The easiest musicians Keith Richards ever worked with: “What it’s all about”
Iconic riffs, wild antics, and a truly legendary discography, Keith Richards is the archetypal figure of rock and roll guitar. From his early days as a blues devotee back in the 1960s to his current position as an elder statesman of classic rock, the Dartford-born musician has enjoyed an incredible career in the music industry, having amassed a plethora of wild stories and anarchic comrades along the way. After all, a rock and roll rebellion can not be achieved in isolation, and Richards’ best work has always come from collaboration and a blending of seemingly disparate sounds.
It was back in 1962 that the world was first exposed to the blues-centric sounds of The Rolling Stones, but it would take a few more years for the band to foster a reputation as the faces of youthful rock rebellion. That image permeated virtually every aspect of the band, from their haircuts to their otherworldly guitar tones, but it was most evident within their core songwriting. Inspired by the efforts of Lennon and McCartney, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began writing their own original material during the mid-1960s, culminating in some of the most iconic rock songs to ever grace the airwaves.
That core collaboration between Richards and Jagger is one of the prevailing reasons why The Rolling Stones have been afforded such an enduring career in rock, while many of their contemporaries have fallen by the wayside. However, the Jagger-Richards songwriting partnership is far from being the only collaboration to have spurred the band on throughout all those years. Richards, in particular, is somebody who has always benefitted from surrounding himself with a diverse range of musicians.
This is something that is perhaps best encapsulated within Richards’ often-overlooked solo material. In total, the guitarist has released three solo studio albums, the most recent of which came in 2015 with Crosseyed Heart. For a supposed solo record, the album features an extensive range of different performers and musicians, each providing a distinct sense of inspiration to the Stones’ guitarist over the course of the tracklisting.
Two of the figures on that album that seem to stand out among the rest are drummer Steve Jordan and guitarist Waddy Wachtel. Both musicians have performed on every Keith Richards solo album, in addition to having a few collaborations with The Rolling Stones themselves. Given his reputation – he’s a Rolling Stone, for god’s sake – Richards likely has musicians queuing up around the block for the chance to perform with him, so what is so special about those two in particular?
Well, aside from their obvious talents and extensive experiences in the rock and roll world, Richards shared in a 2015 interview that the pair are “great friends, known each other for years,” too. “I’ve always wanted to play with Waddy Wachtel; he’s one of the most simpatico players around that I could work with,” the Rolling Stone shared.
At the same time, Wachtel is not the only fellow guitarist that Richards finds it easy to get along with. “I have Ronnie Wood, who’s also simpatico,” he admitted. “And sometimes you can’t really put your finger on why, but you know that if you play something to somebody that he’s automatically going to pick up on what you’re doing and expand on it.”
“It’s great fun,” Richards concluded. “It’s always a learning experience. I love pushing around musical ideas with musicians — that’s actually what it’s all about for me.” So, it seems as though Richards’ days of debauchery, smashing up hotel rooms and becoming embroiled in drug busts are firmly behind him; he is content to jam with simpatico musicians, learning from their distinctive styles in the process.
