Keith Richards has always had a deep appreciation for music that feels raw, honest, and unforced. For him, the most powerful music comes from a place of authenticity—where emotions are laid bare and a voice sings with no filter. This is what drew him to genres like reggae, rock ‘n’ roll, and especially the blues.
In Richards’ view, reggae’s natural vibe is what sets it apart. “What I love about reggae is that it’s all so natural, there’s none of this forced stuff that I was getting tired of in rock music,” he said. “Rock ‘n’ roll I never get tired of, but ‘rock’ as it’s come to be known today is just a march—more rigid, more polished. I prefer the roll.”
Blues, with its deep roots in hardship and emotion, captivated him in the same way. The genre’s ability to convey raw feeling, both in vocals and instrumentation, resonated with Richards on a profound level. The honesty in the blues made it accessible to everyone, no matter their background or experience.
Richards has also spoken at length about his admiration for certain singers. Top of his list was always the soul and blues legends. And when asked to name his ultimate favorite, there was one clear standout: Muddy Waters. It was Waters who first sparked Richards’ love for the blues, a passion that led him down a path of discovery, eventually bringing him to the great Robert Johnson and beyond. “I got into Muddy Waters,” he recalls, “And then, before I knew it, that leads you immediately to Robert Johnson, and then you’re before the war, and you’re into this other stuff.”
Richards’ admiration for Muddy Waters goes beyond the technical aspects of his music. Waters wasn’t necessarily known for having the cleanest voice or the most refined technique, but he had something that was far more valuable—raw emotion. That raspy, soulful delivery was full of life and feeling, qualities Richards greatly valued in his own work.
The connection between Richards and Waters runs even deeper than admiration. The Rolling Stones formed after Richards and Mick Jagger attended a Muddy Waters concert in the UK. The band was formed out of a shared love for the blues and R&B, and before Richards and Jagger had become proficient songwriters, they paid tribute to Waters through their early covers.
In Richards’ words, “Mick was as much of a maniac. Brian as well, an absolute maniac… It was the sheer monotony, the sheer non-stop throttling hypnotism that got Charlie into the blues.” Despite their chaotic beginnings, Richards and the rest of the band felt the hypnotic pull of the blues, a force that united them. Interestingly, in England, musicians were often categorized into neat boxes: jazz, rock, pop, etc. But in the U.S., there were no such distinctions. To Richards, this lack of categorization was liberating, as it allowed artists like Muddy Waters to influence so many different styles and genres, from jazz to rock to blues.
For Richards, the blues remains a symbol of pure, untamed musical spirit—a constant source of inspiration that he has carried with him throughout his career.