The moment Keith Richards got to record with his ultimate hero
It was a clear pattern back then. It was tough to find a musical legend that first burst onto the scene in the 1960s who wasn’t clearly chasing the shadow of a certain looming star. Sure, The Beatles would storm to world domination and the British invasion wave would come in strong and powerful, but none of it could hold a candle to Elvis Presley, and Keith Richards knew that.
Richards is definitely a part of that pattern. Before The Rolling Stones began, he was just like the rest of them, watching musicians on TV, buying records and becoming utterly obsessed with the idea of a rockstar and this future dream life he was only just daring to consider. Before he could even really play guitar, he was one of the many who heard Elvis’ music and seemed to be woken up to something.
“He hit like a bombshell,” the guitarist once said about ‘The King’ as one of the most formative forces in his musical life. But in reality, for Richards, it was less about Presley the man and always more about his band.
“Elvis fantastically fell into place with an incredible band,” he said, praising them adoringly as he added, “Bill Black on bass, Scotty Moore on guitar”. They were the first band he truly fell in love with. But it wasn’t all about the hits, and more about the nuance as he credits songs like ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, or lesser-known tracks, for turning him onto a whole new world of music. “It was a totally different way of delivering a song, a totally different sound,” he said, “stripped down, burnt, no bullshit, no violins and ladies’ choruses and schmaltz, totally different”. It was rock and roll still, but different, and for Richards, hearing it changed the game.
So then, imagine the scene. You’re a guitarist who has achieved major success based on an early love for Elvis, specifically an early love for Elvis’ band. Your phone rings—suddenly, you’re invited to come along and play with them.
That happened to Richards in July 1996 when he found himself in Woodstock recording with two of Presley’s essential players, Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana, as well as Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko of the Band. 20 years on from his death, the all-star cast was called in to celebrate Elvis with a unique tribute album that was some covers, some new material, and all played by legends inspired by him, alongside his own original band.
For the musician, it was a dream come true, especially to play next to Moore. “Everyone wanted to be Elvis. I wanted to be Scotty,” he said, revealing that the guitarist was his true hero all along, even more so than ‘The King’.
That was the win of the day. Sure, he was there playing these iconic songs that first kick-started his love for music. But in the studio, Richards was freaking out about getting to work side by side with the man who had been that initial spark, and it wasn’t Elvis, who was sadly no longer with them. Instead, much like how he has become a true guitarist’s guitarist, inspiring generations since, the player got to stand next to his own version of that and experience Moore in action, watching his hero play.
