Keith Richards is an internationally recognized iconic figure in contemporary culture and popular music as a singer, guitar player, songwriter, film actor, and public figure. He was voted 10th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, and was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, as a founding member of the legendary rock band The Rolling Stones.
Born on December 18, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, England, UK, Keith Richards' father, Bert Richards, a factory worker, was injured during World War II. His mother, Doris (Dupree),introduced him to music of jazz, and also encouraged his singing performances with a choir in Westminster Abbey. Keith Richards met Mick Jagger when he attended primary school during the 1950s, albeit when they went into secondary schools they lost touch for a while. But one day in 1960, they accidentally met on a train and talked about starting up a band.
Since The Rolling Stones were formed in 1962, Richards and Jagger were continuously absorbing from many musical styles and assimilated various genres and artistic influences, ultimately creating their very own inimitable style. Together, they underwent transformation from semi-amateur local musicians to the leading international superstars.
In 1966, after The Beatles stopped giving live performances, The Rolling Stones took over as the unofficial "biggest touring band in the world" for the next few years. During 1966-1969, they toured the world, and constantly updated their song-list with many great hits like "Let's Spend the Night Together" (1967),"Sympathy for the Devil" (1968),and "Honky Tonk Woman" (1969).
The incredible international success of the Stones came with a sad side, caused by Brian's drug and alcohol abuse that impaired his speech and appearance, so the band-mates had to replace him. In July 1969, Brian Jones died of drowning in his swimming pool while having signs of drug overdose. Upon Richards's and Jagger's approval, guitarist Mick Taylor took Brian's place.
During the 1970s, The Rolling Stones remained the biggest band in the world, albeit they were rivaled by Led Zeppelin. The Stones made thousands of live performances and multi-million record sales with hits like "Angie" (1973),"It's Only Rock and Roll" (1974),"Hot Stuff" (1976),and "Respectable" (1978). At that time, both Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had individual ambitions, and applied their untamed creativity in various projects outside the Stones.
Outside of The Rolling Stones, Richards toured with The New Barbarians, and also was the front-man of the X-Pensive Winos in the 1980s. In 1985, Keith Richards took part in the "Artists United Against Apartheid" charity project, and has been a participant in many more charitable concerts ever since.
In 1992, he released his solo album titled 'Main Offender', which got him back on the road with a promotional tour. Also during the tour, he continued singing a few Stones songs. But individual career and solo performances did not bring Richards as much satisfaction as he experienced together with his writing partner.
Eventually, Jagger and Richards got together in Barbados and started to write new songs for the album "Steel Wheels." After the Stones recorded it, they went back on the road. It was the first tour of The Rolling Stones in 7 years. But in 1992, Bill Wyman announced that he was going to leave the group. In 1993, Keith Richards and his band released an album and toured for a few months. However, his artistic and personal connection with the Stones had eventually prevailed, and Richards reunited with his former band-mates.
In 1994, The Rolling Stones got back together again and recorded the album "Voodoo Lounge" and toured the world extensively. In 1995, an album of their warm-up gig in a pub in Denmark was released. It was an acoustic live album called "Stripped". In 1997, they released the album "Bridges to Babylon" and started a new tour promoting the album. In 1998, a live album "No Security" was released. Their 1999 tour ended and the group hasn't performed together until 2002.
At that time, Keith Richards continued playing guitar for various projects and artists, such as Norah Jones, and Aretha Franklin among others. Richards has been good friends with Johnny Depp, whom modeled the character of Capt. Jack Sparrow after him, including his voice, his mannerisms, his personality, and aspects of his appearance. In return, Johnny Depp invited Keith Richards to play his father, Capt. Teague, in the third installment of the "Pirates" franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
The Rolling Stones have released 55 albums of original
