The one singer Keith Richards called “a nasty little bugger”
Over the course of his incredibly long and illustrious career, Keith Richards has rarely passed up on an opportunity to voice his opinions on other musical artists. Everybody from Black Sabbath to George Michael has come under fire from the legendary Rolling Stones guitarist, often for pretty flimsy reasons. As a key member of one of the biggest rock and roll bands of all time, Richards is afforded a status that is virtually untouchable, and he has certainly abused that position on more than one occasion.
Whichever way you spin it, The Rolling Stones were a truly iconic band during the 1960s. Representing the adolescent rebellion which rock and roll was originally built upon, Richards and company brought some much-needed energy to the world of old-school blues. From their initial formation in 1962, the band wasted no time in rising to the top of the rock and roll scene. Inevitably, the band’s rapid success caused a certain level of arrogance within the band’s line-up, as is evidenced in virtually every interview given by Richards.
Richards has good reason to be arrogant, as the timeless riffs of the Stones’ songwriter altered the world of rock and roll guitar indefinitely. Of course, being such a legendary musician, especially within an era like the 1960s, during which rock music dominated the cultural consciousness, Richards has been rubbing shoulders with fellow music icons for decades. Although the guitarist has managed to forge some friendships over the years, he has made a lot of enemies, too.
If The Rolling Stones represented the defiant rock world of the 1960s, then Bob Dylan encapsulated the socially conscious landscape of folk music. These worlds collided within the hippie counterculture era, which fostered an appreciation both for social realism and far-out rock and roll. Both Dylan and The Stones became synonymous with the counterculture age, and the artists crossed paths on a fairly regular basis. However, Dylan reportedly did not endear himself to the London rockers.
During a 2014 interview, Keith Richards reflected on the impact of Bob Dylan, seemingly showing an appreciation for the folk hero. “He showed you that rock ‘n’ roll didn’t need to be quite so restricted by that verse-chorus-verse formula,” he told NME, “We all pushed each other in those days.” Seemingly, the revolutionary sounds of Dylan did not fall on deaf ears in the case of Richards.
Nevertheless, the effects of Dylan’s music on Richard were second to his abrasive personality. According to the guitarist, “Bob’s a nasty little bugger,” explaining, I remember him saying to me, ‘I could have written ‘Satisfaction,’ Keith – but you couldn’t have written ‘Desolation Row.” I said, ‘Well, you’re right there, Bob!'”
Admittedly, a Bob Dylan cover version of the Rolling Stones classic ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ would be pretty interesting, though a Stones cover of ‘Desolation Row’ would be equally noteworthy.
Reportedly, the friendly competition between The Stones and Dylan stretches all the way back to 1966, when Dylan apparently claimed that The Hawks – later renamed The Band – were the world’s best rock band, taking that title from the Stones. These claims were never particularly proven, as The Band struggled to get anywhere close to the level of rock stardom that The Stones enjoyed, but it seems the comments were scathing enough to remain in Richards’ mind decades later.
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