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Life

by Keith Richards

3.77 · rating details · 8,696 ratings · 1,848 reviews

A true and towering original, he has always walked his own path, spoken his own mind, and done his own thing.

Reluctant outlaw, rock 'n' roll's unparalleled hellraiser, and one of the greatest guitar gods of all time, Keith Richards has forged a life that most of us can only imagine--and often envy. And amazingly he's lived to tell about it. Now, at last, in his...more

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Published (first published January 1st 2009)

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Jun 05, 2011

Steve rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: biography, letters-memoirs-etc, non-fiction, rock-country-etc

I started listening to the Rolling Stones back in the early 1970s. “Hot Rocks” (an early “greatest hits collection – and still one of the best by any band), “Sticky Fingers,” “Exile on Main Street,” “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” etc. In terms of the group and its history, I caught them in their second wave, the one where they had morphed into the “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.” I saw the band once, during their “Tour of the Americas” tour (the one where Ron Wood joined the band). I hung...more

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Sep 28, 2011

Velvetink rated it

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Shelves: autobiography-memoir, music-musicians-singers-etc, 2011-read

Growing up in Dartford for Keith – was somewhere to get out of. After WWII it was pungent with horse manure & desperation and he never forgot the story that he was born in an air raid shelter. It wasn’t London. It wasn’t hip or cool - it was the backside of the wrong side of the tracks. But when his father Gus gave him an old wooden guitar and showed him a few chords and licks, London loomed closer. Especially after he could play “Malaguena” and managed to escape National Service – that gre...more

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Nov 09, 2010

Kp rated it

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Shelves: memoir

It was fascinating! If you have always loved The Rolling Stones and rock and roll and have a lot of nostalgia about the 60's... then I think you'd find Keith Richards memoir fascinating, too. It is long, but most of the time, well, I was just blown away hearing about all the stuff Keith Richards did. He has a great conversational style; listening was fun - kind of like sitting in the living room hearing him tell about his life (with help from Johnny Depp and one other reader.) What really shi...more

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Sep 14, 2011

F.R. rated it

· review of another edition

Keith Richards’ autobiography starts really well and holds that momentum for a long time; although when it reaches the period covering the Eighties it does fall somewhat into score settling, and after that becomes somewhat bland and without spark. As such you have to hand it to this book, it really does mirror The Rolling Stones’ career.

Ghost writer James Fox does a fantastic job of catching his master’s voice. No doubt Keef was sat down in front of a microphone and told to talk about ...moreKeith Richards’ autobiography starts really well and holds that momentum for a long time; although when it reaches the period covering the Eighties it does fall somewhat into score settling, and after that becomes somewhat bland and without spark. As such you have to hand it to this book, it really does mirror The Rolling Stones’ career.

Ghost writer James Fox does a fantastic job of catching his master’s voice. No doubt Keef was sat down in front of a microphone and told to talk about his life into tape after tape after tape, but from there Fox has managed to create a seamless narrative whilst rendering the subject’s personality. It really does seem as if Keith Richards is talking to you, sharing all his best anecdotes in his avuncular growl – all the time throwing around such terms as ‘cat’, ‘babe’, ‘bitch’ and so on. (I imagine the audiobook of this would be a real treat.) There are some odd points: for example, the book never addresses the fact that for the first fifteen years of his career Keith Richards was known as Keith Richard. I always assumed that Andrew Loog Oldman (their then manager) tipping his cap to the far softer British rock’n’roll icon Cliff Richard. But there is no real tackling of The Peter Pan of Pop, apart from Keith seeming to take glee in Cliff’s run of British hits ending when he decided to record a Jagger/Richards track.

Part of the problem with this book losing steam is that I think Richards appreciates that after ‘Start Me Up’, the Stones never produced another great song. As such those later sessions do not have the attention to detail that he gives to ‘Exile on Main Street’ or ‘Let It Bleed’. He does however give a spirited defence against charges of the band selling out with their mega-tours, just saying that they want to play music and this is the best way to do it. And after spending six hundred pages with the man, it’s hard to begrudge him that love of performing. Particularly as the majority of people who buy this book will certainly consider buying a ticket the next time the Stones hit the road.(less)

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Sep 12, 2011

Robin rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: memoir-rock

Did y'all know that Keith Richards is a huge booklover and once wanted to be a librarian?

Aug - I finally decided this was the quintessential summer read so read it on our camping trips. Having been a fan since the Stones first came on the scene (I vacillated between loving them and the Beatles) I was interested in learning more about the early days and how he has managed to stay alive (we are all aware that he looks like the living dead). I also wanted to know more about the song ...more

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Feb 07, 2011

David Cerruti rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Guitar players, Rolling Stones fans

5 stars for the music – the best part. Guitarists will appreciate the description of how Keith came up with 5 string open G tuning, which he often used.

4 stars for historical detail.

2 stars for long rambling tales of drug use and the resulting busts. Much of it sounds like Keith talking to a tape recorder. It wasn’t all boring. The keystone cops and courtroom episodes were funny. The Stones had some good lawyers. Anyone else would have gone to jail.

A bonus sta...more

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Jan 18, 2011

Ann M rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, been-reading-for-awhile

It starts off with a story of not getting booked on felony drug charges in Arkansas because they have on tour with them a good ol' boy lawyer who happened to be having a barbecue at the judge's house when they got busted. There's a press conference, the judge is hammered with a pint of booze hidden in his sock, the redneck chief of police is threatening to arrest him for public drunkenness. Their car has cocaine bursting from the side panels, but the lawyer prevents a search. They hug the judge ...more

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Jun 06, 2011

Michael G. rated it

· review of another edition

Obviously Keith didn't write this as you or I would write. He talked his memories into a tape recorder then someone transcribed his words into book form. It was great!

Keith had a bowl of sugar or smack or some shit that he enjoyed by big hands full. In my youth, I licked the end of my pinkie finger, stuck it into that same bowl and had a taste. I still remember that taste; I loved it! I did the weekend garage/dance band thing, but chose not to follow it in favor of marriage, fat...more

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Jan 04, 2012

Felicia Holtz rated it

· review of another edition

Keith has always fascinated me. There's that joke about the end of the world and there will be cockroaches and Keith. He would enjoy that joke. He has a great voice, it's very stream-of-consciousness and shot from the hip. I did read it immediately after reading a biography of him so camparing the two points of view was enlightening. As with most (all?) autobiographies, he certainly airbrushes over the unsavory parts, but to his credit he mentions that a great party is the one you don't remember...more

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Nov 18, 2010

Allyson rated it

· review of another edition

What can I say?
I am a fervent Stones fan, more of a Mick than Keith although Andrew loves Keef and has shown me the "way." But it is the combination of the group that makes the band, and the times they have lived through. KR makes this abundantly clear throughout Life and is at times all possible sides of a character: arrogant, nasty, mean, kind, loving, fun, crazy, menacing, clueless, dangerous, and incredibly talented while still being very modest. This book is amazing, sound...more

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Dec 06, 2010

Lisa Wilhelm rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Musicians, Music fans, Rolling Stones fans

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I haven't even finished this yet and I can tell you it's amazing. The life of Keith Richards is very storied and in some cases, surprising. Apparently, for example, he used to get the shit beat out of him at school when he was a kid. Used to spend the entire day trying to figure out how to get home without running into the two kids who beat the crap out of him every day, until one day he fought back.

More importantly than the surprises though, at least to me, is his musical knowledge. ...more

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Nov 27, 2010

CD rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography-memoir, pop-culture-music, 1960-s, music-history

The Keef's memoir is a lot more than I expected and better than so many of the Rock n' Roll biographies that have crossed my path lately. More 'narrated' memoir than formal biography, this work is told in a mostly chronological order with the necessary flashback/forwards as required.

Richards and whatever writer(s) and editors aided in the storytelling, spin a yarn that rolls across the decades of his and the Rolling Stones lives like a tour bus on a pot holed local road on the way to...moreThe Keef's memoir is a lot more than I expected and better than so many of the Rock n' Roll biographies that have crossed my path lately. More 'narrated' memoir than formal biography, this work is told in a mostly chronological order with the necessary flashback/forwards as required.

Richards and whatever writer(s) and editors aided in the storytelling, spin a yarn that rolls across the decades of his and the Rolling Stones lives like a tour bus on a pot holed local road on the way to some gig. Bumps, bruises, confrontations, breakdowns and for many a lot of fun and for a few not so much festoon the ride of The Keef.

Keith Richards, "The Keef", notorious for his life of excess denoted from his introduction of himself in actual life as "The Keef" because of articulation problems due to substances and circumstance on board that would slow down anyone, weaves stories that are not always consistent but probably as true as any told. Some of the incidents related in this book will seem to many readers 'out there', but one only needs looks at the modern day recollections of those who traveled, even briefly, with the Stones to begin to feel their veracity. Writers and journalists, one after another have twenty or thirty years later revealed that a few weeks or months hanging out with the band resulted in a stay in rehab. But first, the time spent with the Stones got foggy towards the end. So cars, planes, buses and houses full of drugs along side all of the related stories can be tolerated as likely factual as it will ever get.

The arrests and other public incidences as a matter of record are there for any one to find. It is the sheer volume of decades, yes decades, of craziness and the absolute totally disregard for any social norm for many of the crowd in this story that make for such an unbelievable story. After all if you are not going to believe a Boy Scout, who are you going to trust?

Yes, Keith Richards was a Boy Scout! Literally a merit badge wearing, three finger salutin', old lady across the street helpin' follower of Sir Baden-Powell. Even years later, in some twisted moment of irony, at the time of the Boy Scout Centennial celebration Richards finds himself standing at attention (or as much as his condition allowed) in a hotel room somewhere in the world when the festivities come on television saluting once more all that is Scouting. Combined with his childhood it may by his own acknowledgment have contributed to his ability to survive.

From early childhood and his parents survival of the Blitz to the present of a bunch of real survivors still playing out, Life is an unusual ride. From the best unintentional explanations in print of the underlying meanings of Pink Floyd songs (and this is obscure unless you know the lyrics to most of their songs) as a childhood memory, Richards memories not the PF guys, to moments of clarity resulting in one of his children being raised by his mother, to his own son being used as a roadie, to borderline violence page after page, to marital discourse, wife swapping, and every other thing you've ever heard, it is buried somewhere in this book.

As this is a far better written and constructed piece of prose than the typical R'n'R memoir/biostory, it is for me a true 'goodread'. Three stars as a biography as it partially poses as an autobio form and it does have some flaws. Mostly though, it is the best of the genre I've read in many years! (less)

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Jul 08, 2011

Abeer Hoque rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: i-recommend

I picked this book up because it was lying around the art colony where I was living for a month, and because NYT op-ed columnist, Maureen Dowd, of all people, had said Keith Richards had come off surprisingly chivalrously (high praise for a free swinging rock and roll star).

"Life" by Keith Richards, the guitarist for the British band the Rolling Stones, starts off like some druggie teenage wet dream, all groupies and pills and party attitude. Now, I'm a wannabe druggie tee...more

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Aug 31, 2011

Scarlet rated it

· review of another edition

I don't like Mick Jagger's voice so I'm not a Rolling Stones fan, and normally wouldn't have read this book. But all of the NY Times' book reviewers put it in their lists of top books in 2010, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

It's surprisingly good. Not the party-hearty memoir I was expecting. A fair amount of discussion about music theory and how it plays out in the Stones' music, which was totally unexpected and really interesting. I really liked reading about how some of the most ...more

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Feb 12, 2011

Cindy rated it

· review of another edition

I want this book to stay on my book shelf even though I am not going to waste my time finishing it. I didn't want to delete it so I knew no other way to give my review but to give it some kind of star and to say that I had read it without getting "You started Life so many days ago" from my GoodReads newsletter. I DO NOT recommend this book to anybody. Not even a die hard Rolling Stones fan. Everything I wanted to find out about the Stones in this book, just wasn't there. Poorly wr...more

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Feb 21, 2011

John rated it

· review of another edition

At times fascinating, at others simply strange. Reading it, I feel as if I know much more about the Stones than I did before, but found his selective memory (despite the admonition on the inside flap that "Believe it or not I haven’t forgotten any of it") maddening at times. He offers great detail about some periods -- the band's formation (good) and the recording of Bridges to Babylon (not so good) -- and ignores others. The band's early recordings are dealt with in some detail, but t...more

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Feb 19, 2011

Natalie rated it

· review of another edition

What can you say about this book, except:

whats this guys liver made of? for crying out loud, I would have been dead 20 years ago... and he is still going and going and going like powered by Duracell... or driven by VW beetle...

Even for those not specially in to the Stones a great and fun read... and for those who are, a MUST...

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Aug 16, 2011

Nancy Hinchliff rated it

· review of another edition

I'm a little surprised that this book is so well written, coming from a rock star who was zonked out on drugs for so many years. Don't know how much help he had, but he's done a great job. The book is very long. I'm only on pg. 250 and I'm not even half finished. It concentrates mostly on how the Rolling Stones got together in England and documents their journey and success right up to the present time. Richards also includes lots of info on other groups, the drug culture and the times (1960s an...more

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Jan 30, 2012

Alane Kataria-Rennie rated it

· review of another edition

I read this for my book club and would never have read it otherwise.

My family and I are Beatles people and not really Stones people so I didn't have as much natural interest in their history. However, I was fascinated to learn that the Stones didn't begin as the Stones really, but just aimed to be the best blues group in London. Keith Richards learned guitar at an early age, but didn't consider himself a songwriter until later.

I didn't find the writing especially compelling. ...more

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Jan 16, 2012

Alex rated it

· review of another edition

I grew up in a Beatles household, and a household that considered there to be a firm line between Beatles households and Stones households. I don't think we owned one Stones album, ever. I knew them from the radio, of course, but that was about it. My mother is a Paul McCartney fan. I think that says it all.

I had read the reviews of Life, and they said it was a good hedonistic, anti-Jagger romp. I would agree on the latter but not on the former. Mick Jagger comes off quite poorly in ...moreI grew up in a Beatles household, and a household that considered there to be a firm line between Beatles households and Stones households. I don't think we owned one Stones album, ever. I knew them from the radio, of course, but that was about it. My mother is a Paul McCartney fan. I think that says it all.

I had read the reviews of Life, and they said it was a good hedonistic, anti-Jagger romp. I would agree on the latter but not on the former. Mick Jagger comes off quite poorly in this volume, so if you are a Jagger fan, avoid it.

I, as it turns out, am a Richards fan, and not a Jagger fan. I never knew this before — hell, I'd never given Keith Richards much thought, other than "wow, that man looks like he has been through a lot" when it occasionally surfaced in the news as a pirate or someone who'd fallen out of a tree. (Both episodes are covered in some detail in this volume.)

Richards comes off as the musical heart, and perhaps philosophical heart, of the Stones. Perhaps it's the writing, ghost-writing, and presentation, but I felt like this was the kind of rock-and-roller I could identify with. He's grateful when women like him, he claims he never was able to come on to anyone, ever, and he emphasizes, repeatedly, that he's really not a fan of the fame, but that's the cost he had to pay to get to do what he wanted for a living.

The hedonism is under-emphasized. Yes, he ends up doing a lot of drugs, but he doesn't brag about them. There are not many tedious "I got so wasted..." stories. Most of the time he discusses the drug use in a rather clinical way, as a way of modifying his personality, of getting through the day. He doesn't valorize it, he doesn't agonize over it. It was part of his life, that's all. I can respect that approach. I suppose it had to be this way: the reality couldn't live up to the hype.

The book is also full of clever and amusing observations on a wide variety of topics. "The big rules of knife fighting are (a) do not try it at home, and (b) the whole point is never, ever use the blade. It is there to distract your opponent. While he stares at the gleaming steel, you kick his balls to kingdom come — he's all yours. Just a tip!" Hard not to love.

In the end, Richards comes off as the reflective Stones-man. Jagger comes off as a huge prick, albeit, according to Richards, one with a small prick. It's a fun read... perhaps especially if you came from a Beatles household. It got me to take another look at the Stones, and the music of the 1960s and 1970s, and I think I've benefitted from that alone. Plus, I now know the rules of knife fighting!(less)

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Jan 03, 2012

Emily rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio, biography, music

Why I picked it up: I’ve listened the Rolling Stones all my life and while they aren’t my favorite group, I like them and always have. Keith Richards’ biography was getting a lot of press and I was interested to hear about the Stones rise to fame, especially as much of it was before I was born.

There is a lot of information here, and a lot of it was fun for me. Lots of stories about musicians whose music I love and that was probably the most fun for me. I take a lot of stuff with a...more

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Jan 02, 2012

Beth Northcutt rated it

· review of another edition

I picked this up not because I'm a Keith Richards fan or even a big Rolling Stones fan but because it won the Audie award for 2011 for best audio book of the year. It's frequently mentioned that Johnny Depp is the voice for this book but in fact he reads only a few chapters at the beginning and the end. Instead the majority book is read by Joe Hurley who does a convincing job of mimicking Richard's manner of speaking (slow and slightly mush-mouth). The portions of the story about playing guit...more

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Dec 17, 2011

Bruce rated it

· review of another edition

I was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed this book (perhaps this was due, in large part, to my low expectations and regard for Mr. Richards' lifestyle). Despite not holding out a lot of hope for the book, I pressed on as I am a fan of music in general and of the history and roots of rock in particular. I was impressed with the articulation and candor of the author; I was really surprised by his (to me, shocking) ability to recollect life's minutiae, given his drug culture notoriety and eve...more

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Dec 15, 2011

Brijwhiz rated it

Shelves: music, biographies

Really enjoyed this book. That was actually a bit surprising to me as I have never been a Rolling Stones fan, more cause I have never really heard a lot of their music. Except for a slightly dragged start it was quite a fast read.

While his drug adventures did not make the most riveting read, he did leave me a bit confused. I assume at the end of it all he does look down on drugs but his overall attitude towards it was not black and white clear, in my opinion - which was not what I e...more

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Dec 14, 2011

Mariah rated it

· review of another edition

Life by Keith Richards

Life by Keith Richards describes the events in the life of Keith Richards, from birth to his current life in Connecticut. Keith Richards is one of the two guitar players for the popular rock band The Rolling Stones. His memoir illuminates the discovery of his love for music, the establishment of the band, his many different love affairs, his addiction to heroin, and many other aspects to his life. Richards also reveals conflicts between him and Mick Jagger, and ...moreLife by Keith Richards

Life by Keith Richards describes the events in the life of Keith Richards, from birth to his current life in Connecticut. Keith Richards is one of the two guitar players for the popular rock band The Rolling Stones. His memoir illuminates the discovery of his love for music, the establishment of the band, his many different love affairs, his addiction to heroin, and many other aspects to his life. Richards also reveals conflicts between him and Mick Jagger, and other members of the band. He does this by splitting up the thirteen chapters into time periods of portions of his life (with an exception to the first chapter, where he tells a story of a drug bust in southern United States). Within each chapter, Richards tells stories or feelings he had, not necessarily in a specific order. It is very sporadic, which may be confusing or frustrating to some, but also works well, showing how his brain works and how his memories are displayed in writing. The first third of the memoir is very interesting, describing his childhood and the beginning construction of the band. However, the middle third does loose a bit of interest. The parts that explain the formation of the songs and his children and friends are very entertaining, but there is a lot about his drug addiction and going “cold turkey” which do drag on a bit. The last third also has a lot of interesting aspects, but sometimes seems a bit off-topic and choppy. His writing style also reveals his personality, with a lot of profanity and “to the point” thoughts. It makes the stories much more interesting and real, however, it might not be appropriate for some younger readers.
To ease some of the bias, Richards throws in accounts by different people in the stories he tells, giving a different angle. There is a new perspective on the people of the time and what was really going on. A brief understanding of the time and music would be helpful to fully enjoy the narratives, because he does refer to a lot of artists and innovators of the time. There are some assumptions made of the knowledge of the reader that may be confusing for someone not familiar with the time. However, for well-informed people, it is very interesting and informative.
This book is perfect for anyone interested in the music of the time. Richard’s writing obviously shows his complete obsession with music and everything about it. It is inspiring to anyone passionate about music or anything else, really. His complete love for what he does is evident and makes the reader excited. However, it also shows the bad parts of life and how to pull through. Life really reveals a lot about Keith Richards and his time, making it real, raw, and very entertaining.
Published by Little, Brown and Company. $29.99
(less)

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Dec 14, 2011

Alan rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Black-and-blue denizens of the Memory Motel

Recommended to Alan by: It's the Rolling Stones, man... plus, perversely, a devastating Bill Wyman essay on Slate.com

What a glorious mess is Keith Richards' life... and Keith Richards' Life. Rough-hewn and discursive, this autobiography sounds as if Richards' offstage collaborator (the book is written "with James Fox") just sat him down, turned on the tape recorder and let him ramble. Maybe that's exactly what they did. But when your life has been as long and eventful as Keith Richards', that's really all it takes. Just point the mike at the guy and let him talk it out.

After a Hunter S. Thompson ...more

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Dec 12, 2011

Jacobmartin rated it

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Shelves: rock-and-roll, rock-stars, manliterature, memoir, english-stories, books-containing-dangerous-ideas-l, biography, great-creators, humor, no-library-for-old-men

Oh man, I ate this book up.

Witness, thee who sold thy souls for rock and roll, a true epic of a scale not seen since Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones". Right down to the chapter headings.

This book will change your life, son. It changed mine from the first to middle pages on its own.

You have to understand the mythical beast that is "The Abominable Keef" and know of his legend to know the man, and only he is capable, with his own words, to explain just ...moreOh man, I ate this book up.

Witness, thee who sold thy souls for rock and roll, a true epic of a scale not seen since Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones". Right down to the chapter headings.

This book will change your life, son. It changed mine from the first to middle pages on its own.

You have to understand the mythical beast that is "The Abominable Keef" and know of his legend to know the man, and only he is capable, with his own words, to explain just how out of hand the mythology of Keef got once you started throwing in Tyler Durden style rumours about how the bloke was immortal. Sure, he disputes that claim. But he doesn't do it in a mean way. He understands, see.

He understands how much the world needs him to be that epic rock wizard of the past, cascading into the future with his long hair and cigarette smoke rings. He gets the idea that people need Keith Richards to be "Keef", this un-killable beast of rock history that the 1950s itself could not tear down.

One chapter particularly grabbed me by the balls as soon as I glanced upon it. See, Keef wasn't just a rock star. He outright claims that he wanted to overthrow society with his long hair and rock and roll.

In essence, he's the only successful real life comic book villain our Earth can claim for itself. He knew exactly what his plan was, tear down the moral fiber of Britain and America at the same time with the power of follicular terrorism and rockin' real hard on the gee-tah.

And for that alone, he's inspiring - but then he goes even further by teaching you how to win at a knife fight (with the custom don't-try-this-at-home disclaimer for legal reasons). At that point I was retroactively reaching for my wallet to give him my money for this book, only to realise I already had.

This is the dawn of a new age of celebrity biographies, no longer the cheap and nasty publishing "product" they used to be, a lot of celeb bios are coming out which are legitimately compelling, though fans of musician biographies who've read the classic ones like Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain were long before aware that the celebrity bio's rebirth would spread into other celebrity bio genres.

Highly recommended, much more than a throwaway cash grab, rather a groin-grabbingly compelling read.(less)

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Dec 06, 2011

Jessica rated it

· review of another edition

I used to have a theory about Keith Richards: he died from a heroin overdose during the making of "Exile on Main Street" and a robot version, updated every decade or so, has been lumbering around, playing guitar for the Stones ever since. So, apparently, he's ALIVE! And he remembers every damn thing that was ever said, done or snorted in his life since about age six. The diatribes have a bit of verbal diarrhea, but it's also funny, self effacing, and states maybe one or two nice things...more

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Nov 26, 2011

Shaun rated it

· review of another edition

I read this book out of curiosity more than anything else. I'm not a Rolling Stones fan, but decided that learning about the eccentric Stones guitarist might be interesting. I enjoyed the book okay, but got tired of all the drug use and profanity that he did and used to express his life story. He was arrested various times, including once as a "trafficker of drugs", but he always got off on a technicaility. Eventually he got off of the hard drugs. I did find it funny that he once went ...more

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Oct 22, 2011

Ken rated it

· review of another edition

LIFE is the memoir of the greatest rhythm guitarist to walk the face of the earth. All parts of this book are filled with interesting and exciting detail. And, even Keith's reconstruction of his early life is thoroughly captivating, and this is usually not the case in most biographies. I thought the most innovative section of the book is the handling of his legendary addiction to drugs and alcohol. Most biographies take the, "I was lost, and now I am found" approach. However, Mr. Richa...more

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About Keith Richards

Keith Richards is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and founding member of The Rolling Stones. As a guitarist Richards is mostly known for his innovative rhythm playing. In 2003 Richards was ranked 10th on Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

With songwriting partner and Rolling Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger, Richards has written ...more

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“Why would you want to be anything else if you're Mick Jagger?” — 10 people liked it

“Preaching is tax free. Very little to do with God, a lot to do with money” — 6 people liked it

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title link	preview: Life
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Life

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