“Very unprofessional, really”: The guitarist Keith Richards couldn’t bear to look at
You couldn’t walk down the street in London during the 1960s without bumping into half a dozen of the greatest guitarists to ever grace the airwaves. The city was chock-full of dedicated, inventive, and rebellious artists looking to renounce the status quo of post-war Britain and blaze a trail for themselves in the world of rock and roll. Contrary to popular belief, however, these guitarists were often in competition with each other, particularly in the case of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
Armed with a six-string and a deep appreciation for American blues, Richards joined the ranks of The Rolling Stones in 1962, immediately establishing himself as a poster boy for 1960s rock rebellion. The next few years saw Richards and the band rise rapidly, becoming one of the world’s most renowned rock outfits, beloved by the youth and feared by parents everywhere. Despite his infamous reputation, however, Richards was far from being the only blues-obsessed rock guitarist in 1960s London.
Another prominent axeman of the era was Jeff Beck, who came up in the same scene that made stars of the Stones. In fact, it was Ian Stewart who first introduced the young guitarist to the sounds of R&B while Beck was an art student in Wimbledon. Pretty quickly, though, Beck began to experiment with his guitar sound, incorporating a vast range of influences from jazz to blues to psychedelia. When he joined The Yardbirds in 1965, as a replacement for Eric Clapton, he immediately set himself apart from the rest of London’s guitar scene, penning innovative riffs for works like ‘Heart Full of Soul’.
While these inventive efforts might have made Jeff Beck a respected figure within the world of blues rock, they also inspired something of a rivalry with Keith Richards. After all, The Rolling Stones were chasing a similar kind of sound during that era, incorporating elements of psychedelia and employing the distinctive tones of a sitar on iconic tracks like ‘Paint It Black’.
Following on from the tragic death of Brian Jones in 1969, only a few weeks after he left the Stones, Beck was approached with an offer to join the band. However, Richards wasn’t overly keen on the idea, later reflecting, “We felt that Jeff had his own furrow to plow, and that he was not a team man.” Explaining, “He was a soloist to the max. He was such an individualist. It wouldn’t have worked with the Stones at all. We’re all about teamwork.”
Instead, Beck reinvented his band, The Jeff Beck Group, and began to delve further into his profound exploration of improvisational jazz soundscapes – something that wouldn’t have articularly suited The Rolling Stones. Still, Richards’ account of why Beck wasn’t chosen to play in the Stones gives a much more complimentary view of the guitarist than previous interview quotes.
Back in 1985, for instance, he told Spin, “Guitar players, for me, are the hardest ones to know, all this professional shit going on. Very unprofessional, really.”
Continuing, he added: “I mean, Jeff Beck and I, for years, could hardly stand the sight of each other.” Ultimately, though, the two guitarists managed to set their differences aside, eventually. “It’s only been over the last few years that that’s all fallen by the wayside,” Richards said.
“Thank God it’s all over, and we can sit around and have a drink and talk,” the guitarist concluded. “That’s a guy I admire a lot. He’s a great player.” Both Jagger and Beck were instrumental in establishing the revolutionary sounds of 1960s London, and both remain some of the greatest rock and roll guitarists to ever do it. Perhaps their rivalry played a role in spurring them on to create some of those timeless riffs.
