Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the rock band the Rolling Stones ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time.Fourteen songs Richards wrote with songwriting partner and the Rolling Stones' vocalist Mick Jaer were listed on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All1 Early life 2 Musicianship 2.1 Bandleader 2.2 Guitar playing 2.3 Vocals 2.4 Other instruments 3 Songwriting 4 Record production 4.1 Solo recordings 4.2 Recordings with other artists 4.3 Rare and unreleased recordings 5 Public image and private life 6 21st century 7 Musical equipment 7.1 Guitars 7.2 Amplifiers 7.3 Effects 8 Discography 8.1 Studio albums 8.2 Singles 9 Guest appearances on other artists' releases 10 Lead vocals on Rolling Stones tracks 11 References 12 External linksRichards is the only child of Bert Richards and Doris Dupree Richards and was born at Livingston Hospital in Dartford, Kent. His father was a factory worker injured during World War II during the Normandy invasionKeith Richards' paternal grandparents were socialists and civic leaders whose family was originally from Wales His maternal grandfather (Augustus Theodore Dupree), who toured Britain with a jazz big band Gus Dupree and his Boys, fostered Richards' interest in guitarRichards' mother introduced him to the music of Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and bought his first guitar, while his father disparaged his son's musical enthusiasmRichards's first guitar hero was Scotty MooreRichards attended Wentworth Primary School with Mick Jagger and was his neighbor until 1954 when the family movedFrom 1955 to 1959 he attended Dartford Technical Recruited by Dartford Tech's choirmaster Jake Clair, Richards sang in a trio of boy sopranos at, among other occasions, Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth IIIn 1959 Richards was expelled from Dartford Technical School for truancy and transferred to Sidcup Art CollegeAt Sidcup Richards was diverted from his studies proper and devoted more time playing guitar with other students in the boys room. At this point Richards had learned most of Chuck Berry's solos."Richards 1965Richards met Jagger on a train as was headed to classes at the London School of Economics.The mail order rhythm & blues albums from Chess Records albums by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters was carrying revealed a mutual interest and led to a renewal of their friendship. Along with mutual friend Dick Taylor, was singing in an amateur band Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, which Richards soon joined. The Blues Boys folded when Brian Jones and Ian Stewart accepted Richards, , and Taylor into the just forming Rolling StonesIn mid-1962 Richards had left Sidcup Art College to devote himself to music and moved into a London flat with Jagger and Jones. His parents divorced about the same time resulting in Richards staying close to his mother and remaining estranged from his father until 1982.[citation neededAfter the Rolling Stones signed to Decca Records in 1963, their band manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, dropped the "s" from his surname believing "Keith Richard", in his words, "looked more pop (In the late 1970s Richards reestablished the "s" to his surname.)Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards
