The 1972 Rolling Stones song that is Keith Richards’ most-listened to: “I love playing it”
Just like ardent fans of The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards doesn’t have their biggest songs, such as ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ or ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, on repeat.
Those songs have taken on lives that go way beyond The Rolling Stones and the individuals who birthed them. Nevertheless, every song they’ve created is a mini-vignette of his life, and for him, some are more than just a piece of music, but represent a vivid memory of a specific moment in his life.
These are tracks that act as reminders of both precious times and chapters of his life that you’d assume he’d rather forget, in equal measure.
Interestingly, the song that he listens to most from their back catalogue is from 1972’s Exile on Main St, which was made during a torturous period in his personal life.
At the time, The Rolling Stones found themselves persona non grata in the United Kingdom after becoming tax exiles ahead of recording the seminal masterpiece. Meanwhile, on a personal level, Richards was struggling with heroin abuse at this point, losing sight of his true self as he succumbed to addiction.
As the 1970s wore on, Richards’ use continued to worsen, which would later make him become a spare part of the band. Richards was not in a healthy place mentally or physically, yet somehow, his guitar was there to save him during these moments of darkness and help bring him back into the light. A shining example is ‘Happy,’ which was Richards’ attempt to force himself to cheer up and begin wearing a smile, even though it was the opposite of how he was feeling.
“I don’t write songs as a diary. None of them are autobiographical, but in some sense, they’re a reaction to certain emotions,” he once explained.
The lively track, which was recorded during the band’s notorious stay at Villa Nellcôte in Southern France, isn’t the most intricate song in the world, but there’s a beauty to the simplicity of it all. The writing process lasted just hours, as ‘Happy’ just flowed straight out of him, which helped lift Richards out of a creative rut.
Reflecting on that special writing session, Richards recalled, “Some of the best songs, some of the happiest ditties in the world come out because you’re feeling exactly the opposite. Sometimes you write to counteract that feeling. I was feeling anything but happy when I wrote ‘Happy.’ I wrote ‘Happy’ to make sure there was a word like that and a feeling like that.”
While his life was anything but happy, suddenly those worries dissipated once Richards had a guitar in his hand and could be anybody he wanted to be. Although it didn’t permanently solve his problems, it was a much healthier temporary fix than he was turning to during those days.
Many years later, Richards confessed that ‘Happy’ continues to lift his spirits when he needs a pick-me-up. While it’s not one of The Rolling Stones’ most famous tracks, it’s the one that Richards finds himself returning to most, adding, “I play ‘Happy’ quite a lot, more often than any of the others. I love playing it.”
Richards was deeply suffering when he wrote ‘Happy’, but through the magic of music, the track tricked him into feeling better and acted as a therapeutic way of dealing with his demons.
Now, whenever he’s feeling that way, he knows that he’s only one listen of ‘Happy’ from grinning like a Cheshire cat. While it may not be the song he’s most proud of writing from a technical perspective, there’s a reason why he finds himself returning to it more than anything else they’ve ever made.
