“Chuck Berry, He gives me more headaches than Mick Jagger,” rasps Keith Richards.
Even for a musician who has written pages and pages of music history, there will always be a song that he would have liked to write. So even for legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards there is a song he wished he had written. The 79-year-old British musician himself revealed it by answering on his Twitter account one of the simplest questions a fan can ask: 'What is the song you wish you had written?'
The unforgettable life and music of Chuck Berry are celebrated in this landmark feature film, capturing a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of rock 'n' roll’s finest! In 1986, Keith Richards invited a roster of brilliant musicians to honor Chuck Berry for an evening of music to commemorate Berry's 60th birthday.
“Run Rudolph Run” was cut in London with Richards accompanied by only Ian Stewart on piano and drummer Mike Driscoll.
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Even if you’re a rock guitarist who wouldn’t name him as your main influence, your main influence is probably still influenced by Chuck Berry. He is rock & roll in its pure essence.
Though generally credited to Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run” wasn’t penned by Richards' maker. Chuck amok made it zing, though, so much so that the seasonal standard assumes his lyrical empiricism. All the more reason, then, that Berry’s Frankenstein – Richards! – should follow in those footsteps by releasing his solo debut a decade prior to his initial X-pensive Winos LP.
Recorded in 1976 as the Rolling Stones shifted through concert material for the following year’s double album Love You Live, “Run Rudolph Run” was cut in London with Richards accompanied by only Ian Stewart on piano and drummer Mike Driscoll, borrowed from ex-Stones six-string razor Mick Taylor. The flip side, a meaty cover of Jimmy Cliff anthem “The Harder They Come,” came to life in Los Angeles two years later, directly after the conclusion of the group’s Some Girls tour in San Francisco. Keith, Ronnie Wood, and Austin’s Ian McLagan began tracking what became Emotional Rescue, at which point the two guitarists plied a bit of their beloved ragga.
The way he moved, especially in those early film clips; the exuberant ease when he laid down that rhythm was mystifying and something to behold. He used his whole arm to play. He used the shoulder and elbows. Most of us just use our wrists; I’m still working on the shoulder bit. Chuck was not one of those guitar players grimacing at every note he played, which is so common among us all. Chuck’s smiling as he’s playing that shit.
