The best bands in the world, according to Keith Richards
The 1960s was a period of profound cultural upheaval in the western world underpinned by the burgeoning rock ‘n’ roll scene. The decade saw the American blues-based rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s reach the shores of ol’ Blighty. Duly, the British responded with their invasion of the US charts, thanks to a generation of blues fanatics. No band illustrated this British blues response more than The Rolling Stones and their innovative guitarist, Keith Richards.
As the British rock scene bloomed throughout the ’60s, the sound and meaning of rock music began to transform rapidly. Groups like Pink Floyd and Cream ventured into the realms of psychedelia, while The Who and Led Zeppelin opted for an assault on the eardrums. Meanwhile, thanks to steadfast disciples like Keith Richards and, earlier on, Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones stuck with their beloved roots in 1950s rhythm and blues.
In 2008, The Stones hosted a project on their YouTube channel called ‘Living Legends’. For the feature, Richards was tasked with listing some of the bands that he saw as the best of all time. First up, he chose Elvis Presley and his backing band, The Hillbilly Cats.
“I would start personally with probably The Hillbily Cats, Elvis’s band,” Richards started. “[Guitarist] Scotty Moore, [drummer] D.J Fontana and [bassist] Bill Black. The most amazing stuff, and it was very early on.”
Richards further professed his love for Elvis and The Hillbilly cats in a 2001 chat with Classic Albums. “He hit it like a bombshell,” he said. “It was like the world went from black and white to technicolour. I guess they were the first white band that anybody heard of with a good lead singer that was sailable. They had the rhythm. The beautiful thing about Elvis was that he sort of turned everybody into everybody [and made people think] ‘maybe you can do it’.”
He added: “I was just as interested in the band as I was in Elvis. So I just considered him to be part of it, you know, Bill Black, Scotty Moore and D.J. Because the early ones [albums] didn’t have drums on it, this is the funny thing, he is the King of Rock and Roll, and some of his earlier records don’t actually have drums.”
“At the same time, Dave Bartholomew’s band that backed up Little Richard, Fats Domino – that was a great band [too],” Richards added.
Making no efforts to avoid the inevitable, Richards also namechecked The Beatles during his ‘Living Legends’ talk. “The Beatles, obviously! I mean, I sort of throw them in, obviously. I’m always caught with that ‘Your Top Five Favourites’ and everything because I realise I’m gonna leave people out. The other one is The X-Pensive Winos [laughs].”
In 2003, Richards discussed only fond memories of The Stones’ relationship with The Beatles in answer to a fan question on his ‘Ask Keith’ website. “John was a particularly good friend of mine,” he remembered. “Stories that cannot be told [laughs]. George was a lovely guy… And we’ve got Paul and Ringo… Paul… songwriter excellence! And Ringo… what a guy, what a steady backbeat.”
“They came to see us play, we were playing in a pub at Station Hotel in Richmond, that was our gig,” he added, remembering one of their early encounters. “It was the only one we really had, and everybody was having a good time and I turn around and there is these four guys in black leather overcoats standing there… ‘Oh fuck me, look who’s here!’ This was soon after ‘Love Me Do’. I mean this was really early on. This was late ’62, early ’63. From then on, we were always good mates. When [The Beatles had a] new single, we always made sure we didn’t clash because in those days, it was like every two months you had to have a new single.
“We would collaborate with each other, so we didn’t go head to head, because outside, it seemed like ‘you’re either Beatles or Stones’, never the twain shall meet… bullshit. I mean, between the two bands there was never any sense of competition; it was cooperation,” he concluded, putting age-old rumours to bed.
The final musician that Richards mentioned as one of his all-time favourites was Steve Marriott, the lead singer of Small Faces. “I always liked Steve Marriott, very much from the English point of view. You know, The Small Faces and then he had Humble Pie. I’m not gonna say, like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Black Sabbath, I would only be lying; they’re not my favourites. They are all good, I know them, they are all good players and everything, but as a band, no.”
In a 1983 interview published by Best Classic Bands, the late Marriott discussed his close and unique friendship with Richards. “He loves me,” he proclaimed. “He’s always been on my side. He got me out of the hole. So he’ll be around whatever happens. Whether he plays guitar, whether he pushes knobs, who cares? I’ll write on the back of [my new] album in big black letters, ‘Thank you, Keith, for bailing me out!’ My manager Moe says to me, ‘Ring Keith, ring Keith!’ and I said, ‘Fuck it—for once in my life I’d like to ring Keith and just go, ‘How are you?’ instead of, ‘Keith help me do this, Keith help me do that.’”
Watch Steve Marriott perform ‘All Or Nothing’ with The Small Faces live in 1966 below.
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