“I’ve played with them all”: The one guitarist that left Keith Richards in heaven
Keith Richards has always been surrounded by the greats, absorbing the legendary auras of others until he became equipped enough to become one of those names himself. Joining The Rolling Stones as a teenager, the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle has almost always been the only thing he knows, with music forming a significant safety net whenever he feels himself entering the darkness.
In many ways, no one seems to come as close to the epitome of rock ‘n’ roll than Richards, who not only lived up to the lifestyle in countless ways but contributed to music that purposefully broke the mould. While The Beatles were taking the world by storm, adorned in clean, matching suits and “safe” music, the Stones leaned heavily into blues-rock, with music that tackled the kind of subjects that generated both excitement and controversy.
As a guitarist, this seemed like a path of destiny, considering he looked up to figures like Chuck Berry, who impressed him as a teenager when he admired how he would go up on stage and play “against the grain with a bunch of jazz guys.” In his mind, it showed him that an energetic and rebellious nature could infiltrate any musical corner, so long as you had the charisma to hold it up.
“To me, that’s blues. That’s the attitude and the guts it takes,” he said. “That’s what I wanted to be, except I was white.” Recognising his own restrictions, he took it upon himself to make rock as exciting as he knew it could be, utilising bands like The Beatles as significant touchpoints for how not to exchange energy with the crowd. Instead of playing it safe like that, the Stones would stand in direct defiance, no matter the disdain they generated in the process.
Richards never got a chance to play with many of his earlier heroes, but one that also stood out from the legendary blues spaces was John Lee Hooker, whose deep, gravelly voice and distinctive guitar playing could have stopped anybody in their tracks, leaving them entranced by such a mysteriously enticing noise emerging from a nearby clubhouse.
Hooker influenced countless pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll, mainly due to his perceived simplicity and its convergence with his indisputable edge, with the kind of blues rhythm and inherently soulful sound that captured the attention of genre-blending innovators like Richards and the rest of the band. Unlike his other heroes, however, Richards was actually lucky enough to play with Hooker, specifically for his album Mr. Lucky, which featured a rendition of the 1920s Delta blues classic ‘Crawling King Snake’.
This was a dream to Richards for many reasons, namely, because he constantly felt the need to pinch himself during the recording process while wondering how he went from admiring the innovator on screen growing up to playing alongside him in the studio. In his mind, experiences like that couldn’t be taken for granted and serve as a reminder that remaining humble is one of the best qualities in the business.
As he explained to Guitar Player, “Especially getting to play with him last year—that one track on Mr. Lucky, that ‘Crawling King Snake.’ When it comes to that stuff, I’m still like that kid at home, saying: ‘To just play one time with that guy, I’d be in heaven,’ you know.”
He continued: “But John Lee was the one I hadn’t played with until last year. I’d never got around to working with him. With him, there’s a break in the continuity of styles. What he picked up has got to come from like one generation further back than anybody else. He can still make it work now.”
