Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards can come across as prickly. Perturbed. Ornery. Impatient. He’s also very opinionated and doesn’t try to hide it, such as when he gave critical reviews of other musicians. Even bandmate Mick Jagger can’t always escape his scorn. Still, Richards praised Jagger’s musical talents on one particular instrument, and we get it.
Keith Richards has bad-mouthed Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger before
Richards and Jagger have been bandmates for more than 60 years, but they don’t always get along. It might be why they don’t always get along.
In his autobiography Life, Richards revealed he and his Rolling Stones bandmates secretly referred to Jagger as Her Majesty or that b**** Brenda. The guitarist also mocked Mick’s manhood, saying he had a “tiny todger.” Their relationship turned ugly again years later when Keith called out Mick for having a child as an older adult.
For his part, Jagger was ready to replace Richards in the 1970s if his drug addiction or wild behavior ever led to jail time. It never got to that, but it points to the problems they had to work out to keep the Stones together.
The guitarist doesn’t always (or often) give his singer compliments. That’s important to know for this next part.
Richards praised Jagger’s harmonica skills in six words: ‘He’s not thinking when he’s playing’
We know how hard it is for Keith to praise anyone, even Jagger. That makes his six-word compliment for Jagger’s harmonic playing so powerful. In his book Jagger, author Marc Spitz documents Keith’s kind words for posterity:
“He’s not thinking when he’s playing harp. It comes from inside him; he always played like that, from the early days on.”
Keith Richards
We totally get it, Keith. Jagger is much more than a frontman for the Stones. His harmonica playing has always been an essential yet underrated part of the band.
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Go back to 1965, and you’ll hear Mick take a harp solo on “What a Shame” that sounds like it could have come from the Mississippi delta during the Great Depression. Jagger’s harmonica is as essential to Some Girls outtake “When You’re Gone” as Richards’ primal blues riff. His measured playing on “Sweet Virginia” hammers home the western feel of the song and sets the table for Keith’s acoustic guitar strumming.
The singer is so good on the harp that he’s more than capable of setting the hook and making his instrument a key part of the song. Take away Jagger’s effortless harmonica from “Midnight Rambler” or “Miss You,” and they’re not nearly as memorable. He’s good enough on the mouth harp to have a signature line of harmonicas.
It probably wasn’t easy for Richards to praise Jagger’s harmonica playing, but you have to call it like you see it. He’s not only a singer — Mick’s musical skills shine through when he’s playing harmonica.
The Rolling Stones bandmates might have warmed up to each other
There have been ups and downs, but Jagger and Richards seemed to find stable ground between them in recent years.
Keith has wished Mick a happy birthday on Twitter for several years. The guitarist spoke glowingly about their creative alchemy and ability to collectively make something from nothing in a 2018 video (via YouTube).
And in 2019, Richards admitted he typically gets on well with his longtime friend and bandmate, saying he only dislikes him 1% of the time.
They haven’t always had the smoothest relationship, but Keith Richards praised Mick Jagger’s harmonica playing, and he was right to. Mick’s talent on the harp has been an essential part of some of The Rolling Stones’ most popular songs.
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