The entire concept of modern rock guitar playing may as well just be music reminiscent of Keith Richards. Although he may not have been the flashiest guitar player in the world, Keef’s ability to put riffs together culminated in some of the most significant musical passages of rock’s glory days, from the band’s blues-infused roots to the genre experiments. While Richards may have been able to create unforgettable musical moments whenever he was behind the fretboard, the core of every great lick he wrote always circled back to the blues.
Starting as a scrappy blues outfit, The Rolling Stones gave Richards the perfect vehicle to refine his craft. Working off of Brian Jones, Richards would spend the first half of his career chasing after any great rock and roll lick that he could think of, mining through his record collection to put his spin on artists like Chuck Berry.
When Richards saw what could be done when creating his original material, he quickly turned himself into a riff machine, channelling his energy into the visceral sounds of rock and roll on ‘Satisfaction’. While The Beatles may have been laying the groundwork for the ‘British Invasion’, it would be Richards’ riffs that gave the band a menacing edge, almost like the evil twin version of the Fab Four.
Throughout the rest of the band’s career, though, Richards never sought to be a one-trick pony. Across the band’s genre experiments like Aftermath and Between the Buttons, Richards could still find ways to bend the traditional blues tropes into something more exciting, turning in a Chuck Berry-infused acid trip on tracks like ‘Miss Amanda Jones’ or sharing his massive love for country music on songs like ‘Wild Horses’ and ‘Coming Down Again’.
Then again, Richards didn’t come into his own until he figured out the wonders of alternate tunings. Throughout albums like Beggars Banquet, Richards would create songs that fell in line with the blues rockers that he idolised as a kid, even putting his unique spin on blues standards like Robert Johnson’s ‘Love in Vain’.
However, Richards was not always limited to the Stones. Throughout his solo catalogue, Richards always found ways of twisting his guitar playing into new and exciting directions, broadening his palette with funkier sounds on tracks like ‘Big Enough’. At the same time, Richards always worked best when he had a band to work off.
Despite having fantastic material throughout his solo career, some of his greatest highlights outside of The Stones have been when he’s working outside his comfort zone. Instead of the traditional rock and rollers that one would expect Richards to work with, he has contributed amazing material with everyone from reggae legend Lee Scratch Perry to accompanying Tom Waits on the song ‘Big Black Mariah’.
While Richards may have been lumped in with Mick Jagger as two halves of The Stones, what he has accomplished on his own still shapes how many aspiring rock guitarists approach the instrument. Although Richards may have seen himself as a sideman throughout his career, years of sitting at the side of the stage have led to an endless treasure trove of incredible music to choose from.
The 80 best Keith Richards songs:
- ‘Around and Around’ – 12 X 5
- ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You’ – The Rolling Stones
- ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’ – single
- ‘Time is On My Side’ – single
- ‘The Last Time’ – single
- ‘It’s All Over Now’ – single
- ‘Satisfaction’ – Out of Our Heads
- ‘The Spider and the Fly’ – Out of Our Heads
- ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ – single
- ‘As Tears Go By’ – single
- ‘Play With Fire’ – Out of Our Heads
- ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ – Aftermath
- ‘Under My Thumb’ – Aftermath
- ‘Goin’ Home’ – Aftermath
- ‘Paint It Black’ – Aftermath
- ‘Ruby Tuesday’ – single
- ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ – single
- ‘Connection’ – Between the Buttons
- ‘Miss Amanda Jones’ – Between the Buttons
- ‘Something Happened To Me Yesterday’ – Between the Buttons
- ‘2000 Light Years From Home’ – Their Satanic Majesties Request
- ‘She’s A Rainbow’ – Their Satanic Majesties Request
- ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ – single
- ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ – Beggars Banquet
- ‘No Expectations’ – Beggars Banquet
- ‘Street Fighting Man’ – Beggars Banquet
- ‘Stray Cat Blues’ – Beggars Banquet
- ‘Salt of the Earth’ – Beggars Banquet
- ‘Gimme Shelter’ – Let It Bleed
- ‘Honky Tonk Women’ – single
- ‘Midnight Rambler’ – Let It Bleed
- ‘Love in Vain’ – Let It Bleed
- ‘You Got the Silver’ – Let It Bleed
- ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ – Let it Bleed
- ‘Wild Horses’ – Sticky Fingers
- ‘Brown Sugar’ – Sticky Fingers
- ‘Bitch’ – Sticky Fingers
- ‘Dead Flowers’ – Sticky Fingers
- ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ – Sticky Fingers
- ‘Tumbling Dice’ – Exile on Main St
- ‘Happy’ – Exile on Main St
- ‘Sweet Virginia’ – Exile on Main St
- ‘Shine a Light’ – Exile on Main St
- ‘Rip This Joint’ – Exile on Main St
- ‘Angie’ – Goats Head Soup
- ‘Coming Down Again’ – Goats Head Soup
- ‘Star Star’ – Goats Head Soup
- ‘If You Can’t Rock Me’ – It’s Only Rock N’ Roll
- ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll – It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll
- ‘Memory Motel’ – Black and Blue
- ‘Crazy Mama’ – Black and Blue
- ‘Miss You’ – Some Girls
- ‘Respectable’ – Some Girls
- ‘Before They Make ME Run’ – Some Girls
- ‘Beast of Burden’ – Some Girls
- ‘Shattered’ – Some Girls
- ‘Emotional Rescue’ – Emotional Rescue
- ‘She’s So Cold’ – Emotional Rescue
- ‘Start Me Up’ – Tattoo You
- ‘Little T&A’ – Tattoo You
- ‘Waiting on a Friend’ – Tattoo You
- ‘Undercover of the Night’ – Undercover
- ‘Had It With You’ – Dirty Work
- ‘Slipping Away’ – Steel Wheels
- ‘Love is Strong’- Voodoo Lounge
- ‘Thru and Thru’ – Voodoo Lounge
- ‘Big Enough’ – Talk is Cheap (solo)
- ‘Whip It Up – Talk is Cheap (solo)
- ‘Big Black Mariah’ – Rain Dogs (Tom Waits)
- ‘Lee and Molly’ – Conscious Party (Ziggy Marley)
- ‘Runnin’ Too Deep’ – Main Offender (solo)
- ‘Anybody Seen My Baby’ – Bridges to Babylon
- ‘Thief in the Night’ – Bridges to Babylon
- ‘Paying the Cost to Be the Boss’ – Deuces Wild (BB King)
- ‘Rough Justice’ – A Bigger Bang
- ‘Streets of Love’ – A Bigger Bang
- ‘Trouble’ – Crosseyed Heart
- ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ – Blue and Lonesome
- ‘The Sweet Sounds of Heaven’ – Hackney Diamonds
- ‘Angry’ – Hackney Diamonds
