Keith Richards

Keith Richards (born December 18 1943 in Dartford, Kent), is a British guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with The Rolling Stones, the band he founded with vocalist Mick Jagger and Brian Jones in 1962. In addition to his work with The Stones, Richards also has worked as a session guitarist with artists as varied as Gram Parsons, Tom Waits, Bono and The Edge of U2, Nona Hendryx, John Phillips and Aretha Franklin.

What makes his music special

Richards' guitar style evolved over the life of The Stones. In the 1960s, greatly influenced by Chuck Berry, he played a traditional, but distinctive, rhythm guitar in counterpoint to the more flamboyant lead style of Brian Jones (who once gave Richards guitar lessons). His teaming with Mick Taylor, the replacement for Jones who was fired in 1969, is considered by many the high point of The Stones' musical career. Three albums made in this period, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers & Exile on Main Street, along with Beggars Banquet represent the musical highpoints of The Stones' recorded canon.

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Guitar - Chuck Berry - Rhythm guitar - Mick Taylor - 1969

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Strongly influenced by the work of Ry Cooder, Richards developed his trademark playing style in the 5-string open G tuning (GDGBD, with the 6th low E string removed, or as he has it, "5 strings, 3 notes, 2 fingers and one arsehole to play it") during this period. Songs which typify his open-G style include "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up." Richards has made clear that he considers the years he has played with Ron Wood (1975 - date), in a style of mixed lead and rhythm playing which has been termed "the ancient art of weaving," as his most musically satisfying.

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Ry Cooder - Open G - Ron Wood

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Richards contributed harmony to every Stones album, and had lead vocals on a track on almost every album since Let it Bleed. "Happy" from Exile on Main Street charted as a single in the United States as high as number 22, in 1972. From the country twang of "The Worst" to the piano pleadings of "Sleep Tonight", and reggae feel of "You Don't Have to Mean It" Richards has carved himself an original and well received place on all The Rolling Stones records.

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Richards is often seen playing a Fender Telecaster although he has used a wide variety of instruments including Gibson Les Paul and Gibson ES-335 models, and Music Man Silhouettes. His main Telecaster is named "Micawber". He often plugs into Fender Twin and Bassman amplifiers, and has used various other amplification including Marshallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Amplifiers, Voxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vox_%28musical_equipment%29, Boogiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Boogie, and Ampeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampeg.

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Fender - Telecaster - Gibson Les Paul - Gibson ES-335

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