Keith Richards Reveals Two Rolling Stones Songs He Has Always Struggled to Play

The Riff Machine with a Challenge

Keith Richards has played a major role in shaping rock and roll history. With his love for electric blues, he helped push The Rolling Stones into stardom, crafting some of the most iconic guitar riffs ever heard. Though not known for flashy solos, Richards focused on feel and rhythm, becoming one of the most respected guitarists of all time.

Even with all his experience, Richards admitted that not every song has been easy to play. Over the years, some Rolling Stones tracks have continued to give him trouble, even though he created them himself.

 

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Creating Something New with Open Tunings

Richards didn’t set out to become a rhythm guitar legend. When he came up with the riff for “Satisfaction,” he was trying to copy the sound of an R&B horn section. The result became one of the most famous guitar parts ever recorded.

As The Stones moved away from their early sound, Richards experimented with open tunings, especially open G. This approach shaped many of the band’s classic songs, including “Start Me Up” and “Brown Sugar,” giving them a rough but catchy groove that became the band’s signature.

The Uneasy Magic of ‘Gimme Shelter’

Despite writing so many hits, Richards shared that “Gimme Shelter” is one of the harder ones for him to play. He told Rolling Stone, “Once you get into it, it’s fine, but I’m never sure if I’m the right volume. I’m always a bit anxious about. That beginning is so eerie, sometimes in a stadium, you start to hear echoes.”

The track, from the album Let It Bleed, was recorded at the end of the 1960s. Its haunting tone captured the darker mood of the time. The studio version is full of reverb and effects, making it hard to recreate live. Richards has to find just the right sound to match the vibe, and it’s not easy in a large venue.

The Tough Simplicity of ‘Honky Tonk Women’

Richards also named “Honky Tonk Women” as a song that can be tricky. “’Honky Tonk Women’ can be a bastard to play, man,” he said. “When it’s right, it’s really right. There’s something about the starkness of the beginning you have to have down, and the tempo has to be just right. It’s a challenge, but I love it.”

The track starts with a simple drum beat from Charlie Watts, but everything depends on Richards’ guitar part coming in with the perfect timing. If it’s off, the whole song can fall apart. Its simplicity makes it harder to hide mistakes.

From a Ranch in Brazil to a Bluesy Hit

Richards also explained how the song came to life. “‘Honky Tonk Women’ started in Brazil. Mick and I, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg who was pregnant with my son at the time. Which didn’t stop us going off to the Mato Grasso and living on this ranch. It’s all cowboys. It’s all horses and spurs. And Mick and I were sitting on the porch of this ranch house and I started to play, basically fooling around with an old Hank Williams idea. ‘Cause we really thought we were like real cowboys. Honky tonk women.”

He added: “We were sitting in the middle of nowhere with all these horses, in a place where if you flush the john, all these black frogs would fly out. It was great. The chicks loved it. Anyway, it started out a real country honk put on, a hokey thing. And then a couple of months later we were writing songs and recording. And somehow by some metamorphosis it suddenly went into this little swampy, black thing, a blues thing.”