Editing Keith Richards (section)

==Musicianship==
[[File:The Rolling Stones, konsert i messehallen på Skøyen, 1965.jpg|thumb|Richards (far right) performing onstage with the Rolling Stones in Oslo, 1965]]
Richards plays both lead and rhythm guitar parts, often in the same song; the Stones are generally known for their guitar interplay of rhythm and lead ("weaving") between him and the other guitarist in the band – [[Brian Jones]] (1962–1969), [[Mick Taylor]] (1969–1975), or [[Ronnie Wood]] (1975–present). In the recording studio Richards sometimes plays all of the guitar parts, notably on the songs "[[Paint It Black]]", "[[Ruby Tuesday (song)|Ruby Tuesday]]", "[[Sympathy for the Devil]]", and "[[Gimme Shelter]]". He is also a vocalist, singing [[backing vocals]] on many Rolling Stones songs as well as occasional lead vocals, such as on the Rolling Stones' 1972 single "[[Happy (The Rolling Stones song)|Happy]]", as well as with his [[side project]], the X-Pensive Winos.

===Bandleader===
Since the mid-1960s, Richards and Mick Jagger have been the primary songwriters for the Stones, as well as the band's primary producers since the mid-1970s (credited as the [[Glimmer Twins]]), often in collaboration with an outside producer. Former keyboardist Ian Stewart once said that Richards was the Rolling Stones' bandleader; Richards has said that his job is merely "oiling the machinery". Unlike many bands where the drummer sets the pace and acts as a timesetter for a song, Richards fills that role for the Rolling Stones. Both former bassist [[Bill Wyman]] and current guitarist Ronnie Wood have said that the Stones did not follow the band's long-time drummer, [[Charlie Watts]], but rather followed Richards, as there was "no way of 'not' following" him.<ref name="gw86"/>{{sfn|Bockris|2003|p=56}}

===Guitarist===
[[File:Keith Richards 1973.jpg|thumb|Richards playing guitar in concert, 1972|207x207px]]
[[Chris Spedding]] calls Richards's guitar playing "direct, incisive and unpretentious".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chrisspedding.com/jour/kr.htm |title=Keith on keeping on – interview with Keith Richards |publisher=Chrisspedding.com |access-date=15 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708151836/http://www.chrisspedding.com/jour/kr.htm |archive-date=8 July 2011}}</ref> Richards says he focuses on chords and rhythms, avoiding flamboyant and competitive virtuosity and trying not to be the "fastest gun in the west".<ref name="gw86">{{cite news |last=Santoro |first=Gene |title=The Mojo Man Rocks Out |newspaper=Guitar World, March 1986, reprinted (2006) in Guitar Legends: The Rolling Stones |year=1986}}</ref> Richards prefers teaming with at least one other guitarist and has almost never toured without one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sabellastudios.com/tips_krichards.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051025194504/http://www.sabellastudios.com/tips_krichards.php |archive-date=25 October 2005 |title=Sabella Recording Studios: Keith Richards Interview |publisher=Sabellastudios.com |access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> Chuck Berry has been an inspiration for Richards,{{sfn|Wyman|2002|p=30}} and, with Jagger, he introduced Berry's songs to the Rolling Stones' early repertoire. In the late 1960s Brian Jones's declining contributions led Richards to record all guitar parts on many tracks, including [[slide guitar]]. Jones's replacement, Mick Taylor, played guitar with the Rolling Stones from 1969 to 1974. Taylor's virtuosity on lead guitar led to a pronounced separation between lead and rhythm guitar roles, most notably onstage.<ref name="gw86"/> In 1975 Taylor was replaced by Wood, whose arrival marked a return to a guitar interplay Richards called "the ancient art of weaving", which he and Jones had gleaned from [[Chicago blues]].{{sfn|Jagger|Richards|Watts|Wood|2003|p=39, 180}}

A break in touring during 1967–1968 allowed Richards to experiment with [[open tuning]]s. He mainly used open tunings for fingered chording, developing a distinctive style of syncopated and ringing I–IV chording heard on "[[Street Fighting Man]]" and "[[Start Me Up]]".<ref>''Guitar World'', October 2002. Interview: "Heart Of Stone"</ref> Richards's favoured{{snd}}but not exclusively used{{snd}}open tuning is a five-string [[Open G tuning|open G]] tuning: GDGBD. Richards often removes the lowest string from his guitar, playing with only five strings and letting the band's bass player pick up those notes, as the lower string just "gets in the way" of Richards's playing.{{sfn|Hunter|2012|p=141}} Several of his Telecasters are tuned this way. This tuning is prominent on Rolling Stones recordings, including "[[Honky Tonk Women]]", "[[Brown Sugar (The Rolling Stones song)|Brown Sugar]]", and "Start Me Up".<ref name="keithcomesclean">{{cite magazine |last=Obrecht |first=Jas |title=Keith Richards Comes Clean on Distortion and the Meaning of Music |magazine=Guitar Player |year=1992 |url=http://www.geocities.com/abexile/keithintgpl.htm |access-date=9 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407214055/http://www.geocities.com/abexile/keithintgpl.htm |archive-date=7 April 2008}}</ref> Richards has stated that [[banjo]] tuning was the inspiration for this tuning.<ref name="music.cbc.ca">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/11406/keith-richards-explains-the-5-string-guitar-5-stri |title=Keith Richards explains the 5-string guitar: '5 strings, 3 notes, 2 hands and 1 asshole' |last=Kinos-Goodin |first=Jesse |publisher=CBC Music |date=17 September 2015 |access-date=4 January 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301002442/http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2013/6/Rear-view-Mirror-Who-was-Suzanne-and-why-did-Leonard-Cohen-make-her-famous |archive-date=1 March 2016 }}</ref>

Richards regards [[acoustic guitar]] as the basis for his playing,<ref name="diPerna">{{cite web |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/rolling-stones-keith-richards-looks-back-40-years-music-gimme-shelter-interview |title=Keith Richards Looks Back on 40 Rocking Years with the Rolling Stones |last=di Perna|first=Alan|website=guitarworld |date=6 January 2012|access-date=14 May 2019}}</ref> believing that the limitations of electric guitar would cause him to "lose that touch" if he stopped playing an acoustic.<ref name="keithcomesclean"/> Richards plays acoustic guitar on many Rolling Stones tracks, including "Play with Fire", "Brown Sugar", and "[[Angie (song)|Angie]]". All guitars on the studio versions of "Street Fighting Man" and "[[Jumpin' Jack Flash]]" feature acoustic guitars overloaded to a cassette recorder, then re-amped through a loudspeaker in the studio.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/news/keith-richards-8216i-had-a-sound-in-my-head-that-was-bugging-me8217-1386788547 |title=Keith Richards: 'I Had a Sound in My Head That Was Bugging Me' |last=Myers |first=Marc |date=11 December 2013 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=14 May 2019 |issn=0099-9660 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Vocals===
Richards sang in a school choir{{snd}}most notably for Queen Elizabeth II{{snd}}until adolescence's effect on his voice forced him out of it.{{sfn|Booth|1994|p=173-174}} He has sung backing vocals on every Rolling Stones album. Since ''[[Between the Buttons]]'' (1967), he has sung lead or co-lead on at least one track (see list below) of every Rolling Stones studio album except ''[[Their Satanic Majesties Request]]'', ''[[Sticky Fingers]]'', ''[[It's Only Rock 'n Roll]]'', and ''[[Blue & Lonesome (The Rolling Stones album)|Blue & Lonesome]]''.

He has sung lead on more than ten Rolling Stones songs, including "[[Happy (Rolling Stones song)|Happy]]", "[[You Got the Silver]]", and "[[Connection (Rolling Stones song)|Connection]]".<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Dolan|first1=Jon|last2=Doyle|first2=Patrick|last3=Grow|first3=Kory|last4=Hermes|first4=Will|last5=Sheffield|first5=Rob|date=10 September 2015|title=Keith Richards' 20 Greatest Songs|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/keith-richards-20-greatest-songs-58556/|access-date=11 October 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref> During the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour, the Richards-sung "Happy" entered into their concert repertoire, and since then he has sung lead vocals on one or two songs each concert{{sfn|Appleford|2000|p=119}}{{sfn|Jagger|Richards|Watts|Wood|2003|p=290}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=Paulson|first=Dave|date=10 October 2021|title=The Rolling Stones spend the night with Nashville in explosive stadium concert|url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/10/10/rolling-stones-concert-review-nashville-setlist-2021/5903789001/|access-date=11 October 2021|website=The Tennessean|language=en-US}}</ref> in order to give Jagger time to change his outfit.{{sfn|Jagger|Richards|Watts|Wood|2003|p=290}} Keith usually starts with [[Max Miller (comedian)|Max Miller]] routines such as "It's nice to be here{{snd}}it's nice to be anywhere", in order to give the audience a moment to catch its proverbial breath.{{sfn|Jagger|Richards|Watts|Wood|2003|p=290}} During the 2006 and 2007 Rolling Stones' tours, Richards sang "You Got the Silver" (1969) without playing any instrument.<ref name="shine">{{cite video |people=The Rolling Stones |title=Shine a Light |medium= DVD released 2008 |publisher=Universal |year=2006}}</ref>