“The 500th time”: The 1968 anthem Keith Richards has never tired of playing
It is a common theme within rock and roll that artists eventually grow tired or even resentful of their most popular material. At this point in The Rolling Stones’ extensive and illustrious career, though, it seems there are still a few old classics that Keith Richards will never grow tired of churning out.
Since their first emergence way back in 1962, when most of their modern-day audience were wearing short trousers, or weren’t yet acquainted with this mortal coil, The Rolling Stones have remained one constant of the ever-changing rock and roll landscape. Although, to their credit, Mick Jagger and the gang have released upwards of 30 studio albums, their hedonistic golden age of the late 1960s and early 1970s is still where the vast majority of their classic anthems and fan favourites arise from.
Given that their golden age was well over half a century ago, at this point, Keith Richards’ existence would be rather depressing if he had grown to detest those tracks. Regardless of the quality of their new material, there are a few Stones tracks that will never be omitted from their setlists, and yet Richards seems rather content with that fact. Particularly, as it turns out, in the case of their 1968 classic ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’.
A non-album single recorded during the band’s Beggars Banquet sessions, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ became one of The Stones’ surprisingly low number of chart-topping singles in 1968. Not only that, but it went on to define the sound of the blues rock heroes for a number of years in its wake, something that came as a surprise to Richards.
“I don’t know that I was aware of creating a ‘trademark’ sound on that track,” he once shared, per Uncut. “In a way, the style kind of imposes itself upon you. I don’t quite know how it all works.”
Richards’ discovery of that sound came courtesy of the primitive cassette recorder he used to lay down the demo. Through overloading its tiny microphone with the kind of anarchic acoustic guitar you would expect from a Rolling Stone, the single’s distinctive guitar tone was born, and endeared itself to Richards forevermore.
“That song has got a lovely spirit on it, and it’s a joy to play,” the guitarist declared. “For all of its limitations… in the musical sense, the wonderful rhythmic possibilities still keep you interested.”
Explaining his unique philosophy as a rock and roll veteran, he added, “The thing is, with a good song, I find, you ask, ‘Hey, do you look forward to playing it the 500th time?’ And if you do, then it’s a good song.”
By that metric, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ is among the greatest songs that Keith Richards has ever written. Not only has it retained its rock and roll appeal among The Stones’ audience, but it has never aged a day in the eyes of Richards, either. To date, in fact, the band have performed that 1968 single well over 500 times, with a current estimate stretching over 1,200 performances.
Whether the guitarist still looks forward to playing it is up for debate, but he certainly hasn’t grown sick of its sound over the past nearly 60 years.
