What is a wiseman? What is a prophet? Someone with a strange, unflappable demeanor. Someone who speaks in cryptic koans, words whose meanings take years to unravel. Someone who has confronted death, God, sin, and the immortal soul. Someone unfit for this world, but too brilliant to depart it. Someone--in short--like Keith Richards.
"The only things Mick and I disagree about is the band, the music and what we do." "I would rather be a legend than a dead legend." Or "Whatever side I take, I know well that I will be blamed."
Elton John? “An old bitch… His writing is limited to songs about dead blondes.”
Not merely a compendium of wisdom, this book is also a complete guide to the inner workings of a complex and inspired belief system, and the life of a man sanctified by fame. What Would Keith Richards Do reminds us to learn from our mistakes, let our instincts lead us, and above all, do what Keith has done better than anyone--survive.
- If you don't know the blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.
-The Beatles were basically a vocal band.
- I mean some doctor told me I had six months to live and I went to their funeral.
“That was the biggest fear. I'd rather clean up before I went on the road. It's bad enough cleaning up by yourself, but the idea of putting the whole tour on the line because I could'n make it was too much; even for me”
Good music comes out of people playing together, knowing what they want to do and going for it. You have to sweat over it and bug it to death. You can't do it by pushing buttons and watching a TV screen.
Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll.
I don't trust doctors. It's not to say there ain't some good ones, but on a general level, no, I wouldn't trust 'em at all.
If you're going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use both feet
To make a rock'n'roll record, technology is the least important thing.
You didn't know whether Chuck Berry was black or white - it was not a concern.
Yes, I've been trepanned. That's quite an interesting experience, especially for my brain surgeon, who saw my thoughts flying around in my brain.
Another thing to do with the blues is how they were recorded. They were done on the quick, and some of that stuff was made on wire, not even tape, let alone digital.
