News Keith Richards on the “heaviest” rock song he ever loved
For every artist, there’s typically one song that marks the beginning of their journey. Even if they were already passionate music fans, hearing that particular piece seemed to ignite something deep within them, propelling them from aspiring musicians to dreamers of global fame. While Keith Richards was destined to become a rock star from the moment he discovered the blues, he confessed that his true “eureka” moment occurred when he encountered the music of Elvis Presley.
Before Richards had even started getting invested in rock and roll, the British music scene was already getting exposed to the sounds of the blues. Carrying over from America, some of the biggest names in Delta blues and Chicago blues became massive stars to aspiring musicians trying to make their own take on artists like Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters.
If there was a musical god for Richards, though, it would have had to be Robert Johnson. Armed with only a handful of recordings from his lifetime and a guitar, Johnson would become an integral part of The Rolling Stones’ vocabulary when they first started, covering songs like ‘Love in Vain’ and ‘Stop Breaking Down’ on some of their most celebrated albums.
By the time rock and roll took over, it was all about the sounds of Chuck Berry that sent guitarists into a frenzy. Upon hearing works like ‘Johnny B Goode’, artists like John Lennon and George Harrison were transfixed, determined to make songs that were half as good as what their idols did when forming The Beatles.
Despite being a fellow Berry disciple, Richards was interested in what Elvis Presley had begun. By taking the sounds of the early rock and rollers and using his guitar as a glorified prop, Presley was the frontman before people even knew what that word was, impressing everyone he came across with his wild dance moves and leaving more than a few female fans in hysterics afterwards.
Beyond the raw performance, Richards was more interested in the music going on in between Presley’s pelvic thrusting. When talking about the greatest recordings of ‘The King’ that he had ever heard, Keef singled out ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ as one of the most profound recordings that Presley ever laid down.
Discussing the power of the song, Richards marvelled at how ‘The King’ could make such a big impact with the silence in between the notes, saying, “[Silence] can produce that depth in a recording. If you fill it all up, the whole space is in your face. For instance, there’s very little going on in ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. I think it’s probably one of the heaviest hammers that ever hit me.”
Richards wouldn’t be the only one who fell in love with the track, with George Harrison considering the song one of the first major musical roots that he ever had. Richards still had a long way to go when listening to ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ for the first time, but taking cues from Presley is hardly a bad place to start when putting a rock and roll band together.
