Jimmy Page On Keith Richards: ‘Let’s Hope He Lives For Another 80 Years’
Jimmy Page has paid tribute to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards in a new interview with Uncut.
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The Led Zeppelin guitarist recalled the first time he met the Stones: “Our paths first crossed when the first American Folk Blues tour came through Manchester [October 21, 1962]. To the true and faithful, it was a clarion call for all blues collectors and enthusiasts. There was an Epsom contingent that travelled up there, and that’s where I first met Keith and Mick. There they were and there I was, and I’m sure he remembered meeting me from that. Later, there was a gathering of people at this record collector’s house, which was a treat because he put on the Howlin’ Wolf album with the rocking chair on the cover [Howlin’ Wolf, 1962], which had stuff like Down In The Bottom, Going Down Slow, You’ll Be Mine. None of us had even heard that album yet. Can you imagine?”
Page went on to look back at the first time he played with the Stones man, “The first time I was actually playing with Keith was when we were on the same Chris Farlowe sessions that Mick was producing. Yesterday’s Papers [1967] was a really good one. I’m playing acoustic on that. We were sitting next to each other and I got on really well with Keith because there was a great mutual respect. You could see that he was really disciplined in the studio, because you know what those sort of sessions were like – it’d be a three-hour session or whatever, where they get as much done as possible. And he was on the nail all the way through.”
Page ended the interview by reflecting on Richards’ musical ability, “The thing about Keith is his timing is really good and he has the imagination to be able to construct these wonderful riffs, which are the driving force behind the Stones’ records, pretty much. Not only that, but he could then turn his attention towards the acoustic playing on the 12-string, where he does Angie and things like that. So he’s extremely versatile. And super creative. If you’ve got somebody who can keep coming up with really good riffs decade after decade, that’s pretty serious. And to be respected.
“He’s given us decades of wonderful, creative music with an attitude and character which could only be Keith Richards. Let’s hope he lives for another 80 years. Who knows, I might be able to jam with him again in another 50!”