In late December, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards turned 80 years old. Is that really possible? The death-defying man who reportedly has consumed more drugs than a small city and can sometimes look like he’s well past the century mark, outliving most of his contemporaries? Somehow it is true, and Richards continues to be relevant as a member of the Stones, who recently released a new album, Hackney Diamonds, as well as an influence on up-and-coming guitar players.
Richards’ guitar style isn’t flamboyant, and his abilities are a polar opposite from those of the flashy “gunslinger” guitar players who aspire to fit as many notes in a measure as is physically possible—and often produce nothing memorable. Indeed, it is Richards’ lack of flash that makes him so unique. His ability to blend lead and rhythm guitar playing to create seminal riffs such as those heard in “Start Me Up,” “Gimme Shelter” or “Brown Sugar” provides him with a unique voice that’s powerful, dirty and musical all at the same time. Have you listened to “Paint It, Black” lately? Almost 60 years old, and it still sounds urgent.
Richards might not be considered cutting-edge, but he definitely strays from the norm when it comes to voicing his guitar. He often removes the low E string and tunes his instrument to an open G chord (G-D-G-B-D), which yields the riffs heard in “Start Me Up” or “Street Fighting Man.” And he used an open E tuning (E-B-E-G#-B-E) to create the guitar parts for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Gimme Shelter.”
Though these techniques are not unheard of, venturing out of the box certainly proved successful for Richards, giving him an alternate look to the six-string norm. He reportedly created the guitar sound for the “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” riff by playing an acoustic guitar into a cassette recorder, overloading the tape to get the distorted guitar sound we hear on the record. I’d consider that innovative, and it’d probably make a pretty cool plug-in (you heard it here first, folks!).
But by far the most important aspect of Richards’ guitar playing is that he plays for the song. There’s no self-indulgence, no biddly-biddly noodling or shredding solos. No meandering introductions or outros. His guitar parts serve the song, and his philosophy has obviously served him very well, providing a valuable lesson for anyone who makes music.
Across his 60 years of recording and performing, Richards has laid down more memorable guitar riffs than anyone can shake a stick at. And that makes him a force to be reckoned with. Happy Birthday Keith!
