Keith Richards is one of the best guitarists alive. Recognized as an integral part of The Rolling Stones music group, of which he was a founding member, he also embarked on a solo musical career that was not as successful as his endeavors with the Rolling Stones. In addition to guitar, Richards is a prolific songwriter who has served the band so well that his association with childhood friend Mick Jagger has delivered successive hits for the Stones.
But as is the case with most hardcore musicians, Keith Richards struggled with narcotics which led to several run-ins with drug agencies. He is married and surprisingly lasted a long time. Learn more about this icon in the article below.
Keith Richards, Biography, Age
Keith Richards was born at Livingston Hospital on December 18, 1943, in the English town of Dartford, Kent. His parents, Herbert William Richards and Doris Maud Lydia Dupree, witnessed his birth. Richards first attended Wentworth Primary School where he met Mick Jagger, who was then just a classmate but would later be a part of his musical life for decades. They were educated together until they were separated when the Richards family moved to another part of town. He continued his education at Dartford Technical High School for Boys.
As an only child, his grandparents were fond of Since his maternal grandfather was a musician at the front of the English jazz group, Gus Dupree and his Boys, it was easy for musical traits to erase the young Richards and c his passion for the guitar began. At Dartford Tech, he was in the school choir and was also among those chosen to sing at Westminster Abbey at the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.
His love for music grew day by day and resulted in him skipping class. Fed up with his unrepentant absenteeism, he was expelled from school in 1959. He continued his studies at Sidcup Art College, but that failed to quench the fire of music that burned within him. He kept skipping music lessons as he encountered such minds as Dick Taylor.
After reconnecting with Mick Jagger on a train, almost ten years after leaving primary school, he realized they shared a similar passion for music and at this point their future was born with their mutual friend, Taylor. First, Keith Richards joined their amateur band (Taylor and Jagger), Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, then eventually left school – Sidcup Art College – to pursue music.
Career and net worth
He met Brian Jones who introduced him to Ian Stewart and with them, including Jagger and Taylor, in 1962 ‘The Rolling Stones’ was born. They had their first official outing in London and after that they were ready to take off and take off, they did. Keith Richard played in the band as guitarist, singer and songwriter (he wrote songs with Mick Jagger).
Most of the band members have described him as the leader of the band even though Brian Jones is the designate founder of the Rolling Stones. Charlie Watts, who was drummer, and Bill Wyman, who replaced the late Dick Taylor on bass, were part of the band in its early days. They were also managed at the time by Andrew Loog Oldham.
The band started out doing covers of popular songs until they started writing their own songs. They signed with Decca Records in 1963 and released their first single. Let ‘s go and save a second, I want to be your man in the same year. In 1964 their cover of It’s All Over Now originally sung by Bobby Womack found its way to the UK charts and their debut album ‘Rolling Stones’ also fell. Further albums such as ‘Out of Our Heads’ and ‘Aftermath’ followed in 1965 and 1966 respectively.
By this point, the Rolling Stones had become a worldwide sound, and several albums followed, including Sticky Fingers (1971) and Exile on the Main Street (1972). Their 1978 album Some Girls sold over eight million copies and amidst their success, the boys couldn’t keep their noses clean and repeatedly got into trouble with narcotics agencies and law enforcement, as well as tensions within the band, particularly between Richards and Jagger.
The civil war within the band led to a hiatus and Richard took the opportunity to work on solo projects which resulted in his first solo album. Talking Is Cheap in 1988 which resonated so well with audiences and garnered many positive reviews. The Rolling Stones came back in 1989 and released Wheels of Steel. This effort was followed by Voodoo Lounge (1994) and Bridges to Babylon (1997).
While on tour to promote their 2005 album A Bigger Shot, Keith Richards fell from a tree and suffered a head injury that required surgery. Most of the tour’s concert dates had to be rescheduled to allow him to recuperate from brain surgery.
Richards also had a few big-screen roles. He made his debut in 2007 with a role in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. He also featured in the sequels Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales maintaining his Captain Teague character in 2011 and 2017 respectively.
For all his efforts, the music icon has amassed a huge net worth for himself that matches his years of continuous productivity in the music industry. Keith Richards is said to have an estimated net worth of $340 million.
Is he married? Woman, children
Keith Richards first known relationship was with longtime girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, who was his partner for 12 years (1968-1980). Anita was originally the girlfriend of his Brian Jones teammate, Brian Jones, but she chose to leave him for Richard when he got violent (this is the reason why Brian left or was eliminated of the Rolling Stones).
She is the mother of Richards’ first two children- a son named Marlon Leon Sundeep and a daughter named Dandelion (Angela). They had a third child, Tara, but he died in 1976. Richard had his first marriage in 1983, when he married Patti Hansen, an American model. The wedding took place in Mexico City on December 18, 1983 and they are still together with their two daughters, Theodora Dupree and Alexandra Nicole.
Other facts about Keith Richards
Keith Richards is a Hall of Famer. His induction into the Pantheon of Authors and Composers took place in 1993.
The Rolling Stones performed in Havana, Cuba in front of half a million spectators on March 25, 2016. The concert was free and was their first in the country since being banned from performing in the country by the communist regime.
His grandfather, Gus Dupree has been credited with his greatest influence in music. Richards recounts how Dupree had placed a guitar far out of his reach and promised him that if he owned it, he would own it. And after several efforts, Richards got the guitar and so he got his first musical instrument.
Keith Richards released his autobiography in October 2010 titled Life and there he discussed very detailed things about The Rolling Stone, his tumultuous friendship with Mick Jagger, his drug addiction and more.
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