Watch Ed Sheeran Sing “Beast of Burden” Alongside The Rolling Stones Themselves

Culture

The Rolling Stones seem committed to dying on stage. 

After 50 years, the band continues to sell out arenas and experiment with ways of bringing new life into their catalog. Saturday at a tour stop in Kansas City, Missouri, the band put this into play by bringing out English pop sensation Ed Sheeran to help them sing "Beast of Burden." 

The result was pretty damn good.

According to a short accompanying documentary, Sheeran received a call from Jagger on Friday and then learned the song in a single day. In that whirlwind of learning, sound-checking and getting to know the band, Sheeran recounts the experience not feeling real until he was right in the middle of performing:

"It wasn't until I stepped onstage and turned around halfway through when Ronnie and Keith were soloing and I clocked it: I'm onstage with the Rolling Stones. This is pretty cool!"
Mic/YouTube

"They're one of the greatest living bands," Sheeran says in the documentary. "All of them have done so much for so many people musically. It was a pleasure to be able to play with them."

And to show his gratitude for the opportunity to learn one of the greatest rock songs in history straight from the source, Sheeran taught the band a skill our generation is renowned for: how to take a selfie.

Mic/YouTube

He's not the only young blood that has accompanied the Rolling Stones on recent tours. They performed with Katy Perry and Taylor Swift in 2013 and Lady Gaga at their "final concert" in 2012. 

Sheeran sounded truly at home in the music. The same cannot be said for all of the hip-hop covers and duets that he's performed on his own time. He should stick with the Stones — he might learn a move or two.

h/t Mashable