{"id":538178,"date":"2026-04-18T18:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/538178\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T18:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:06:11","slug":"the-one-bandmate-keith-richards-called-larger-than-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/538178\/","title":{"rendered":"The one bandmate Keith Richards called “larger than Texas”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Keith<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n

Sat 18 April 2026 16:34, UK <\/p>\n

Alongside The Beatles, it was The Rolling Stones<\/a> who dominated the countercultural scene that boomed in the 1960s, irrevocably transforming popular culture. <\/p>\n

While the former had a more significant cultural influence, The Rolling Stones are still going strong, having released 25 studio albums over the decades. The prolific band remains one of the only popular groups from the 1960s that still make music today, as well as touring for generations of devoted fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the core of The Rolling Stones are Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, with their writing partnership<\/a> spawning some of the most iconic rock songs of all time. The pair were childhood friends, although they reconnected as teenagers after bumping into each other at Dartford train station. Jagger was armed with rock and roll and blues records, of which Richards was a fan, leading the two to discuss music. Soon enough, they\u2019d formed a band, eventually settling on the name \u2018The Rolling Stones\u2019 after the Muddy Waters song \u2018Rollin\u2019 Stone\u2019. <\/p>\n

Although the band began by covering blues tracks, they soon evolved into an established rock and roll band, with their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, assisting them in refining their style. The Rolling Stones became a sensation, encapsulating the scandalous \u2018sex, drugs and rock and roll\u2019 lifestyle. While all the band members were wild at some point in their lives, often finding themselves in the tabloids for their salacious behaviour, Richards was perhaps the most notorious. <\/p>\n

However, Richards\u2019 illicit behaviour never stopped him from finding musical success. Alongside The Rolling Stones, Richards has contributed to other artists\u2019 albums as a session musician and even launched a solo career. The guitarist released his first solo album,\u00a0Talk Is Cheap, in 1988, before following it up four years later with\u00a0Main Offender.\u00a0Yet, Richards abandoned his solo career for 23 years before returning with 2015\u2019s\u00a0Crosseyed Heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Keith<\/a>(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n

The record was Richard\u2019s highest-charting solo effort, peaking at number seven on the UK Album Charts compared to Main Offender\u2019s position at 45. Crosseyed Heart featured various collaborators, such as Norah Jones, Larry Campbell and Sarah Dash. However, it also inlcuded the final performance from Bobby Keys, a close friend and collaborator of The Rolling Stones. <\/p>\n

Keys, an American saxophonist, often joined in with Richards\u2019 crazy behaviour while working with the Stones, such as throwing a television set out of a window with the guitarist. He even played the iconic solo in \u2018Brown Sugar\u2019<\/a> and toured with the band, famously joining them for their Glastonbury debut in 2013. Richards deeply admired Keys, calling him \u201clarger than Texas\u201d.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly<\/a>, he reflected on Keys\u2019 legacy, explaining: \u201cOh, man. Bob just comes and he\u2019s ready to rock\u201d. <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe man was larger than Texas, and that\u2019s saying something. Of course, we had no idea that this would be his last recordings. God, I miss that man. He was a damn good friend and a brilliant sax player. He\u2019d been with me most of my working life. I\u2019m still pretending he\u2019s alive. But I know he ain\u2019t. I miss him sorely, yeah.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keys passed away in 2014 after a decades-long career in music. His work with The Rolling Stones cemented his legacy, although he also performed with artists from Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Lynyrd Skynyrd. He made his debut with The Rolling Stones as far back as 1969 on \u2018Live With Me\u2019, although his tenure with the band came to a temporary halt when his heroin addiction became too much to handle. However, Keys subsequently renewed his time with the band a few years later, becoming a staple touring member until his death. <\/p>\n

In many ways, Bobby Keys embodied the loose, unpredictable spirit that made The Rolling Stones such a force in the first place. He was never just a sideman ticking boxes in the background, but an integral part of the band\u2019s extended family, adding a raw, soulful edge that elevated their sound whenever he stepped into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Looking back, his presence on Crosseyed Heart feels like a fitting full-circle moment for Richards. After decades of chaos, creativity, and camaraderie, having one last recording with his longtime partner in crime gave the album an added emotional weight, serving as both a celebration of their shared history and a quiet farewell to one of rock\u2019s most colourful characters.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy) Sat 18 April 2026 16:34, UK Alongside The Beatles, it was The Rolling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[185788,96,25721,128,15747,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-538178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-bobby-keys","tag-entertainment","tag-keith-richards","tag-music","tag-the-rolling-stones","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}