I’m reading Life by one of my idols, Keith Richards -- a beautifully written account of not only Keith-ness, the true blue rock “n” roller, the pirate half of the Glimmer Twins, the innovator, the icon of sound and style, the coolest of the cool, and yet, as the song goes -- the absolute salt of the earth.
It’s witty, smart, ribald, hilarious, brutally honest, passionate, philosophical, romantic and filled with deeply felt discussions of music -- music he loves, music he learned from, the creation of his songs and riffs, how he pushed the boundaries and those who influenced him along the way -- from Chuck Berry to Muddy Waters to his greatly missed mate -- Gram Parsons.
And there’s a lot about heroin, Mick, those famous tours and outdoor venues (Altamont), "Wild Horses" (which I wrote about here), and then … Anita. And of course, much, much more. Keith is an original, a rare kind of bad boy: He’s actually a gentleman. Read it. If you’re not in love with him already, you’ll fall hard for the guy. I hope Keith lives forever.
Click here, on my Tumblr blog to see more pictures of Richards in all of his Glimmer glory.
I often quote it by starting the quote with "from the book of Keith.... Chapter __Verse__"
Posted by: DarinR | June 15, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Don't you mean, Keef? ;o)
Posted by: Jdmac44 | June 15, 2011 at 02:29 PM
Keef gets a bad rap BUT he is one talented son of a gun. I mean he usually lops off the sixth string of his guitars and plays only five,how cool is that? Playing wise he might have been overshadowed by Mick Taylor and Brian Jones but they never had the charisma of a Keef.
Posted by: Butch | June 16, 2011 at 12:04 PM
I just finished reading this as well. What really struck me was Keiths absolute dedication to the music both his own and the music that inspired him . Also gems about hitting on having only 5 strings and opening up a new sound ,amazing .
There's also what i think a big clue as to how he's survived . He was a Boy Scout and a good one too.
Posted by: Neil | June 17, 2011 at 02:25 PM