The Rolling Stones song Keith Richards plays “more than any others”
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Keith Richards picks the “most overworked guitarist in the business”
Keith Richards, the lead guitarist of The Rolling Stones, is rightly regarded as one of music’s most eminent sages, and his long and celebrated career has seen him hit heights that many can only dream of achieving, bringing him into contact with some of our other most cherished figures.
Richards has never been afraid of sharing his thoughts on the work of everyone from David Bowie to Metallica, and more often than not, his opinions are often rather scathing. He famously once said of David Bowie: “It’s all pose. It’s all fucking posing. It’s nothing to do with music. He knows it too.”
Elsewhere, when comparing rock and reggae, explaining why he got sick of elements of the former, The Rolling Stones man threw a barb in the direction of both Black Sabbath and Metallica. He said: “Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath. I just thought they were great jokes… I don’t know where Metallica’s inspiration comes from, but if it’s from me, then I fucked up.”
For all of his criticisms directed at some of his most coveted peers, there is one outfit – and one man – for which Richards has saved some of his rare praise: Led Zeppelin and their legendary guitar hero, Jimmy Page.
“Jimmy Page is a great guitar player,” he once opined, “And a very respected one.” He then added in another interview: “To me, Led Zeppelin is Jimmy Page if you want to cut the story short.”
It’s understandable that Keith Richards has been highly complimentary of Jimmy Page over the years. Not only was he the main songwriter in the swaggering rock ‘n’ roll leviathan that was Led Zeppelin, but he was also their producer and creative director. Without his efforts, it is certain that they would not have risen so quickly, filling the hole that The Beatles left with such ease.
Clearly, Page’s importance to the band was there for all to see, let alone his contemporaries such as Keith Richards, who was also acutely aware of just how vital Page was to Led Zeppelin.
Speaking to Trouser Press in 1977, Page remembered both Richards and bandmate Ronnie Wood going to a Zeppelin show a couple of years earlier. “You ought to get another guitarist,” Richards allegedly said to Page afterwards. “You’re rapidly becoming known as the most overworked guitarist in the business.”
Page maintained that he thought Richards’ thoughts were “quite amusing” but that Led Zeppelin didn’t need a rhythm guitarist, despite how complicated it could be to bring their multi-layered tracks into the live setting. “There are times when I’d just love to get another guitarist on, but it just wouldn’t look right to the audience,” he expressed.
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