It’s no secret that even the greatest bands in the world go through rough patches—and The Rolling Stones are no exception. While they’ve never officially broken up, guitarist Keith Richards has never hidden the fact that he and Mick Jagger haven’t always seen eye to eye, especially when it came to the band’s creative direction.
Their partnership might feel unshakable now, but things weren’t always that smooth. Keith and Mick had known each other since childhood, and from the beginning, their love for blues music bound them together. That shared passion fueled the early Stones records, but once The Beatles stormed the charts, it was clear that just loving the blues wasn’t going to cut it.
As the British Invasion exploded, Richards and Jagger began chasing something more expansive—writing pop-leaning anthems with sing-along hooks that could rival Lennon and McCartney. Songs like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” took clear inspiration from the Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” but with a gritty Stones twist.
Keith, always the purist, found new love in American country music, digging deep into Hank Williams records and jamming with his close friend Gram Parsons. This influence shaped classic Stones cuts like “Tumbling Dice.” But trouble started brewing when Jagger began pushing the band toward trends Richards had no interest in—especially disco. For Keith, it felt like the band was losing its soul.
“Mick likes to protect himself from everything,” Richards later admitted. “He’s always looking for an angle on people. I can’t live like that… It makes it difficult for me to get through to Mick because I know he wants to know what my angle is.”
Jagger may have been the first to step out with a solo project, but Richards never saw himself leaving the band permanently. He believed in The Stones—even when things got ugly. Whenever they did reunite for a new album, Keith only wanted one thing: for it to be real, not forced. He cherished moments like the return to their roots with Voodoo Lounge—times when the band felt like itself again.
These days, they may not agree on everything, but Richards sees The Rolling Stones as more than just a band—it’s a brotherhood. And like all brothers, he and Jagger have fought hard, walked away, and come back when it mattered most.
