s what keeps it challenging.”

Axel Clarke, who’s manned Abbey Road’s drum kit as Ringo Starr for roughly 15 years, grew up listening to percussive virtuosos like Neil Peart of Rush, Stewart Copeland of The Police, and  Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. 

Despite growing up in a musical household (Axel’s dad was an amateur musician in L.A.) where “the Beatles were in my DNA,” Clarke claims he had to discard much of his formal musical training to accurately portray rock’s most beloved drummer. “Ringo plays in an unorthodox, untrained style – you would never teach your worst enemy to play drums like that!” says Clarke with a laugh. “But you have to play it that way to sound like Ringo. It’s daunting, and a matter of constantly policing yourself.” 

As a Texas teenager, LeGrand was also surrounded by the ‘50s-era rock ‘n’ roll and country music of his parents. But it was a cool, young uncle with a stack of classic rock records who turned him on to the likes of  Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and the Rolling Stones. The latter, in particular, made a stark impression. “The first time I heard ‘Gimme Shelter’ and ‘Sympathy for the Devil,’ I was a kid and it scared me,” LeGrand recalls with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Wow, these guys look a little dangerous.’ ” 

While both groups cultivated opposite images (and fan bases) early on – the sullen Stones were marketed as a scruffy alter-ego to the freshly scrubbed Fab Four – they were always friendly competitors, and even occasional collaborators. In fact, John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave the Stones their first hit, “I Wanna Be Your Man,” in 1963, and members of the Stones clapped and sang along to the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” on British television.

The Beatles indirectly even sparked LeGrand’s idea to become a Stone of sorts. “Oddly enough, one night I went to see a Beatles tribute show and was sitting in the audience and a light bulb just went off,” recalls LeGrand. “I had never really seen a Rolling Stones tribute show doing anything like that. So 25e years later, here I am.”

As for how obsessively both bands have been analyzed and critiqued, “You’ve got to remember the Beatles were just kids doing their best to throw ideas out there,” says Clarke of a band that broke up before any of its members had even hit 30. “I can’t imagine John and Paul sat there looking at each other while they worked on a song and said, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be a legendary moment for all of history!’ ”