Keith Richards: “This Is What I Play When I Play Guitar for Myself”
Keith Richards recently revealed the music he plays when he plays guitar just for himself.
His answer came in response to a question posed on “Ask Keith Richards,” the web video series that gives fans a chance to ask questions of the Rolling Stones guitarist.
“When I pick that thing up at home, I play other people’s songs,” he says.
“Sometimes it leads into an idea, another song. All of these guys, in a way, inspired [me] to come up with something new.”
Check out his complete answer below. Be sure to see what he answered when asked which guitar he would own if he could have only one.
In other news, the Rolling Stones recently released a snippet of a new track from their upcoming blues album, their first studio release since 2005’s A Bigger Bang.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.
“If he were just a pop guitar player, he would be a legend – this cat is arguably one of the greatest players to ever exist”: Cory Wong and Andy Timmons on the brilliance of George Benson, and his essential contributions to the guitar vocabulary
“You don’t want the soul to be detached from things because you’ll just have gratuitous shredding”: Marcus King on the current state of the guitar scene – and why there's hope for the future