Keith Richards’ opinion on Stevie Ray Vaughan

Like many musicians of his generation in England, Keith Richards was heavily influenced by American Blues players. The Rolling Stones would not have been the same if the band members had not been exposed to that incredible music, which they blended with Rock and Roll to create a completely new and distinctive sound.

Over the decades, Keith has paid tribute to the legendary Blues musicians who influenced him, but what was his opinion of artists from newer generations? He spoke about many of them, including the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.

What is Keith Richards’ opinion on Stevie Ray Vaughan

Keith Richards didn’t talk much about Stevie Ray Vaughan over the years, but when asked by Musician magazine in 1988 to rate some songs, he gave the guitarist a 7 out of 10. After hearing “Pride and Joy”, he said: (dryly) Classic white-boy blues, very proficient. He’s got a good voice and he can play guitar, but there’s only so far you can take that. Of course, you could stick us on doing ‘Black Limousine’ and I could say the exact same thing. If you start talking choice of material, I’d give him a five, but sound-wise, it’s fine. Make it a seven,” he said.

The track was featured on his classic album with Double Trouble, called: “Texas Flood”, released in 1983. It is a rewritten version of the 1962 record “I Go Into Orbit” by Johnny Acey. SRV’s version was released one year after he and Double Trouble had played a private special show for The Rolling Stones.

Keith Richards was the one who recommended Stevie to David Bowie

According to former David Bowie bassist Carmine Rojas, the late artist initially wanted the Blues legend Albert King to play on “Let’s Dance” (1983). When King was unavailable, Keith Richards was the one who recommended Stevie Ray Vaughan. “That was interesting because I’m a big Hendrix fan, and Stevie was like the best of both worlds. I remember Albert King being asked to do Let’s Dance, but he wasn’t available. (Then) Keith Richards turned David onto Stevie.”

“David always had interesting guys like Mick Ronson and Robert Fripp around. So it made sense to have a guy like Stevie who could add a twist. After meeting Stevie and hearing him play, I became a big advocate of Stevie in the studio. To me, he was the ultimate guy who pulled all that shit off, man. Nobody else could play like him,” Carmine Rojas said. That record would go on to become Bowie’s best-selling album. It sold an estimated amount of more than 10 million copies worldwide.

How The Rolling Stones discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan and asked him to play a private show for them

Years before becoming one of the most famous and influential Blues musicians of the 1980s, Stevie Ray Vaughan had the chance to play a private show for The Rolling Stones. It all began when the manager Chesley Millikin was able to give Mick Jagger a videotape of Stevie performing. At the time, Jagger was shopping for a horse at Manor Downs and did not watch the tape right away. Later, when drummer Charlie Watts was at his house, he played the tape and was mesmerized by what he saw.

“A few days later, in New York City, Charlie Watts popped the tape into a VCR at Mick’s house. Watts was floored by what he saw. Garbed in a white kimono decorated with bamboo leaves, a silver concho belt, and a black hat with a silver band, Stevie Ray Vaughan navigated the realms of the dirty and the low-down like no one Watts had heard in twenty years.”

He continued:

“(…) Watts could tell that the young fellow had a few things to learn about presence, given the way he hung his head low, all shy and retiring, dripping sweat on his instrument as he worked through ‘Dirty Pool.’ (…) As Watts watched the tape of Stevie unstrapping his guitar and banging it against his Marshall amps, bringing the feedback up to a violent crescendo, he made a move for the telephone to call Chesley. ‘When can we see the band in person?’ he asked. ‘How about four weeks?’ Chesley said.”

“A party and showcase was arranged at the Danceteria, a trendy, late-night music club in midtown Manhattan. It would be a semiprivate audition for the Stones and their friends. Ostensibly to see if Stevie and his band were right for their record label, Rolling Stones Records,” Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford said in the book “Caught in the Crossfire“.

Mick Jagger was really impressed with their performance

Vaughan said that during the show there was someone jumping up and down as if he were playing along with the band. At first, he thought it was someone from Texas who probably already knew them. But after the show he realized it was actually Mick Jagger, who was extremely excited by their performance. The British singer appeared backstage later saying: “Bloody ’ell, I’ve peed in me pants. T may be vain’. According to the book, Stevie later laughed and said: “But I’ll take a little bit of credit for that.'” There were rumors they would be signed to the Stones’ label, but it never happened.

Like most musicians from his generation, Stevie used to cover The Rolling Stones in the early days of his career. He also played songs by The Doors, The Beatles, The Kinks, Cream and The Byrds. One major difference between him and Keith was that, unlike the British artist, who discovered the Blues a bit later in life, Stevie was born in Texas, where his older brother Jimmie was already playing that kind of music.