Keith Richards  1/23/1993
Universal Amphitheatre, Section 15, Row G, Seat 5, 6

"Keith Richards IS the Rolling Stones." It's an oft-heard statement that shocks casual Stones followers, yet elicits nods of agreement from many serious fans of the band. For while the public sees Mick Jagger as the leader of the Rolling Stones, it is Keith who writes the bulk of the band's music. Indeed, Keith's personality embodies the very essence of The Rolling Stones. Whereas Jagger is often considered to be insecure, and always very self-conscious about how he presents himself to other people, Keith is brash, angry, and unconcerned with what others think about him. It's this sort of "take me or leave me" attitude that gives classic Stones tracks their fire.

Musically, Keith has drawn from a wide variety of influences, to create a unique, and influential guitar style. After learning about the intricacies of tuning his guitar to open G (thanks to input from Ry Cooder), Keith began to explore this alternate tuning extensively, creating from it a whole style of guitar playing. Richards even went so far as to remove the low E string from many of his guitars, as he found it a hindrance when playing in open G. Although he doesn't always play in this tuning, if you study Rolling Stones tablature, and listen to their music, you'll begin to understand just how often it is used.

Keith Richards and a schoolmate, Mick Jagger, fell in together in the early 1960s and formed a band with Brian Jones. Losing and adding a few other band members along the way, The Rolling Stones made a name for themselves when their up-tempo covers (such as their version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away,") hit the charts in 1963 and 1964. In 1965 Richards and Jagger started writing their own songs and the hits piled up, fueled by Richards' bluesy, chunky guitar riffs. The Stones went on to a legendary career, recording and performing for the next three decades, and Richards lived up to their bad-boy image: hard-partying and indestructibility became his hallmark. The Rolling Stones' hits included "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Honky-Tonk Woman," " "Miss You" and "Start Me Up." In 1988 Richards released his first solo album, and since then he has worked both with the Stones and on other solo projects.