Keith Richards’ favourite guitarists of all time: “He was my hero”
The unstoppable guitarist for the equally inimitable Rolling Stones, the walking medical marvel currently defined in his human state as Keith Richards, is a mythical figure in rock and roll. Not only are his off-stage exploits unmatched, but his guitar style, while not always technically proficient, is so unique and utterly dripping with style that he is rightly considered within the argument of the greatest guitarists of all time.
While the brutal snorts of derision towards such an argument are worthy of the plhegm flecked breath used to provide them, there is a whole host of unforgettable rock anthems that simply wouldn’t have existed without Richards’ abilities on the six-string.
Forget noodling solos and unwelcome swishing of extensively over-shampooed hair as spotlights glimmer and fingers work up and down a fretboard like a child’s magician assuring his audience they are, in fact, being dazzled. Richards was the real deal, he was every part of the rock and roll lifestyle and embodied the music that made us all go wild. Without him and The Rolling Stones, music at large, would be a very sombre place.
Not only did The Rolling Stones breathe new and dangerous energy into the pop music scene when they arrived in the 1960s, but they did so by paying homepage to the past. It means that while Richards was the face of a new sound, he was still indebted to those before him, and he knew it.
If there’s one man who has painstakingly given every single bit of his mind, body and soul to the guitar it has to be Keith Richards. An expert player, the ultimate riff machine, an undoubted vibe merchant, and as it turns out, he has fantastic taste in music.
So while we could go on for an eternity about the self-described style of Keith Richards, “five strings, two fingers, one asshole,” we thought we should reflect on those artists whom Richards deems musical heroes. For, looking into the skill of Richards is to see the roots of the genre and the impossibly wonderful guitarists who shaped the greatest rhythm player ever.
George Harrison
While varying members of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have taken shots at the other during their time, Keith Richards has always held a special affection and appreciation for the late great George Harrison.
Richards noted his style and, as reported by Harrison’s Stories, the Stones guitarist thought he was better than some of the instruments greatest players for one subtle reason. “The thing is, you’ve got your Jimi Hendrix, you’ve got your Eric Clapton, and then you’ve got guys who can play with bands,” Richards said. “George was a band and a team player.”
“People get carried away with lead guitars […] and feedbacks,” Richards noted, highlighting the lack of integrity he gives to pure soloists. “And it’s all histrionics, when it comes down to it.” It’s a position that Richards has maintained throughout his career. Being a guitarist wasn’t about being the main man, it was about being an integral part of a gang, “George was an artist but he was also a fucking craftsman,” concluded Richards.
Muddy Waters
When speaking candidly about perhaps his most obvious inspiration, Keith Richards mentioned a host of impressive players: “I listened to every lick he played and picked it up. Chuck got it from T-Bone Walker, and I got it from Chuck, Muddy Waters [whom Keith has played with], Elmore James and BB King.”
While being lumped in with a group of players may feel like a slight on Waters’ skills, the truth is a, Richards held those men in the highest regard of all, so to be even mentioned near them was to be anointed as one of the most inspirational men in Richards’ life.
While they may have met in strange ways, Richards would not only be graced enough to share the stage with Waters but shamelessly endorse the performer whenever given someone’s grateful ear to speak to.
Elmore James
Often thought of as one of the more underrated players of his day, Elmore James can have the distinction of being regarded as both one of Keith Richards, The Beatles, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix’s favourite six-string players of all time.
Known quite simply as the ‘King of Slide Guitar’, the influence of James on Hendrix’s career was immense, but he also shaped Richards and seemed to be another lightning rod for his talent, as Richards explained: “We’re all part of this family that goes back thousands of years. Really, we’re all passing it on.”
BB King
Of all the giants to grace the blues, BB King was the one who knew that feel would always beat flash. While others chased speed or precision, King made every note ache with something deeper—like each one was being gently torn from somewhere inside him. He didn’t need to race through scales or dazzle with dexterity; instead, he’d hold a note so long it felt like the room might break before he let it go. And in that silence, in that space between the notes, the whole world would lean in, waiting to hear what his soul had to say next.
Now, it is a fair assumption to think that, bearing the above in mind, Richards was simply more interested in what King sounded like rather than replicating him. However, it’s easy to see the one major influence Richards took from the master: to give himself over to the music.
As King passed, Richards paid tribute by saying: “The passing of BB King is a great loss for me and everyone who loves music.” Thankfully, Richards also got to play with King, chalking up another hero with whom he had shared the stage.
Scotty Moore
Another member of the pantheon of guitar players according to Keef, was Elvis Presley‘s man with the axe, Scotty Moore. An often overlooked yet influential figure of guitar playing. He epitomised the style that Richards would hold so dear.
Though he wasn’t the technical player Jimmy Page is, for instance, Moore could certainly make your toes tap, and to Richards, that is about as good as it gets. Speaking with Rolling Stone, he told the magazine, “Scotty Moore was my hero. There’s a little jazz in his playing, some great country licks and a grounding in the blues as well. It’s never been duplicated. I can’t copy it.”
The guitarist remembered Moore after his death, “He was a gentle, unassuming guy. He liked his scotch – they didn’t call him Scotty for nothing. In 1996, I went up to Woodstock to do a session at Levon Helm’s barn with Levon, Scotty and Elvis’ drummer D.J. Fontana.”
“I’ve gotten used to playing with my heroes,” effused Richards. “I played with Little Richard in his dressing room when I was 19, thinking, ‘This’ll do!'” but this was the crème de la crème. It was a session of good old boys. There was plenty of whiskey that day. There will never be another Scotty Moore.”
Chuck Berry
If you’re relatively well-read on Richards and The Rolling Stones you’ll know that they are indebted most handsomely to one man, Chuck Berry. As well as the band covering many of his songs, and Berry’s record even being the reason lost childhood friends Richards and Mick Jagger reconnected, Berry was the reason Richards picked up a guitar.
“When I started, all I wanted to do was play like Chuck [Berry]. I thought if I could do that, I’d be the happiest man in the world,” Richards once remarked of the iconic rock and roller. Speaking with Rolling Stone, he shed some more light on the moment Berry spoke to him and the performance he gave on a landmark film. “When I saw Chuck Berry in Jazz on a Summer’s Day as a teenager, what struck me was how he was playing against the grain with a bunch of jazz guys,” the avid jazz-lover himself, the dissent sparked life into an idea for Richards. “They were brilliant — guys like Jo Jones on drums and Jack Teagarden on trombone — but they had that jazz attitude cats put on sometimes: ‘Ooh… this rock and roll…’ With ‘Sweet Little Sixteen,’ Chuck took them all by storm and played against their animosity.
“To me, that’s blues. That’s the attitude and the guts it takes. That’s what I wanted to be,” Richards mused. During the same interview, the guitarist also mentioned a few other notable guitarists from whom he got “it”. What that “it” really is, is anyone’s guess. But we’d guess it was connected directly to the soul.
