God loves Keith Richards. He sent us down the greatest, longest living rockstar there will ever be. Made him immune to death. Gave him excellent haircuts and great clothes. Blessed him with the gift of the riff, to spread long and far.
C’mon, Jesus didn’t get half of that.
I mean, fuck… imagine a world where Keith Richards had never been born?
Rock’n’roll would still be wearing matching suits if it wasn’t for this guy. We wouldn’t have got the New York Dolls, so we wouldn’t have got Ramones, so we wouldn’t have got punk, so we wouldn’t have got independent, industrial or alternative dance music, so we wouldn’t have got nu metal, so we wouldn’t have emo… Er, come to think of it maybe the matching suits aren’t such a bad idea? Matching suits or matching haircuts? I digress…
Understand one thing, if you play in a band who have an edge you are influenced by Keith Richards and the Stones, whether you know it or not.
Keef’s mark on modern music is criminally ignored in favour of The Beatles. To me there’s no comparison. Apart from the sheer amount of music put out by The Stones (okay, some of it patchy, but come on, listen to some of crap that The Beatles put out in their relatively few years… “We all live in a Yellow Submarine”? They didn’t, no one does). The Beatles were great largely due to the talents of George Martin. The Stones are great because of Keith Richards.
And still they continue to reign due, solely, to the motor-force that is Keef.
The great man would say that it’s Charlie Watts who keeps the Stones rolling, but Keef’s humility is only highlighted by humble comments like this. Charlie plays to Keef. The Stones play to Keef. He is the equivalent of having a Sun.
If he ever died (God forbid, shit… the world would plunge into utter darkness) we would THEN celebrate his incredible achievements, his legendary life, his influential style in both presentation and music and we would also realise what it is to truly miss a great rock’n’roll hero, for the very first time. Miss him like the passing of our own mother. Lennon’s death would be minuscule by comparison.
It makes me fucking sick to my stomach that ‘journalists’ can deride the Stones longevity without instant dismissal and blacklisting. It should be law.
Like Jesus, Keef is beyond criticism. He has passed beyond the realm of judgment into the area of legend. Untouchable and justified. A living icon who still makes music for the music, not the money.
The same bullshit is spewed every time the Stones tour (”they’re making a billion each from the merchandise alone”), does anyone actually think that this man makes music because of a fucking paycheck? Shame on you.
The Stones have worked harder and for longer than any of us could possibly conceive. They deserve every damn brick of every damn house that they own.
A world without Keef would be a world where fantasy is one dangerous step closer to extinction and mortality a daily paranoia. Rock stars wouldn’t smoke, drink or take ANY chances anymore, opting for a dull, if financially rewarding career. How would it be if we could peer into the future and see exactly how pedestrian a world of music would be in the hands of healthfreaks? Ugh…
He’s seen ‘em come and he’s seen ‘em go. Many have wanted to be Keef, all have failed and most are dead.
I love Keith Richards with all my heart. We all do. God loves him. Well, God loves us all… but he’s only got one poster on his wall.
di ginger da classicrock
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