Keith Richards finally opened up about the person who inspired the name of The Rolling Stone. He revealed the musician’s name while appearing on the Howard Stern Show.
After the band recorded the cover of Muddy Waters‘ ‘Rollin’ Stone,‘ on their upcoming album, ‘Hackney Diamonds‘, Srern asked Richards if he wanted to admire Waters with this tune.
Richards replied, ” Yes, absolutely I would. It was how we got the name of our band. During a phone call saying ‘We have a gig’, they said, ‘What are you called?’ and there was Muddy’s album cover ‘Rollin’ Stone’ on the floor. I said, ‘The Rolling Stones‘ in short form as the phone call cost a lot of money [laughs].’
After some time Steren came in and praised the song. He said it also captured the true meaning of The Rolling Stone.
Keith Richards replied to it,” This is the basics of it. And everything else is… This is where it comes from..”
Richard got a chance to meet the late musician when the Stones stopped for two days to record songs in Chicago at the Chess Studio building in the mid-1960s. Waters was painting the ceiling of the studio building.
Keith Richards describes how he meets the hero. He says, ” When we walked into the Chess Studios, we saw a guy covered in black. He was painting the ceiling. And it was Muddy Waters. He had whitewash streaming down his face and he was on top of a ladder.”
In 1981, a year before Waters had to retire due to his health condition. Before his passing, The Rolling Stones turned their childhood dreams into reality by sharing the stage with their idol. In his 2010 autobiography, ‘Life’, he shared how he felt about playing with Muddy.
He said, “You need to be a blues player, and the next thing you know you’re stuck right among them, and Sloppy Waters is staying close to you.” It all happens so quickly that you can’t even begin to list the impressions that are flying in your direction. There’s a certain something about playing a Sloppy Waters song. It’s not the same as playing with him.”
