Keith Richards
Background information
Also known as	Keith Richard, Keef RiffHard
Born	18 December 1943 (1943-12-18) (age 64) Dartford, Kent, England
Genre(s)	Rock, Blues, Country, Reggae, Rhythm and blues
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Vocals, Piano, Bass, Percussion
Years active	1962 - present
Label(s)	Decca, Rolling Stones, Virgin
Associated acts	The Rolling Stones, The New Barbarians, The X-Pensive Winos
Website	keithrichards.com
Notable instrument(s)
1952 Fender Telecaster "Micawber" 1959 Gibson Les Paul

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and founding member of The Rolling Stones. As a guitarist Richards is mostly known for his innovative rhythm playing. In 2003 Richards was ranked 10th on Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[1] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 527 pixels Full resolution (2501 × 1646 pixel, file size: 751 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is being uploaded in higher resolution to replace the deleted old one to establish ownership as asked in the discuss here [1] File... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... , Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the genre. ... Blues music redirects here. ... Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. ... Reggae is a music genre developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. ... R&B redirects here. ... For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Percussion redirects here. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... Rolling Stones Records is the record label formed by The Rolling Stones in 1970, after their recording contract with Decca Records expired. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Buried Alive: Live in Maryland, released 2006. ... The Fender Telecaster, also known as a Tele, is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender. ... The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Rhythm guitar is a guitar that is primarily used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment for a singer or for other instruments in an ensemble. ... This article is about the magazine. ...

With songwriting partner and Rolling Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger, Richards has written and recorded hundreds of songs, fourteen of which Rolling Stone magazine lists among the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".^[2] Jagger/Richards is a songwriting team that consists of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. ... Sir Michael Phillip Mick Jagger (born July 26, 1943) is a English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. ... ...

Early life

Keith Richards, the only child of Bert Richards and Doris Dupree Richards, was born in Dartford, Kent. His father was a factory labourer slightly injured during World War II, and Richards' paternal grandparents were socialists and civic leaders.^[3] His maternal grandfather (Augustus Theodore Dupree), who toured Britain in a jazz big band called Gus Dupree and his Boys, was an early influence on Richards' musical ambitions and got him interested in playing guitar.^[4] , Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s, although there are many big-bands around nowadays. ...

Richards' mother introduced him to the music of Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and bought him his first guitar - a Rosetti acoustic - for seven pounds.^[5] His father was less encouraging: "Every time the poor guy came in at night," Richards says, "he'd find me sitting at the top of the stairs with my guitar, playing and banging on the wall for percussion. He was great about it really. He'd only mutter, 'Stop that bloody noise.'"^[6] Richards' first guitar hero was Scotty Moore. Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. ... Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. ... This article is about the American Jazz composer and performer. ... Winfield Scott Scotty Moore III (born December 27, 1931 near Gadsden, Tennessee) is a legendary American guitarist and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ...

Richards attended Wentworth Primary School, as did Mick Jagger; the two knew each other as schoolboys, and lived in the same neighbourhood until Richards' family moved to another section of Dartford in 1954.^[7] From 1955 to 1959 Richards attended Dartford Technical School (now named Wilmington Grammar School),^[8][9] where the choirmaster, Jake Clair, noticed his singing voice and recruited him into the school choir. As one of a trio of boy sopranos Richards sang (among other performances) at Westminster Abbey in front of the Queen - an experience that he has called his "first taste of show biz."^[10] Treble (or Boy Soprano in slang) is a term applied in music to a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ...

In 1959, Richards was expelled from Dartford Technical School for truancy, and the headmaster suggested he would be more at home at the art college in the neighboring town of Sidcup.^[11] At Sidcup Art College Richards devoted his time to playing guitar, and first heard American blues artists like Little Walter and Big Bill Broonzy. He swapped a pile of records for his first electric guitar,^[12] a hollow-body Hoffner cutaway. Fellow Sidcup student and future musical colleague Dick Taylor recalls, "There was a lot of music being played at Sidcup, and we'd go into the empty classrooms and fool around with our guitars. ... Even in those days Keith could play most of [Chuck Berry's] solos."^[13] Taylor also remembers Richards experimenting with various drugs at Sidcup: "In order to stay up late with our music and still get to Sidcup in the morning, Keith and I were on a pretty steady diet of pep pills, which not only kept us awake but gave us a lift. We took all kinds of things - pills girls took for menstruation, inhalers like Nostrilene, and other stuff. Opposite the college, there was this little park with an aviary that had a cockatoo in it. Cocky the Cockatoo we used to call it. Keith used to feed it pep pills and make it stagger around on its perch. If ever we were feeling bored, we'd go and give another upper to Cocky."^[14] “Truant” redirects here. ... Sidcup Art College was an art college in Sidcup, London Borough of Bexley (an outer suburb of Greater London near Kent), England. ... Blues music redirects here. ... Little Walter (born Marion Walter Jacobs) (May 1, 1930 - February 15, 1968) was a blues singer, harmonica player, and guitarist. ... Big Bill Broonzy (1893 or 1898-1958) was a prolific United States composer, recorder and performer of blues songs. ... Dick Taylor performing with The Pretty Things in 1999. ... An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. ... This article is about the family of birds. ...

One morning in 1961, on the train journey from Dartford to Sidcup, Richards happened to get into the same carriage as Mick Jagger, who was then a student at the London School of Economics.^[15] They recognized each other and began talking about the LPs Jagger had with him: blues and rhythm & blues albums he had acquired by mail-order from America. Richards was surprised and impressed that Jagger not only shared his enthusiasm for Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters, but also that he owned such LPs, which were extremely rare in Britain at the time. The two discovered that they had a mutual friend: Dick Taylor, with whom Jagger was singing in an amateur band called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Jagger invited Richards to come to a rehearsal, and soon after Richards also joined the line-up. The group disbanded after Jagger and Richards met Brian Jones, with whom they went on to form The Rolling Stones. Mascot: Beaver Affiliations: University of London Russell Group EUA ACU CEMS APSIA Universities UK U8 Golden Triangle G5 Group Website: http://www. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born 18 October 1926, St. ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the Father of Chicago blues. He is also the actual father of blues musician Big Bill Morganfield. ... For other persons named Brian Jones, see Brian Jones (disambiguation). ...

By mid-1962 Richards had left Sidcup Art College in favour of pursuing his fledgling musical career, and moved into a London flat with Jagger and Jones. His parents divorced about the same time. Richards maintained close ties with his mother, who was very supportive of his musical activities, but he became estranged from his father, and didn't resume contact with him until 1982.

From 1963 to 1978, Richards used the professional name "Keith Richard", which Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham considered more suitable as a show-business name. A stage name, also called a screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musicians, djs, clowns, and professional wrestlers. ... Andrew Loog Oldham (born 1944) is a British rock and roll producer, impresario and author. ...

Musical career

Guitar playing

Richards has derived inspiration from Chuck Berry throughout his career. Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys rehearsed many Berry numbers,^[16] and Jagger and Richards were largely responsible for bringing Berry and Bo Diddley covers into The Rolling Stones' early repertoire. Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters records were another early source of inspiration, and the basis for the style of interwoven lead and rhythm guitar that Richards developed with founding Rolling Stones member Brian Jones.^[17] When Jones was replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor, who worked with The Rolling Stones from 1969 to 1974, Taylor's playing style led to a more pronounced separation between the lead and rhythm guitar roles. In 1975 Taylor was replaced by Ronnie Wood, marking a return to the style of guitar interplay that he and Richards call "the ancient art of weaving".^[18] Richards has said the years with Wood have been his most musically satisfying period in the Rolling Stones.^{[citation needed]} Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born 18 October 1926, St. ... Bo Diddley (born December 30, 1928) aka The Originator, is an influential American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... Jimmy Reed James Jimmy Mathis Reed (September 6, 1925 - August 29, 1976) was an important United States blues singer notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the Father of Chicago blues. He is also the actual father of blues musician Big Bill Morganfield. ... Lead guitar refers to a role within a band, that provides melody or melodic material, as opposed to the rhythm of the rhythm guitar, bass, and drums. ... Rhythm guitar is a guitar that is primarily used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment for a singer or for other instruments in an ensemble. ... For other persons named Brian Jones, see Brian Jones (disambiguation). ... Michael Mick Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1948 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as a former guitarist for The Rolling Stones. ... Ron Wood (born June 1, 1947 in London) is a British rock guitarist and best known as a member of The Rolling Stones and The Faces. ...

Richards often uses guitars with open tunings which allow for syncopated and ringing I-IV chording that can be heard on "Street Fighting Man" and "Start Me Up". He particularly favours a five-string variant of open G tuning (borrowed from Don Everly of the Everly Brothers), using GDGBD unencumbered by a droning low 6th string;^[19] this tuning is prominent on numerous Rolling Stones tracks, including "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up". Though he still uses standard tunings, Richards has said that his adoption of open tunings in the late 1960s led to a musical "rebirth". In that same time period, Brian Jones' declining contributions left Richards to record all the guitar parts on many tracks, including slide guitar. Richards has rarely played slide in the years since Taylor and then Wood - both accomplished slide players - joined The Rolling Stones. In guitar playing, an open tuning is one where the strings are tuned so that a chord is achieved without fretting, or pressing any of the strings. ... Street Fighting Man, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is a song by The Rolling Stones recorded in 1968. ... Start Me Up is a song by The Rolling Stones featured on the 1981 album Tattoo You. ... In guitar playing, an open tuning is one where the strings are tuned so that a chord is achieved without fretting, or pressing any of the strings. ... Don (born February 1, 1937 in Brownie, a small coal-mining town (now defunct) near Central City, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky) and Phil Everly (born January 18, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) are country-influenced rock and roll performers who had their greatest success in the 1950s. ... Don (born February 1, 1937 in Brownie, a small coal-mining town (now defunct) near Central City, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky) and Phil Everly (born January 18, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) are country-influenced rock and roll performers who had their greatest success in the 1950s. ... Honky Tonk Women was a 1969 hit song by the Rolling Stones. ... Brown Sugar is a song by British rock and roll band the Rolling Stones. ... For the technique, see Slide (guitar technique). ...

Richards - who owns over 1000 guitars, some of which he has not played but was simply given - is often associated with the Fender Telecaster, particularly with two 1950s Telecasters outfitted with Gibson PAF humbucker pickups in the neck position.^[20] Also notable was the 1959 Bigsby-equipped sunburst Les Paul that he acquired in 1964, which was the first "star owned" Les Paul in Britain.^[21][22] Since 1997 a Bigsby-equipped ebony Gibson ES-355 has served as one of his main stage guitars.^[23][24] Even though Richards has used many different guitar models, in a 1986 Guitar World interview he joked that no matter what model he plays, "give me five minutes and I'll make 'em all sound the same."^[25] The Fender Telecaster, also known as a Tele, is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender. ... P.A.F. or just PAF is a famous first in the world humbucker guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson and started to be used in mass production guitars in about 1956 or 1957. ... The Bigsby vibrato tailpiece (or Bigsby for short) is a type of vibrato device for electric guitar designed by its namesake Paul A. Bigsby. ... The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. ... The Gibson ES-355TD-SV was Gibsons top of the range thin line (TD) semi acoustic guitar, fitted with stereo wiring and varitone (SV). ... Two issues of Guitar World featuring Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix on the covers, and the accompanying CDs (May 2005, October 2005) Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. ...

In 1965 Richards used a Gibson Maestro fuzzbox to achieve the distinctive tone of his riff on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction";^[26] the success of the resulting single boosted the sales of the device to the extent that all available stock had sold out by the end of 1965.^[27] In the 1970s and early 1980s Richards frequently used guitar effects such as a wah-wah pedal, a phaser and a Leslie speaker,^[28] but he mainly relies on combining "the right amp with the right guitar" to achieve the sound he wants.^[29] A 1965 Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A, one of the first commercially available fuzzboxes. ... Music sample (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction ( file info) Problems? See media help. ... This article is about the effect pedal, also known as a Wah. ... This article is about the audio effect. ... The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects utilizing the Doppler effect. ...

Richards considers acoustic guitar to be the basis for his playing,^[30] and has said: "Every guitar player should play acoustic at home. No matter what else you do, if you don't keep up your acoustic work, you're never going to get the full potential out of an electric, because you lose that touch."^[19] Richards' acoustic guitar is featured on tracks throughout the Rolling Stones' career, including hits like "Not Fade Away", "Brown Sugar", "Beast of Burden" and "Almost Hear You Sigh". All the guitars on the studio version of "Street Fighting Man" are Richards on acoustic, distorted by overloading a small cassette recorder microphone, a technique also used on "Jumping Jack Flash".^[31] Not Fade Away is a song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and performed by Holly; the songs rhythm pattern is one of the classic examples of the Bo Diddley beat. ... Beast of Burden is a song by British rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on the 1978 album Some Girls. ... Almost Hear You Sigh is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1989 album Steel Wheels. ... A cassette deck is a player, or player/recorder, for compact audio cassettes. ... Jumpin Jack Flash is a song by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released as a single on May 24, 1968. ...

Vocals

Richards' backing vocals appear on every Rolling Stones album; and on most albums since Between the Buttons (1967), he has sung lead or co-lead on at least one track (see list below). Richards views the vocal training he got in his choirboy days as part of his professional arsenal, and has said of his own singing: "It's not the most beautiful voice in the world anymore, but the Queen liked it, when it was at its best ... It's not been my job, singing, but to me, if you're gonna write songs, you've got to know how to sing."^[32] Between the Buttons is the fifth UK and seventh US studio album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1967 as the follow-up to the ambitious Aftermath. ...

On stage, Richards began taking a regular lead-vocal turn in 1972, singing "Happy" (from the album Exile on Main Street). "Happy" has become something of a "Richards signature tune", featured on most Rolling Stones tours ever since,^[33] as well as on both of Richards' solo tours. From 1972 to 1982, Richards routinely took one lead-vocal turn during Rolling Stones concerts; since 1989 he has normally sung lead on two numbers per show. Each of the band's studio albums since Dirty Work (1986) have also featured Richards' lead vocals on at least two tracks. Happy is the tenth song from the Rolling Stones 1972 album Exile On Main St. ... Exile on Main Street is a 1972 (see 1972 in music) album by the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. ... Dirty Work can be: a classic expose of the role of the CIA in Europe and Africa, edited in two volumes in 1978 and 1979, by Philip Agee a 1989 novel by Larry Brown - see Dirty Work (novel); a Norm MacDonald movie - see Dirty Work (1998); a Rolling Stones album...

During concerts on the two final legs (autumn 2006 and summer 2007) of The Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang Tour, Richards set his guitar aside to sing his 1969 ballad "You Got the Silver" without self-accompaniment.^[34] Prior to that he had occasionally switched from guitar to keyboards in concert,^[35][36] but these concerts were the first time since his choirboy days that Richards appeared on stage armed with only his voice. The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour was a worldwide concert tour which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album A Bigger Bang. ... You Got The Silver is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones off of their 1969 album Let It Bleed. ...

Other instruments

Richards has played bass on about two dozen Rolling Stones studio recordings, from "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (1966) through "Infamy" (2005).^[37] One unusual instance was when he and Bill Wyman joined forces to play the bowed double bass on "Ruby Tuesday" (1967) - Wyman did the fingerboard work while Richards manned the bow.^[38] The rest of Richards' bass-playing contributions have been on bass guitar, on tracks including "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), "Live With Me" (1969), "Before They Make Me Run" (1978), "Sleep Tonight" (1986) and "Brand New Car" (1994). He has also played bass on stage on a couple of occasions: with The Dirty Mac in 1968 (see "Recordings with other artists", below) and on "Sympathy for the Devil" at a Rolling Stones concert at Madison Square Garden in June 1975. Have You Seen You Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? is a song by the British rock n roll band The Rolling Stones. ... Bill Wyman (born William George Perks on 24 October 1936) was the bassist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from its founding in 1962 until 1993. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... For the restaurant named after the song, see Ruby Tuesday (restaurant). ... Jumpin Jack Flash is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, released as a single in 1968. ... This article is about the song. ... Live With Me is a song by rock and roll band the Rolling Stones off of their 1969 album Let It Bleed. ... Before They Make Me Run is a song by rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1978 album Some Girls. ... Sleep Tonight is a song by The Rolling Stones that appeared on their 1986 album Dirty Work. ... The Dirty Mac were an English supergroup consisting of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell that Lennon put together for The Rolling Stones ill-fated TV special entitled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. ... Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. ...

Richards' keyboard playing has also been featured on several Rolling Stones tracks, including "She Smiled Sweetly" (1967), "Memory Motel" (1976), "All About You" (1980), "Thru and Thru" (1994) and "This Place Is Empty" (2005), among others. He sometimes composes on piano - "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" and "Let's Spend the Night Together" are two early examples;^[39] and he's said of his keyboard playing: "Maybe I'm a little more accomplished now - to me it's just a way of getting out of always using one instrument to write."^[40] Richards played keyboards on stage at two 1974 concerts with Ronnie Wood, and on The New Barbarians' tour in 1979;^[35][36] and 1977 and 1981 studio sessions featuring his piano and vocals have been well documented, though never officially released.^[41][42]

Richards has also contributed percussion to a few Rolling Stones tracks, including the floor tom on "Jumpin' Jack Flash"^[43] and bicycle spokes on "Continental Drift" (1989).^[44] A floor tom is a double-headed tom-tom drum usually equipped with legs (usually three) mounted along the side, though they are quite often attached to a cymbal stand by using a clamp. ...

Songwriting

Richards and Jagger began writing songs together in 1963, following the example of the Beatles' Lennon/McCartney and the encouragement of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who saw little future for a cover band.^[45] The earliest Jagger/Richards collaborations were recorded by other artists, including Gene Pitney, whose rendition of "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" was their first top-ten single in the UK.^[46] Richards recalls: "We were writing these terrible pop songs that were becoming Top 10 hits. ... They had nothing to do with us, except we wrote 'em."^[47] The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, usually referred to as Lennon/McCartney (sometimes McCartney/Lennon), is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations of all time. ... Andrew Loog Oldham (born 1944) is a British rock and roll producer, impresario and author. ... Jagger/Richards is a songwriting team that consists of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. ... Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. ...

The Rolling Stones' first top-ten hit with a Jagger/Richards original was "The Last Time" (1965);^[48] "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (also 1965) was their first international #1 recording. Since Aftermath (1966) most Rolling Stones albums have consisted mainly of Jagger/Richards originals. Their songs reflect the influence of blues, R&B, rock & roll, pop, soul, gospel and country, as well as forays into psychedelia and Dylanesque social commentary. Their work in the 1970s and beyond has incorporated elements of funk, disco, reggae and punk.^[47] Richards has also written and recorded slow torchy ballads, such as "All About You" (1980). The Last Time is a song by the British rock n roll band The Rolling Stones. ... Music sample (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction ( file info) Problems? See media help. ... Alternate cover American cover Aftermath is the fourth UK and sixth US studio album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1966. ... This article is about the genre of popular music. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... Gospel music is a musical genre characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) referencing lyrics of a religious nature, particularly Christian. ... Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. ... This article is about the genre. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... This article is about the music genre. ... Reggae is a music genre developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. ... Punk Rock is an anti-establishment music movement that began about 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified by The Ramones,the Misfits, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ...

In his solo career, Richards has often shared co-writing credits with drummer and co-producer Steve Jordan. Richards has said: "I've always thought songs written by two people are better than those written by one. You get another angle on it."^[47] Jordan on the cover of his instructional program DVD. Steve Jordan is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music producer from New York City. ...

Richards has frequently stated that he feels less like a creator than a conduit when writing songs: "I don't have that God aspect about it. I prefer to think of myself as an antenna. There's only one song, and Adam and Eve wrote it; the rest is a variation on a theme."^[47]

Richards was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1993.^[49] The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. ...

Record production

Richards has been active as a record producer since the 1960s. He was credited as producer and musical director on the 1966 album Today's Pop Symphony, one of manager Andrew Loog Oldham's side projects, although there are doubts about how much Richards was actually involved with it.^[50] On the Rolling Stones' 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request the entire band was credited as producer, but since 1974, Richards and Mick Jagger have frequently co-produced Rolling Stones and other artists' records under the joint name "The Glimmer Twins", often in collaboration with other producers. In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Andrew Loog Oldham (born 1944) is a British rock and roll producer, impresario and author. ... Their Satanic Majesties Request is a psychedelic rock album by The Rolling Stones recorded and released in 1967. ... Glimmer Twins first appears in 1974. ...

Since the 1980s Richards has chalked up numerous production and co-production credits on projects with other artists including Aretha Franklin, Johnnie Johnson and Ronnie Spector, as well as on his own albums with the X-Pensive Winos (see below). In the 1990s Richards co-produced and added guitar and vocals to a recording of nyabinghi Rastafarian chanting and drumming entitled Wingless Angels, released on Richards' own record label, Mindless Records, in 1997. Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... There are two famous people of that name: Johnnie Johnson (musician) Johnnie Johnson (pilot) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ronnie Spector (born Veronica Yvette Bennett, 10 August 1943, in New York City) was the lead singer of the girl group The Ronettes, and is known as the original bad girl of rock and roll. From a very young age, she took to singing and her large, close family encouraged... Nyabinghi is a legendary Amazon queen, who was said to have possesed a Ugandan woman named Muhumusa in the 19th century. ...

Solo recordings

Richards released his first solo single - his renditions of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" - in late 1978, but since Richards has generally resisted sustained ventures outside of The Rolling Stones, his solo recordings are fewer than those of Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts. It was only after Jagger refused to tour with The Rolling Stones behind Dirty Work in 1986 that Richards began to actively pursue solo work. In 1987 he formed Keith Richards and the X-pensive Winos (first named Organised Crime) with Steve Jordan, drummer on some tracks on Dirty Work and in the film Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll, which Richards had also worked on (see below). A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born 18 October 1926, St. ... Run Rudolph Run (sometimes referred to as Run Run Rudolph) is a Christmas song sung by Chuck Berry, written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. ... Jimmy Cliff, real name James Chambers OM (Jamaica) (born April 1, 1948, in St Catherine, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae musician, best known among mainstream audiences for songs like Sittin in Limbo, You Can Get It If You Really Want and Many Rivers to Cross from The Harder They Come... See also: 1970s in music. ... Charles Robert Charlie Watts (born 2 June 1941) is the drummer of The Rolling Stones. ... Dirty Work is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1986. ... Hail! Hail! Rock N Roll is a Chuck Berry live album which was released in 1987 under record label, MCA. The album was recorded live at The Fox Theatre, St Louis, Missouri and Berry Park, Wentzville, Missouri on October 6 and October 16, 1986. ...

Besides Steve Jordan, the X-pensive Winos included Sarah Dash, Waddy Wachtel, Bobby Keys, Ivan Neville and Charley Drayton. Their first release, Talk Is Cheap (which also featured session musicians Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker), produced no Top 40 hits, though it went gold and has remained a consistent seller. It spawned a brief U.S. tour - one of only two that Richards has done as a solo artist. The first tour is documented on the Virgin release Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988. In 1992 Main Offender was released, and following a "warm-up concert" in Buenos Aires, the X-Pensive Winos (including a new member, backing vocalist Babi Floyd) toured Europe and North America.^[51] Sarah Dash is a singer and was part of the group Labelle. ... Robert Waddy Wachtel (born May 24, 1947 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City) is a Los Angeles session musician and producer, most notable for his guitar work. ... Bobby Keys is a saxophone player. ... ... Drayton is a prolific rock bass player and drummer. ... Keith Richards first solo record resulted from an inabilty to keep The Rolling Stones working after the release of the 1986 album Dirty Work. ... Bernie Worrell Bernie Worrell (born April 19, 1944) is originally from Long Beach, New Jersey but grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. ... William Bootsy Collins (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a pioneering funk bassist, singer, and songwriter. ... Maceo Parker (born February 14, 1943) is a noted African American funk and soul jazz saxophone player, best known for his contributions to James Browns distinct sound. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... The description Gold Album is applied to recorded music albums that have sold a minimum number of copies (in the US, currently 500,000 sales). ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988 is a live album by Keith Richards and was released in 1991 in the US and early 1992 in the UK. Recorded during the American tour in support of Talk is Cheap in late 1988, Richards is supported by a set of... Keith Richards reunited with the members of his self-titled band, The X-pensive Winos, to craft ten songs of lasting musical merit. ... For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ...

Recordings with other artists

During the 1960s most of Richards' recordings with artists other than The Rolling Stones were sessions for Andrew Oldham's Immediate Records label. Notable exceptions were when Richards, along with Mick Jagger and numerous other guests, sang on The Beatles' 1967 TV broadcast of "All You Need Is Love";^[51] and when he played bass with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Mitch Mitchell as The Dirty Mac for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus TV special, filmed in 1968.^[52] Andrew Loog Oldham (born 1944) is a British rock and roll producer, impresario and author. ... Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, concentrating on the London based British blues scene. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... This article is about the Beatles song. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE[2] (born 30 March 1945) [3], nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Dirty Mac were an English supergroup consisting of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell that Lennon put together for The Rolling Stones ill-fated TV special entitled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. ... For the album of the same name, see The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (album) The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a film released in 1996 of a December 11, 1968 event put together by The Rolling Stones. ...

In the 1970s Richards worked outside The Rolling Stones with Ronnie Wood on several occasions, contributing guitar, piano and vocals to Wood's first two solo albums and joining him on stage for two July 1974 concerts to promote I've Got My Own Album to Do.^[35] In December 1974 Richards also made a guest appearance at a Faces concert. In 1976-77 Richards played on and co-produced John Phillips' solo recording Pay, Pack & Follow (released in 2001). In 1979 he toured the U.S. with The New Barbarians, the band that Wood put together to promote his album Gimme Some Neck; he and Wood also contributed guitar and backing vocals to "Truly" on Ian McLagan's 1979 album Troublemaker (re-released in 2005 as Here Comes Trouble).^[51] Ron Wood (born June 1, 1947 in London) is a British rock guitarist and best known as a member of The Rolling Stones and The Faces. ... The first solo album of Ron Wood. ... Faces is also a part of the name of: The Faces Faces (movie) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Several notable people have been called John Phillips: John Phillips (1935-2001) was a musician and member of The Mamas & the Papas John Phillips (1631-1706) was an author and secretary to John Milton Sir John Phillips (1700-1764) was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1763. ... Buried Alive: Live in Maryland, released 2006. ... The third solo album of Ron Wood. ... Ian McLagan is a British keyboards player, best known as a member of The Small Faces in the 1960s and The Faces in the 1970s. ... Troublemaker is the debut album from former Small Faces and Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, released in 1979 on Mercury Records. ...

Since the 1980s Richards has made more frequent guest appearances. He has worked with Tom Waits on two occasions, adding guitar and backing vocals to Waits' 1985 album Rain Dogs, and co-writing, playing and sharing the lead vocal on "That Feel" on Bone Machine (1992). In 1986 Richards produced and played on Aretha Franklin's rendition of "Jumping Jack Flash" and served as musical producer and band leader (or as he phrased it "S&M director")^[53] for the Chuck Berry film Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll.^[51] Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. ... Rain Dogs is an album by Tom Waits, released in August of 1985 (see 1985 in music). ... Surfer Rosa Bone Machine is an album by Tom Waits, released in 1992 (see 1992 in music) on Island Records. ... Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... Jumpin Jack Flash is a song by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released as a single on May 24, 1968. ... Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born 18 October 1926, St. ... Hail! Hail! Rock N Roll is a Chuck Berry live album which was released in 1987 under record label, MCA. The album was recorded live at The Fox Theatre, St Louis, Missouri and Berry Park, Wentzville, Missouri on October 6 and October 16, 1986. ...

In the 1990s and 2000s Richards has continued to contribute to a wide range of musical projects as a guest artist. A few of the notable sessions he has done include guitar and vocals on Johnnie Johnson's 1991 release Johnnie B. Bad, which he also co-produced; and lead vocals and guitar on "Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me" on the 1992 Charles Mingus tribute album Weird Nightmare. He duetted with country legend George Jones on "Say It's Not You" on the Bradley Barn Sessions (1994), and with Levon Helm on "Deuce and a Quarter" on Scotty Moore's album All the King's Men (1997). His guitar and lead vocals are featured on the Hank Williams tribute album Timeless (2001) and on veteran blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin's album About Them Shoes (2005). Richards also added guitar and vocals to Toots & the Maytals' recording of "Careless Ethiopians" for their 2004 album True Love and to their re-recording of "Pressure Drop", which came out in 2007 as the b-side to Richards' iTunes re-release of "Run Rudolph Run".^[51] Cover of Johnnie . ... Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. ... For other persons named George Jones, see George Jones (disambiguation). ... Bradley Barn Sessions is an album by American country music artist George Jones. ... Mark Lavon Helm (born May 26, 1940), better know as Levon Helm, is an American rock musician most famous as the drummer for the rock group The Band. ... Winfield Scott Scotty Moore III (born December 27, 1931 near Gadsden, Tennessee) is a legendary American guitarist and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ... For other persons named Hank Williams, see Hank Williams (disambiguation). ... Hubert Sumlin (November 16, 1931) is a blues guitar player known as a both a solo artist and central element in Howlin Wolfs backup band. ... Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. ... For other uses, see True love (disambiguation). ... Pressure Drop is the name of a song, recorded by the Maytals in 1969 for producer Leslie Kong, and released on Beverlys Records in Jamaica, and Trojan Records in the UK. The song features on their 1970 albums Monkey Man, released in Jamaica by Beverleys Records, and From... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles have been released since the 1950s. ... This article is about the iTunes application. ... Run Rudolph Run (sometimes referred to as Run Run Rudolph) is a Christmas song sung by Chuck Berry, written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. ...

Rare and unreleased recordings

In 2006 The Rolling Stones released Rarities 1971-2003, which includes some rare and limited-issue recordings, but Richards has described the band's released output as the "tip of the iceberg".^{[citation needed]} Many of the band's unreleased songs and studio jam sessions are widely bootlegged, as are numerous Richards solo recordings, including his 1977 Toronto studio sessions, some 1981 studio sessions and tapes made during his 1983 wedding trip to Mexico.^[51] Rarities 1971-2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records - as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America - and features a selection of supposedly rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003. ... A jam session is a musical act where musicians gather and play (or jam) without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements. ... For other uses, see Bootleg. ...

Public image and private life

Richards, who has been frank about his habits, has earned notoriety for his decadent outlaw image. Rock critic Nick Kent summed up his 1970s image: "[Keith Richards] was the big Lord Byron figure. He was mad, bad and dangerous to know."^[54] In 1994 Richards said of this image: "It's something you drag around behind you like a long shadow ... Even though that was nearly twenty years ago, you cannot convince some people that I'm not a mad drug addict. So I've still got [that image] in my baggage."^[55] Nick Kent (born December 24, 1951) is a British rock critic. ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ...

Richards has been tried on drug-related charges five times: in 1967, twice in 1973, in 1977 and in 1978.^[56][57] The first trial - the only one involving a prison sentence^[57] - resulted from a February 1967 police raid on Redlands, Richards' Sussex estate, where he and some friends, including Jagger, were spending the weekend.^[58] The subsequent arrest of Richards and Jagger put them on trial before the court of public opinion and Her Majesty. On 29 June Jagger was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for possession of four amphetamine tablets; Richards was found guilty of allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property and sentenced to one year in prison.^[59] Both Jagger and Richards were imprisoned at that point, but were released on bail the next day pending appeal.^[60] On 1 July The Times ran an editorial entitled "Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?", portraying Jagger's sentence as persecution, and public sentiment against the convictions increased.^[61] A month later the appeals court overturned Richards' conviction for lack of evidence, while Jagger was given a conditional discharge.^[62] This article refers to the historic county in England. ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Amphetamine or Amfetamine(Alpha-Methyl-PHenEThylAMINE), also known as beta-phenyl-isopropylamine and benzedrine, is a prescription stimulant commonly used to treat Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children. ... This article is about the plant genus Cannabis. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom (and the Kingdom of Great Britain before the United Kingdom existed) since 1788 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ... Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel? is a quotation from Alexander Popes Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot of 1735, which has entered common use and has become associated with more recent figures. ... In Canada, a conditional discharge is a sentence passed in criminal court in which an individual is found guilty of an offence but is deemed not to have been convicted. ...

The most serious charges Richards faced resulted from his arrest in February 1977 at Toronto's Harbour Castle Hotel (Regina v. Richards), when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found him in possession of "22 grams of heroin".^[63] Richards was originally charged with "possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking" - an offence that under the Criminal Code of Canada can result in prison sentences of seven years to life.^[64] The charge was later reduced to "simple possession of heroin".^[65] RCMP redirects here. ... For other uses, see Heroin (disambiguation). ... The Canadian Criminal Code (formal title An Act respecting the Criminal Law) is the codification of most of the criminal offenses and procedure in Canada. ...

For the next two years, Richards lived under threat of criminal sanction, and he sought medical treatment in the U.S. for heroin addiction.^[66] Throughout this period he remained active with The Rolling Stones, recording their biggest-selling studio album, Some Girls, and touring North America. Richards was tried in October 1978, pleading guilty to possession of heroin.^[67][68] He was given a suspended sentence and put on probation for one year, with orders to continue treatment for heroin addiction and to perform a benefit concert on behalf of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.^[69] Although the prosecution had filed an appeal of the sentence, Richards performed two CNIB benefit concerts at Oshawa Civic Auditorium on April 22, 1979; both shows featured The Rolling Stones and The New Barbarians.^[70] In September 1979 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence.^[63] For other uses, see Some Girls (disambiguation). ... CNIB is a nationwide, community-based, registered charity committed to research, public education and vision health for all Canadians. ... Oshawa Civic Auditorium in 1964 The Oshawa Civic Auditorium is a 4,025-seat multi-purpose arena in Oshawa, Ontario Canada. ... is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Buried Alive: Live in Maryland, released 2006. ...

Later in 1979, Keith met future wife, model Patti Hansen. They married on 18 December 1983, Richards' 40th birthday, and have two daughters, Theodora and Alexandra, born in 1985 and 1986 respectively. Patti Hansen was a major supermodel in the 70s and early 80s - appearing regularly on the covers and in the pages of American Vogue, Glamour, and Harpers Bazaar. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... Theodora Richards is the daughter of Patti Hansen and legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. ...

Richards maintains cordial relations with Anita Pallenberg, the mother of his first three children; although they were never married, Richards and Pallenberg were a couple from 1967 to 1979. Together they have a son, Marlon (named after the actor Marlon Brando), born in 1969,^[71] and a daughter, Angela (nee Dandelion), born in 1972.^[72] Their third child, a boy named Tara (after Richards' close friend Tara Browne), died on 6 June 1976, less than three months after his birth.^[73] Anita Pallenberg (born January 25, 1944 in Rome, Italy) is a model, actress and fashion designer. ... Marlon Brando, Jr. ... Tara Browne (March 4, 1945 – December 18, 1966) was a young London socialite and issue of peerage as a member of the Irish aristocratic family of Oranmore & Browne, whose untimely death in 1966 was immortalized in song by John Lennon of The Beatles. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Richards still owns Redlands, the Sussex estate he purchased in 1966, as well as a home in Connecticut and another in Turks & Caicos.^[74] He is an avid reader with a strong interest in history and an extensive library.^[75][76] This article refers to the historic county in England. ... Official language(s) none (de facto English) Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport[2] Largest metro area Hartford Metro Area[3] Area  Ranked 48th in the US  - Total 5,543[4] sq mi (14,356 km²)  - Width 70 miles (113 km)  - Length 110 miles (177 km)  - % water 12. ... The Turks and Caicos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, southeast of the Bahamas, at 21°45N, 71°35W. The thirty islands total 166 sq. ...

Recent news

On 27 April 2006, Richards, while in Fiji, suffered a head injury after falling out of a tree; he subsequently underwent cranial surgery at a New Zealand hospital.^[77] The incident caused a six-week delay in launching The Rolling Stones' 2006 European tour and the rescheduling of several shows; the revised tour schedule included a brief statement from Richards apologising for "falling off his perch".