Life

Biography & Autobiography. Performing Arts. Nonfiction. HTML: The long-awaited autobiography of Keith Richards, guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life. Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones's first fame and the notorious drug busts that led to his enduring image as an outlaw folk hero. Creating immortal riffs like the ones in "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Honky Tonk Women." His relationship with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the U.S., isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Marriage, family, solo albums and Xpensive Winos, and the road that goes on forever. With his trademark disarming honesty, Keith Richard brings us the story of a life we have all longed to know more of, unfettered, fearless, and true..… (more)

Media reviews

Nostalgia Special (#3 2011)

Troligtvis är det mesta sant då det gäller denna 68-årige gitarrhjälte. En sann bad boy med ibland överdriven smak för livets goda – och dåliga. Man behöver inte bläddra allt för många sidor innan den ena anekdoten radas upp efter den andra. [...] Den engelska originalversionen av

boken ger en mer rättvis känsla av Keith Richards berättande. Svenska översättningen räcker inte riktigt till och den torra brittiska humorn blir inte lika framträdande.

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The Telegraph

If you can remember the Sixties, blah blah blah. Boy can Keith Richards remember the Sixties, which is great. The real miracle is that he can remember the Seventies, considering that Keith’s poison was heroin, which would surely make performing in a high-energy band quite difficult, let alone

raising two children, with a heroin-addicted Anita Pallenberg. So the very existence of this book is a marker against the ravages of time. It suggests that Richards’s memory is fresh in a way that his face isn’t. His memory has had a little help: there are letters he sent to relatives, and even a diary, as well as testaments from friends and garnering from other people’s memoirs. Goodness, there’s enough material to start an archive in somewhere like Texas, or for Andrew Motion to contemplate an official biography. For now, though, we have a lot of kind, perhaps even indulgent, transcription from James Fox.

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The Guardian

The survivor's story is one of the predominant narratives of our time. It usually traces a familiar arc from excess through despair to redemption, and, as such, allows us to enjoy the vicarious thrill of voyeurism within the framework of a cautionary or salutary tale. Life by Keith Richards, the

most famous survivor of them all, breaks with this tradition insofar as it contains excess aplenty but hardly any despair and very little redemption. Keith did it all, had a hell of a good time, and survived to brag about it.

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The Washington Post

Mick Jagger has always looked -- will always look -- like Mick Jagger. But try to connect the glum schoolboy-guitarist of early '60s black-and-white pics with the Keith Richards of today. A heap of living and occasional bouts of near-dying have gone into that flayed, weathered, kohl-eyed visage,

whose topography suggests a moonscape irrigated with Jack Daniel's. After half a century on the road, Richards has the face he deserves -- but not, it appears, the brain. Against all pharmaceutical odds, he has held on to a substantial portion of his own history and has turned it into the most scabrously honest and essential rock memoir in a long time....And yet here he is, defiantly alive, and defiant in every other respect, too, his language just as politically incorrect, his judgments every bit as summary.

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The New York Times

“Life” is way more than a revealing showbiz memoir. It is also a high-def, high-velocity portrait of the era when rock ’n’ roll came of age, a raw report from deep inside the counterculture maelstrom of how that music swept like a tsunami over Britain and the United States. It’s an

eye-opening all-nighter in the studio with a master craftsman disclosing the alchemical secrets of his art. And it’s the intimate and moving story of one man’s long strange trip over the decades, told in dead-on, visceral prose without any of the pretense, caution or self-consciousness that usually attend great artists sitting for their self-portraits.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member mks27

This audio book blew me away. It takes the listener on a journey into a life and time never again to be repeated. It offers both an autobiography and a history. Johnny Depp and Joe Hurley narrate in an engrossing, moving style with a natural, easy flow. The contrast between Hurley’s intensity and

Depp’s more controlled delivery eases the listener into the 22 hours without feeling tedious. In fact, it felt like sitting around with Keith Richards, listening to him tell his story.

Perhaps if you’re not a music fan, it might not appeal to you. If you grew up listening to the radio, LPs or anything else from Elvis to U2, this book is for you. He offers the history of rock and roll, the transitions from styles and genres of everything post World War II. He covers it all making connections between genres, local distinctions in genres, and where they blend. Chicago blues is his foundation, but everything is covered from London to Texas and more. I found myself on YouTube while listening, looking up different artists he discusses and seeing for myself. I listened to the book while looking at photos of the musicians he discussed, reading info on Wikipedia, and then listening to them perform on YouTube, what an experience.

Richards’ passion for the guitar is evident. He shares his knowledge of technique, equipment, strings, amps, and tuning. I have no idea what 5 string open tuning is, but I know it changed the sound of many performers’ music. Sound, finding just the right one for each tune, is what Richards is all about. It is a gift and an art. The sections on songwriting, the process, creativity, mindset, and magic were some of my favorites. He writes about the experience of being in a band, playing anywhere, when everything slips away and the band is one or when he plays with another guitar player and they weave and blend and become seamless. This is why I love this book.

Now for the hard bits….his drug addition, troubles with the law, bad behavior, and periods of horrific parenting. He does not often make apologies for his actions, rather presents them and moves on, with the exception of the death of his son. In this case Richards confesses heart wrenching regret. His life is what it is, a story of his survival. Really, he did drugs to BOTH be Keith Richards the rock star AND to escape being Keith Richards the rock star. The fact that he came out the other end is simply a miracle. At times, the book presents a study of human dynamics with the relationships within the Rolling Stones, his family, friends, the public, and with himself.

Like many of this genre, it only tells one side of the story. Nonetheless, Richards offers statements from those around him during different periods. It is well researched; some letters, diaries and other primary sources are used to fill in gaps in his memory, as well as the recollections of others. The writing is mostly chronological, but some incidents are referred to multiple times as they relate to different people and events. These did not detract from my interest or attention.

The narration is not to be missed. Johnny Depp and Joe Hurley became Keith Richards. The rhythm, expressions, pauses, humor, laughs, sighs, every sentence is perfect. I highly recommend this audio book for rock and roll fans, 1960’s and 1970’s history enthusiasts, and for guitar players especially, a must. Life won the Audio Book of the Year Award from the Audio Publishers Association for 2011.

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24 more

LibraryThing member msf59

“Since my baby left me…” A young Keith Richards heard these opening words from “Heartbreak Hotel” and he was transformed. His musical universe was turned upside down and along with Mick Jagger, a school mate, this pair suddenly found themselves on a trajectory to rock in roll history.

Richards, now closing in on 70 is still rocking. That’s amusing, since he held the top slot on the Celebrity Death List, since the early seventies. A true survivor. He tells his story here, in his usual gruff, no nonsense style, carrying the reader through many decades of triumphs and calamities. It might be difficult to recommend this to a non-Rolling Stones fans but if you are or if you love rock n’ roll, this is required reading. I feel, along with Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, this is destined to be another modern classic.
Note: I listened to this one on audio and it was read by Johnny Depp, which was an unbelievable pleasure. It felt like Richards strolling beside me, telling his tale. A wonderful experience.

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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50

I grew up in the 1960’s, and a big part of my coming-of-age was the music of the day, in particular the British Invasion music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. At my first boy-girl party I vividly remember dancing to This Will Be The Last Time by the Stones. I can’t think about those

years without mentally playing a musical backdrop of rock and roll music.

When Life by Keith Richards came out, I knew that I would be reading this book eventually. Then I started hearing how great the audio to this book was and I decided to go that route. This was a book that I was going to enjoy no matter what. Revisiting my love affair with the Stones and hearing all the back stories of how that music came to be, as well as the day to day life of Keith Richards, a musical icon, was something I was looking forward to. Going the audio route was the best decision I could have made, suddenly this book became an intimate experience between me and Keith. I felt like I was in the same room with him and hearing these words come out of his mouth. The audio is read by Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley and Keith Richards. It is absolutely brilliant. Joe Hurley was an added bonus as he totally caught the essence and spirit of Keith Richards and elevated this book to an entirely new level.

Keith Richards has long been a great interview, he’s lived the life of a rock and roller and is quite willing to talk about it, both the good and the bad. As he tells the story of how the world’s greatest rock and roll band formed and evolved, his honest and blunt words cannot hide the deeply sensitive musician that cares first and foremost for the music. Although at times he sounded a little paranoid about the focus of the world’s establishment on him, I truly believe that was his honest, personal opinion of what went down.

Life is a great read about a musician who, although he didn’t always make the right choices in regards to drugs and hell-raising and perhaps, slants things a little to his way of thinking, makes no apologies and let’s us be the judge in this rambling yet entertaining work.

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LibraryThing member CarolynSchroeder

I crazy loved this book and by the end of it, felt like I had a new friend. I'm a life-long Stones fan so came to it a little tentative, not wanting a drug and drunk-a-log or a whinge-fest about Mick; or something that would take away from how much I love that music (the complaints I often heard

about this book). Although there were certainly elements of both, Keith spins many a good yarn. He did use mountains of drugs and his relationship with Mick is rather complex, I guess those are truisms. I did not give it five stars only because post-Exile to about when he got clean from heroin, it really dragged. It was a good illustration of how powerfully destructive heroin is, or at least addiction. Also, there are so many little contradictions in his personality, that one kind of has to laugh (e.g., he repeats a lot that he was shy and he'd wait for women to make the first move; then before you know it, he's at a bordello or chasing down some German model; and he clearly is a bit dillusional about how "together" he was through much of his junkihood, all one has to do is look at some of the photos of the times not featured in the book). Despite these small bickers with it, this is a great epic on a wild life, so many interesting stories, people, events and thoughts. He is truly an interesting and VERY funny guy. And wow, the music, the artistry and how he both re-invented certain styles of playing, and unearthed others. Reading about the unbelievable chemistry and creativity of the Stones' early songwriting, especially on Exile on Main Street, was downright exciting. I'm an artist and it sparked me on many levels, to just get out there and noodle around and create with what you love to do. Inspiration sure comes from unlikely places. Anyway, probably my favorite thing though is at the end of the day, he's just a nice guy who treats his wife well, loves her, has a soft spot for animals, is a good Dad, family man, amazingly devoted friend; and I loved to hear what he had to say. I laughed a lot and it was just a great read. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member JollyContrarian

This is the mother lode.

In all of rock 'n' roll writing there are some towering peaks that stand out from a morass of mediocrity: the Gillmans' Alias David Bowie; Peter Guralnick's two volume life of Elvis Presley, Greil Marcus' Mystery Train; pretty much anything by Lester Bangs: all, note,

written by professional journalists and, more or less, all from the outside. I can't think of a notable rock autobiography: let's face it, most rock musicians don't have the wit, let alone the resolution, to do it, and those that do (the Dylans, Pages, Waits of the world) have not had the inclination. I suppose they figure, not unreasonably, that what they have to say they've already said.

As a result, even those of the greatest rock biographies have tended to be remote affairs, presenting an external face of their subject, already recognisable to the listening public, and rendering through the prism of a fellow listener. (Bangs perhaps is the exception). But a listener cares more about how the end product sounds than the mechanical process by which it is arrived at: For those of us who've toiled over the years as players and wanted the inside perspective, there's been little to go on: a guitarist's tuning and chord voicings; the licks; the visceral details of how songs were ever devised in the first place are hard to describe remotely. The soul of pop perfection is elusive as a rainbow; hard for an untouched mortal to describe let alone analyse: its genius is its simplicity: under heavyweight intellectual scrutiny the lightness of perfection burns off into space. Messrs Jagger and Richards have few living equals as composers and performers of the perfect rock song.

And what was it like to *be* hooked on smack: to what lengths did you go? What was cold turkey like from the inside?

Traditional reportage stays a respectful distance from these questions. But these things are fascinating: they're the DNA of this great cultural artefact, and many (perhaps even most) of the listeners will, at one time or other, have had a go, and got nowhere.

For those people - people like me: enthusiastic bedroom rockers of decades' standing - this book is like the Dead Sea Scrolls. Keith - a prophet of the new religion - tells it all. And, by gum, it opens your eyes to the brilliance of the Rolling Stones.

Sure: excruciating details about Chuck Berry's riffs (and the depravity of mainline heroin addiction) aren't everyone's cup of tea, but if you've shelled out for Keith Richards' biography in the first place, odds are they will be. But the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards songwriting technique: that they consciously sounded out the right vowels and consonants before fitting words to them - that's fascinating: it explains so well the quality of their material.

Now if this were merely a dry and technical anorak's guide to playing rock 'n' roll, that would be enough for me. But it isn't: it's witty, enlightening, and most of all thoroughly Keef: credit to Richards' co-writer who has managed to resist any tinkering with Richards' unique and affable voice: you sense his role was more of a collater, a prompt and a content organiser: if the individual sentences didn't fall directly from Richards' lips then, in the vernacular, I'm a banana.

The interesting content of a life such as Richards' is inevitably going to tail off as his modus operandi stabilised: the latter half or a rock star's life is simply never going to be as epochal as the first: and so it proves here; by the time the heroin is finally kicked and the only frisson is regular handbags with Mick (Richards is unfailingly amusing on his account of "Brenda"), Keith Richards more or less settles down. But it is still a warm story of a man in his dotage, with his family about, and his own recipe for Bangers and Mash thrown in for good measure (thanks Keith!)

Authentic, funny, enlightening, entertaining, deadpan. Put this one in the same league as Lester Bangs. High praise.

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LibraryThing member nemoman

I grew up with the Rolling Stones and I play guitar. Although Keith Richards has never been a personal guitar hero, I will say that he is probably one of the top five rock rhythm guitarists extant. The book is well written. It is a unapologetic expose of Richards' life, his extensive drug usage,

his serial infidelities, and his handing off of his child-rearing responsibilities to drug-addled relatives and the kindness of strangers. He glories in his rock persona lifestyle. He gives you some insight into his music; however, I wish he had spent more time on the music than on various personalities. The book is at its best when he pauses and says : I will let _____ tell the story and inserts numerous sections written by other observers. The book is at its worst when he dwells on his falling out with Mick Jagger - at times reducing it to childish pettiness. He generously concedes the technical brilliance of other guitarists, particularly Mick Taylor - a much better guitarist than Richards, but not enough into the glam showmanship of the Stones. I would have liked more insight into Richards' guitar playing. Most guitarists already know that many of his songs were written and played in an open G tuning. Richards makes it sound as if this were a revelation discovered by him; however, open tunings were fairly common before his use - e.g., the Everly Brothers. Finally, the Stones during at least the last ten years have become an oldies band; their last really vibrant songwriting appeared on Exile On Mainstreet. Richards ignores this simple fact and writes as if the Stones are significant presence in the current music scene. They certainly deserve credit for being together still; however, they have not continually reinvented themselves or gone out on a limb as have Neil Young or Paul Simon for example. This however is a book review - not a music review. The book is a page-turner. Like the Stones' music it is entertaining without being too deep.

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LibraryThing member Stbalbach

It's always interesting to read how someone becomes famous. In Richards case it was a lot of luck and timing, but he was also extremely hard working and dedicated to his craft above all other concerns. Those early years are the most interesting, the gangs of girls throwing panties onto the stage,

screaming so loud one couldn't hear the music. So strangely different. Ultimately it was the strength of the songs that propelled, and those songs from the 60s and early 70s are wildly good (I used to listen to Hot Rocks on 8-track endlessly). Not only for the Stones, it was a time of explosive innovation and discovery. Keith says the junk had nothing to do with it but once he went clean in the 80s, the song writing suffered (IMO). The drugs as he describes gave total control over emotions and the ability to express fluidly, not even sleep was needed, but of course it comes at a price and he chose to live. It is a Faustian survival, but he seems to win the bargain, in this story we really can have some sympathy for the devil.

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LibraryThing member deborahk

Listening to the audio version of this book -- quick comment -- Johnny Depp is a terrible reader, he has absolutely no expression in his voice, makes me want to reaccess his acting abililty. I'm glad the narration is shared because Joe Hurley is so much better and the book deserves a reader of his

skill -- movie stars like Depp should stick to parts where their looks can sell an audience.

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LibraryThing member Carmenere

In retrospect, I’ve always been a fringe fan of the Rolling Stones but their breakout years were about 10 years before my time, besides the Beatles had a Saturday morning cartoon, they were funny and innocent. The Stones, on the other hand, were connected to drugs and violence, certainly not my

style. Yet, in reading Keith Richard’s memoir, Life, I found that some of my preconceptions of the band were not accurate. In many cases, it was the times in which they were involved that fueled their circumstances. Life is at its best when Richards reflects on the early years of the Stones. The friendship that he and Mick Jagger forged on their mutual loves for the blues and how they learned together by listening to their favorite musicians and then ultimately creating an iconic band and music is a sheer pleasure to read. It offers some amusing tidbits of information regarding working relationships with band members and rival musicians. For the most part, Richards writes affably with humor, honesty and intelligence. The book slowed down some as he battled with his drug addiction and another “cold turkey” was recounted. It amazes me how KR lived to tell his tale and was able to shatter my preconceptions of him. He really comes off as a nice guy. He rescues dogs and kittens, loves his family and values his friends. Oh by the way, he's written some incredible music too.

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LibraryThing member mausergem

I’m not really a ‘Rolling Stones’ fan but what drew me to this autobiography of Keith Richards was to know the mind and workings of a rock band and its members.

It’s a story of Keith Richards, hailing from the London suburbs who started his musical journey as choir boy to being the most

prolific and popular musician of his times. When the Rolling stones signed their first record deal, Keith writes that whatever they will do in the next 2 years will matter as 2 years is the average life of any musical band. Keith’s journey has lasted a bit longer than that and his journey encompasses music, friends, drugs and women, in that order.

Rock ‘n’ roll all the way.

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LibraryThing member jcbrunner

The autobiography of the original Captain Jack Sparrow is a great read which only loses steam in the final chapters when the author's life settles down to a bourgeois lifestyle and the name dropping and thanks start to overwhelm the pages. Even in these chapters, nuggets of information redeem the

effort of turning the page. How long can you reprove an author who names his dog Syphilis and his cats Toaster and Voodoo?

The best part of the book is his account of his poor childhood in post-WWII in Dartford, Kent, growing up in a rationed and shattered England. What a different world! His mother whose job it was to demonstrate the wonder of a washing machine was unable to own one herself. Richards profited mightily from the services of the welfare state from public housing to education. Choir practice, art school and the boy scouts helped mold the musician, as did the musical environment of his somewhat Bohemian family. Richards is a self-learned craftsman, at his best when he talks about his tools and techniques, driven by improving his skills and learning as well as teaching others. Mick Jagger, in contrast, seems to be driven by external recognition (exemplified by his knighthood, which Richards declined). Richards is the street kid who wants to make and record the best music he can. The second field of Richards' expertise is drugs. With a love for detail, he describes their procurement, mixing, taking and, in case of a Police sting, their disposal. It is a miracle that he survived the Seventies, which he spent either under the influence of various drugs or in detox. Amazingly, he managed to periodically clean up his act to both record and perform on stage. In the Eighties and Nineties, he managed to settle into a bourgeois rock star life. A great story about a highly improbably lucky career.

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LibraryThing member Eye_Gee

I don't often give 5 star ratings. Everything has to be right. I'd give this one 6 stars if I could. In listening to this book I felt I got to know Keith Richards, as a person , as opposed to just hearing a series of anecdotes from his life. He lets down his guard and tells his story as if he's

talking to a friend. And it turns out that he is nothing like I would have imagined. Music is his first love, that much is clear. And his success is no accident. He is a lifelong learner, open to all kinds of experiences, and the result is that he grown constantly as a musician, songwriter and collaborator. He is also smart, sensitive, funny, sexy, shy, fiercely loyal, and brutally honest. I was sorry to reach the end of the book.

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LibraryThing member Arkrayder

Over more than 500 pages, its narrative only rarely fails to grip. Written in collaboration with James Fox, I feel that Keef mostly talked and Fox merely tidied up the tape.

Keef’s seen it all, done it all, and somehow, miraculously, survived. As he gently advises the reader on more than one

occasion when his story begins to get particularly wild and twisted, 'Don’t try this at home.’ It might have made a good subtitle.

The book captures the spirit of rock and roll, the nitty-gritty of life on the road, and just what it feels like to be a heroin addict who doesn’t know where his next fix is coming from.

It also movingly captures Richards’s extraordinary love of music. Keith Richards’s love for his often sorely vexed parents also shines through and there is a lovely tribute to his wife Patti Hansen.

Richards doesn’t avoid the dark stuff. It’s a chilling reminder that while Keef survived the ride, there were many others who didn’t.

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LibraryThing member RLeney

The profanity. The drug abuse. The lack of self-respect.
The musical talent does nothing to excuse this "Life".
This is not someone that should be admired.

LibraryThing member Sandydog1

I wasn't enthralled with the hissy fits about shepherd's pie or the addict attitude, but what you see is what you get, and this was the best memoir I've ever read. (Yes, even better than US Grant's). Shit, bump, JD, chicks, shooters, glitter twins, and a fantastic American musicological history.

OMG. I hope especially that son Marlon came out all right. I couldn't put this book down, alternately listening to the CD in the car, and reading the paperback at home. (Hey, like Keif, I'm old skool.)

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LibraryThing member joeydag

Well ghosted. The conversational style well suits the tale. I was interested in reading this and was moved to actually read it as an assignment for a music appreciation class. I grew up with the Stones but I'm not really a fan. Great tunes but their style is just too hard-core for me.

I kept

thinking this guy is turning 70 this year (2013) He is a grandfather. When he talks about being held captive by a public image, this is his perspective. He could not have imagined becoming the success he is and has been, nor the horrible drug addiction he has survived. There is plenty of material to think about his relationships with his band members, comments on becoming a songwriter, special notes on songs that mean something to him, police harassment, the wonder and thrill of creating and performing rock and roll.

The early years get much more treatment than his later years. This is not a philosophical work, nor a backstage confidential but is seems pretty honest and vulgar and earthy by a Lucky Man.

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LibraryThing member foomy

This memoir, written with the help of writer James Fox, is an elaborately detailed fearsome, biting, touching, frightfully honest account of Keith Richards life. Each page is important, interesting, insightful and chilling, with a myriad of elements surrounding Richards, his band, and anyone caught

up in their music. He is shamelessly frank about his own up-and-downs, his guitar and songwriting technique, his abilities and their limitations,and there is no other musician that talks with such high quality of openness and candor, always with a bit of bitterness, self-reflection and humor:
P:133 about the Everly Brothers:
The Everly Brothers come out and there's soft light, the band plays very quietly, and their voices, that beautiful! Beautiful refrain - almost mystical. "Dream, dream, dream..." slipping in and out of unison and harmony. Load of bluegrass in those boys. The best rhythm guitar playing I ever heard was from Don Everly.....There was something a little analogous to Mick and me in that brotherhood. You've been through thick and thin, and then it gets really big and you have the time and space to figure out what it is you don't like about each other...."
P.152 about George Jones: "They trailed in with tumbleweed following them, as if tumbleweed was a pet. Dust all over the place, a bunch of cowboys. But when George got up, we went whoa, there's a master up there."
P.152 about Bobby Keys:
"It took me thirty years to convince him that Texas was actually a huge landgrab by Sam Houston and Stephen Austin. 'No fucking way. How dare you!'He's red in the face. So I laid a few books on him about what actually happened between Texas and Mexico, and six month later he says, 'Your case seems to have some substance'. I know the feeling, I used to believe that Scotland Yard was lily-white."
P.189-190 about Brian Jones:
"I've known a few that were really carried away by fame. But I never saw one that changed so dramatically overnight. No, we're just getting lucky, pal. This is not not fame....Thought he was an intellectual, a mystic philosopher. He was very impressed by other stars, but only because they were stars, not because of what they were good at...'When I played with so-and-so' He was totally starstruck.'I saw Bob Dylan yesterday. He doesn't like you.' But I had no idea how obnoxious he was being. So it would start off, 'Oh, shut up, Brian.'....It was that cliquishness. He wanted to be part of something, could never find anything to be part of."
P.312 about Mick Jagger:
"Most guys I know are assholes, I have some great asshole friends, but that's not the poing. Friedship has got nothing to do with that. It's can you hang, can you talk about this without any feeling of distance between you? Friendship is a diminishing of distance between people...Mick doesn't like to trust anybody."
P.359 about Billy Preston:
"...all the way through the show with Billy, it was like playing with somebody who was going to put his own stamp on everything....There was one time in Glasgow when he was playing so loud he was drowning out the rest of the band. I took him backstage and showed him the blade. 'You know what this is, Bill? Dear William. If you don't turn that fucking thing down right now, you're going to feel it.' It's not Billy Preston and the Rolling Stones. You are the keyboard player with the Rolling Stones."
P.469 about Chuck Berry:
"...is an elusive motherfucker. But I'm used to working with elusive motherfuckers...I don't knock people much (outside my intimate circle), but I've got to say Chuck Berry was a big disappointment. He was my numero uno hero. Shit, I thought,...he's got to be a great cat. When we put his equipment together with ours for the film, I found out later that he charged the production company for the use of this amps. From the first bar of that first night of the show at the Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Chuck threw all our carefully laid plans tothe wind, playing totally different arrangement in different keys. It didn't really matter. It was the best Chuck Berry live you're ever going to get...I've stolen every lick he ever played. So I owed it to Chuck to bite the bullet when he was at his most provocative, to play rope-a-dope to see it through. And he sure pushed me hard .... It's very difficult for me to allow myself to be bullied, and that is what Chuck was doing to me and to everybody else."

He's genuine, down to earth, finds fault with Jagger's acceptance of knighthood, something the Rolling Stones had rebelled against originally. He describes how music is made, it's not just there to please you and entertain you, it's not always what people want to hear, rather, it teaches each individual how to live, that's what rock & roll is about. He'd rather hang with musicians, particularly good ones, than the jet set-stars. He even unleashes recording tricks, his discovery of five-string tuning - removing a guitar's lowest string and tuning the others like a banjo. He is very literate, loves good food and is a voracious reader of fiction books(Patrick O’Brian, George MacDonald Fraser), remains subjective but real. I've always known him from interviews and thought he was a smart story-teller, but I also found out that he was extremely resourceful and that this book provides detailed historical knowledge about life after World War 2 in and around England. Last not least, he shares a recipe for a traditional English meal. Confrontational, unforgettable, as you come to the end of the 564 pages, you slow down the pace because you don't want him to finish telling his stories, and once you're finished, you want to immediately start reading from the top.

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LibraryThing member Sapiens1

Compelling read. Still need to learn that thing he describes about playing guitar using only five strings, and how that makes the hot chops possible. Stay away from the mind-altering substances. What a ride!

LibraryThing member nog

I read a few reviews before reading Richards' book. They made me think there was a lot about the music in there, unlike a lot of rock memoirs. But the book is indeed like a lot of them, focusing on the women, the drugs, the attitudes toward the Stones, etc. Richards slips in and out of "needless

profanity mode" throughout the book, which makes me wonder how much is him and how much is James Fox, his collaborator, whose name somehow didn't make it onto the cover.

Richards brags so much about how degenerate he is, it makes me wonder how much of it is true. A lot of us took a lot of drugs back in the 60's and 70's, but that doesn't qualify us as degenerates (or does it?).

He's pretty much an unapologetic misogynist, which might put off a lot of people. About Anita: Brian Jones should have married the "bitch." Several sentences later, he's talking about how in love he was with her.

But I'm jumping ahead. Although he knew Mick from a pretty early age, there's pitifully little about their friendship. Richards talks about how they absorbed all the important American blues artists' music, and then set their sights on becoming the "best blues band in London." This assertion took me aback a bit, especially since he mentions none of the competition. Exhibit A: John Mayall, who had both Eric Clapton and Peter Green in his band at various times in the early 60's. But this dedication to the blues sort of melted away once business student Mick steered the Stones firmly into rock territory as the handwriting on the wall became clear. (the road never taken: jettisoning Jones and getting a really good blues guitarist -- but that wouldn't have been as profitable, right?)

But that's not a bad thing. Personally, although the blues covers the Stones recorded aren't bad, I think they are rather ordinary renditions instead of spirited interpretations. Instead, they became a rock band and started writing their own material (e.g. "Play with Fire", a classic early tune). But Richards tends to gloss over the transitions that the Stones took over the years. Even as a young teenager, I saw "Their Satanic Majesties Request" as a transparent ploy by the Stones to cash in on the "Sgt. Pepper" success, and thereafter suspected that Mick might be dictating what they would release, with careful calculation of fitting into the latest musical trend to maximize sales (by the way, has any other band released quite so many "greatest hits" packages?). Richards claims that the album was a "put-on".

Even so, by the late 60's the Stones were on top of their game, with Richards cranking out some superb tunes (apparently, Mick mostly helped with the lyrics). Few bands have had a run like the Stones did from 1968-1973; virtually everything they did during that time is worth listening to. It's too bad that this seems to coincide with so many non-musically related adventures which take center stage, which tend to involve supermodels and drugs.

Richards spends a few pages talking about the epiphany of using 5-string open tuning, which legend has it Ry Cooder taught him. Here, Richards makes it sound like he was already studying open tuning when Cooder showed him the open G chord, which has been the hallmark of Richards' playing since then (about 1971).

But then it's back to the supermodels, and, of course, the heroin. It seems to me the music certainly started to suffer AFTER Richards kicked the habit, but that seems to be more attributable to the fact that he and Mick really started to bicker about the direction of the band, and some not-so-nice business moves by Mick. I found myself losing any respect I had for Keith as a person as I read his accounts of his drug addiction and how it seemed to ruin the lives of people around him. There seems to be very little self examination here, and a tendency to gloss over his own responsibilities as a parent.

The past thirty years are related in the last 100 pages of the 547. Funny that that should coincide with decades of lackluster recordings and mega-tours that, according to Keith, did not enrich them, but everyone else instead.

I think about Mick Taylor and his decision to leave the Stones in 1974. In my ears the best guitarist ever to play with the Stones, he never really explained why he would give up the best rock gig in the world. Now, the poor bloke is literally poor. Mick and Keith refused to give him writing credit for some of the early 70's tunes he helped write, so he has been shut out of any royalties that might help him in his old age. But that treatment is just as consistent as Mick's decision to go on stage at Altamont in 1969 when things had already gotten totally out of hand. But, you know, we had a camera crew there to do our documentary, and as they say, the show must go on.

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LibraryThing member Welshwoman

So utterly readable that I had to force myself to put it down occasionally! Our Keith comes across as a decent man with a passion for music and a surprising humility. Really worth reading.

LibraryThing member susiesharp

Life Keith Richards audiobook narrated by, Johnny Depp & Jon Hurley

I am loving this book it’s like sitting down with Keith Richards as he tells you stories! The part about Phil Spector is a little freaky considering what’s happened with him in the last few years.

A lot of reviews out there make

me wonder if they even read this book there is not near as much swearing as I expected there to be! I love Johnny Depps’ narration and wish he would have narrated the entire book; however Jon Hurley did grow on my after awhile the contrast was just jarring at first. (However once it switched back to Johnny Depp I am wondering if there really is a Jon Hurley or if he is an alter ego of Johnny Depp because there were some similarities in tone of voice that made me wonder)

I loved learning about his younger life & that his best memories are being a boy scout? Who knew? His memories of growing up in England after the war were very insightful.

I love how he talks about the music, his love of it, also who he was a fan of when they were touring which to me was a bit surprising that he was a fan of the Everly Brothers, the Beach Boys, George Jones I don’t know what I expected but I guess it wouldn’t have been these groups.

I like his straight forward no apologies take, it’s his life, like it or leave it attitude, yes there is a lot of drug stories but that was his life and he makes no bones about it he enjoyed doing them at the time, and really if most recovered people would admit it, they did have fun at the time it’s just after that they felt bad about anything. And really what else did you expect but sex drugs and rock and roll!

Also this is not so much a memoir about the Rolling Stones it is as the title says Keith Richards’ Life it is about him not so much the group as a whole. He does talk about his relationship with Mick and it is honest and straightforward just like the rest of the book it’s no holds barred this is how I see it and who are we to judge what he feels and sees from his own perspective.

It’s also neat to hear other peoples take on some of the things he is talking about.

If you are a fan of the Rolling Stones or just a fan of music in general I recommend this memoir. Just remember his life is sex ,drugs and rock & roll.

4 Stars

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LibraryThing member sherribelcher

This book is pure entertainment! “Life” is a very intimate portrait which is funny, sad, heart-felt and full of great rock-and-roll debauchery! Keith’s awe and respect for fellow musicians along with his great love of making music come through on every page. This bio covers everything from

Keith’s family life and his time as a Boy Scout to his song-writing style, life on the road, heroin addiction, knife-fighting tips and his favorite recipe for bangers and mash! Oh, and you can't possibly forget his "marriage" to Etta James! I found myself reading excerpts out loud to the family. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of rock-and-roll.

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LibraryThing member railarson

Whether or not you will be captivated by Rolling Stones guitarist and all-around bon vivant Keith Richards’ new autobiography all the way to the end of its 547 pages swings on a couple of factors.

Number One: How much do you still like and care about the Rolling Stones?

Number Two: How much you can

stomach reading about the sordid intricacies of heroin addiction?

If those two caveats check out, then this book has a lot to offer in the way of insightful musings on the emergence, “maturation,” and decline of rock ’n’ roll, as well as dispatches from the gutter as harrowing as anything William S. Burroughs phlegmatically coughed up in junk-sick reverie.

Occasional partner-in-crime Tom Waits puts it best towards the end of the book when he describes Richards as “a frying pan made from one piece of metal. He can heat it up really high and it won’t crack, it just changes color.” Spiritually changing his color from pasty postwar English white to the richer tones of the blues artists he and his friends immortalized became an obsession early on, and one that somehow, against all odds, he managed to pull off.

Richards recalls fondly of being accepted on the “other side of the tracks” much more openly than in the “Whites Only” areas of the still-segregated American South. Richards writes in his journal about coming to the United States for the first time, “Finally I’m in my element! An incredible band is wailing … so does the sweat and the ribs cooking out back. The only thing that makes me stand out is that I’m white! Wonderfully, no one notices this aberration. I am accepted. I’m made to feel so warm. I am in heaven!”

This ability to fit in wherever he finds himself belies a truthfully warm and open heart on the part of a young Keith Richards. You never get the sense that this English kid is culture slumming, he has done his homework, paid his dues, and remains respectful and—as an outsider in an uptight society still struggling to shrug off the ’50s—simpatico. At least until the drugs kick in.

Later in the narrative, Richards bemoans the way that the other half of his musical partnership has become too enamored with controlling all aspects of the now multi-million dollar business interest called the Rolling Stones. This is after spending most of the ’70s in a narcotic fog, forcing his band mates to practice, record, and exist on “Keith time.” He doesn’t seem to realize that he has passive-aggressively set the agenda for years by placing himself outside of the “normal” constrains of time, laws (local, Federal, and international), sleep, etc.

What saves this tale from being just another tale of debauched rock royalty (not that there’s anything wrong with those) is Richards’ voice. Life is written very much in Keef’s voice, along with reeling asides, obscure English slang, and most of all, heart. As much as they squabble and moan about each other, the Rolling Stones have been tempered by a half-century of dealing with each other’s shit. Richards explains, “Mick and I may not be friends—too much wear and tear for that—but we’re the closest of brothers, and that can’t be severed. … Best friends are best friends. But brothers fight. … At the same time, nobody else can say anything against Mick that I can hear. I’ll slit their throat.” Judging from his track record, and the sticker in his boot, he may end up doing just that.

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LibraryThing member starkravingmad

A very entertaining and informative tale. If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, it’s fantastic, and even if you’re not, it’s still very good. Very impressive after all the dope that he remembers innumerable things about his childhood and early years. Though I’m not a musician, his details on

how he tuned his guitar to get his very unique and unmistakable sound, how he and Charlie Watts were in a groove on rhythm, and how he and Mick Jagger on occasion pumped out an entire album in a week are all truly fascinating. It’s also interesting how many hit songs the two of them wrote that they gave to other artists – country, pop, soul – that the Stones never did themselves.
The first hundred pages are tedious, but by the time he forms the band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, the book takes on it's own quick pace with great detail. You truly feel like you're with him on the journey. In a weird sort of way, it's similar in style to William F. Buckley's sailing biographies (e.g. "Atlantic High", "Airborn"), and with the short insights from friends and relatives embedded in the book, it comes alive.

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LibraryThing member richardsonmichelle

I couldn't finish. The book jumped around from past to present without a logical transition. There was more about music than life. I like music, but I'm not a musician, so telling me about frets and types of guitars or amps, just doesn't work for me.

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