How Keith Richards’ Role in The Rolling Stones Sets Him Apart From Other Guitarists, According to Ronnie Wood
The Rolling Stones have been a working band for 60 years, and Keith Richards has been there from the beginning. His blend of blues and country gave the Stones a signature sound as they charted a course for the top of the charts. Ronnie Wood, who helped write a hit Stones song before joining the band, once said that Richards’ role in the Rolling Stones sets him apart from other superstar guitar players.
Keith Richards’ guitar style gives the Rolling Stones a unique sound
Most bands find success because each member brings something unique to the table. You know, the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.
Richards’ gave the Rolling Stones a distinctive sound with his unique style and feel, and liberal use of open G tuning (where a player tunes the low E to G).
The Stones’ lead guitarist never hid his criticism of other bands. Artists such as the Beatles, Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Bee Gees, and Blind Faith (with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Ginger Baker) couldn’t escape his fire. Richards even took aim and Mick Jagger.
Richards has been critical of other groups, but Wood has nothing but praise for his longtime bandmate. He joined the band in 1975, more than a decade after they debuted, but he’s been around long enough to know what Keith Richards means to the Stones.
Ronnie Wood once said the Rolling Stones follow Keith Richards’ lead
Music is all about timing. Guitar heroes such as Richards, Page, Pete Townshend, and Jimi Hendrix earn praise for their work, but drummers are almost always the force driving a band and keeping everyone on track.
Except for the Rolling Stones.
Wood said one thing has been clear to him all along — Keith Richards is the lifeblood of the band (per GuitarPlayer):
“In other bands, they follow the drummer. The Stones follow Keith, and they always have.”
Ronnie Wood explains Keith Richards’ importance to the Rolling Stones
Charlie Watts’ was one of the tightest drummers in rock music, so he certainly played a part in the Stones’ success. Still, Wood’s high praise has at least a shred of truth. Richards’ blues-based influences are evident in his songwriting throughout the Stones career. Many of those songs — such as the punchy chord progression on “Street Fighting Man,” and countrified blues of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” — gave the Stones some of their signature songs. You can almost hear Richards’ riffs just from reading the song titles, and we’ve only mentioned signature guitar parts from a snippet of the Stones’ catalog.
Yet, for Wood’s praise, Richards never put himself on a pedestal above his bandmates. He might be the member from which all the other Rolling Stones take their cue, but Richards never felt he was the biggest star. “The musicians are there to serve the band,” Richards once said, per GuitarPlayer. “All that matters is whether something furthers the overall sound.”
What does Richards think of Led Zeppelin? There was no love lost
Many rock fans would put Led Zeppelin in the conversation for one of the best or most impactful bands of the 20th century. Not Keith Richards. The Beatles didn’t escape his scorn, and neither did Jimmy Page’s most notable band.
Put simply, Richards didn’t like Led Zeppelin. Just after the band formed, Richards laid into John Bonham’s rhythmic assault and Robert Plant’s singing style. Zep multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones might have been too quiet or anonymous to earn a mention.
However, Page, who played on multiple Rolling Stones records, dodged Richards’ Zeppelin criticism. Page went from a grinding sessions musician to the Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin, earning Richards’ praise as the most overworked guitarist in the business.
No matter his opinion on other bands, Ronnie Wood clearly believes Keith Richard is the heartbeat of the Rolling Stones.
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