{"id":608547,"date":"2026-05-28T13:43:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/608547\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:43:24","slug":"rolling-stones-keith-richards-created-the-most-iconic-riff-in-rock-in-his-sleep-and-other-key-moments-from-new-biography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/608547\/","title":{"rendered":"Rolling Stones: Keith Richards created the most iconic riff in rock in his sleep \u2013 and other key moments from new biography"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Rolling Stones are gearing up to release their latest album Foreign Tongues, and now there\u2019s a juicy new biography from author Bob Spitz that offers a comprehensive, unsparing and bloody history of the biggest rock band of all time<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The moment Mick Jagger strutted on to the stage for the first time, their fate was set. From their earliest days as blues-obsessed kids to living in freezing squalor, to the first taste of fame and the day they landed in the US and went stratospheric \u2013 and all the grit, glamour and gore in between \u2013 the book uses Spitz\u2019s own knowledge of the band along with archive Rolling Stones <\/a>interviews and new commentary from their colleagues and friends.<\/p>\n

Of course, many of these tales have long-been cemented into rock \u2018n roll lore, but with a history as colourful as the Stones\u2019, is it any wonder we keep revisiting them?<\/p>\n

Here are just five of the myriad key moments from the book, from the moment the band\u2019s name was chosen to a fateful first encounter with The Beatles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The moment the Rolling Stones were born<\/p>\n

In June 1962, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Dick Taylor wanted to place an ad in Jazz News to state that they were available for paid gigs. Sitting on the carpet in Brian Jones\u2019s \u201cgrubby\u201d flat on Powis Square, they were asked for a band name and realised they\u2019d never discussed it. <\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of asking the others \u2013 prompting a debate that could go on for hours \u2013 [Jones] did a quick one-eighty and noticed a Muddy Waters Chess album on the floor behind them,\u201d Spitz writes. \u201cHe picked it up and checked out the list of songs on the back cover, stopping at the first one \u2013 \u2018Rollin\u2019 Stone Blues\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Rolling Stones in 1963, clockwise from top: Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart (Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the Rollin\u2019 Stones,\u201d he told the operator.<\/p>\n

As Spitz notes, we\u2019re now 65 years on and no one has objected yet.<\/p>\n

Brian Jones had a \u2018rebellious streak that bordered on anarchic\u2019<\/p>\n

Brian Jones, one of the band\u2019s founding members and arguably its most notorious when it came to their sex, drugs and rock \u2018n roll lifestyle, was a \u201chandful right out of the crib\u201d, Spitz writes. Born on 28 February 1942, he is described as \u201can overachiever who mastered chess, learned a number of unrelated musical instruments, drew a variety of figures to scale and perfection, and displayed a photographic memory for detail. But he had trouble paying attention, was disruptive in social situations, and had a rebellious streak that bordered on anarchic. His parents were at a loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EricEric Clapton, John Lennon (1940 – 1980) – with his wife, artist Yoko Ono and his son Julian – and Brian Jones (1942 – 1969) pictured at a press conference at Internel Studios in Stonebridge Park, Wembley, for the Rolling Stones’ Rock & Roll Circus project (Getty)<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019s father was an aeronautical engineer for a company specialising in the manufacture and repair of aircraft equipment, while his mum Louise, taught piano to neighbourhood children. Louise Jones described her son as \u201cstrange\u201d while his father, Lewis Jones, \u201chardly knew how to deal with him\u201d. One of Jones\u2019s first girlfriends described the family home as \u201csterile\u2026 very proper\u2026 no feeling\u201d. <\/p>\n

Yet Jones still proved himself as something of a prodigy, teaching himself several different instruments before homing in on the guitar. After moving to London from Cheltenham, he befriended a number of young musicians on the scene, for a brief time performing under the name \u201cElmo Lewis\u201d. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the book, Spitz documents how after co-founding the Stones and giving them their name, Jones grew jealous over the relationship between bandmates Keith Richards<\/a> and Mick Jagger<\/a>, who led the band\u2019s direction away from blues and towards their pioneering rock \u2018n roll sound. He abused drugs and alcohol and became increasingly unreliable, ultimately feeling pushed out: he was dismissed in June 1969. Less than a month later, he died by drowning aged 27 in the swimming pool at his home in east Sussex.<\/p>\n

How Keith Richards came up with the iconic \u2018Satisfaction\u2019 riff<\/p>\n

The Stones had returned to the US after a few shows in Paris, where they met then 23-year-old model and actor Anita Pallenberg <\/a>for the first time. Ahead of a gig at New York\u2019s Academy of Music, they checked into the Fort Harrison Hotel. Keith went to bed as usual with a guitar and cassette recorder within reach.<\/p>\n

Early in the morning, he woke up, dazed, picked up his guitar and hit record, playing what he\u2019d heard in his head. He muttered a few words along with it: \u201cI can\u2019t get no satisfaction,\u201d before collapsing back into deep sleep. <\/p>\n

\"KeithKeith Richards and Mick Jagger in 1967 (Getty)<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t remember anything the next day but checked the recorder to find it had wound all the way to the end of the reel. When he rewound it to the beginning, he hard himself singing: \u201cOn the tape, you can hear me drop the pick, and the rest of the tape\u201d \u2013 about 40 minutes in length \u2013 \u201cis me snoring.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he knew the riff he\u2019d come up with was \u201cundeniable\u201d, Spitz wrote. Richards played it to Jagger later this morning, and it would go onto feature what is now regarded as perhaps the most iconic riff in the history of rock \u2018n roll. <\/p>\n

The day the Rolling Stones met The Beatles<\/p>\n

The Stones had been picking up plenty of traction with their live shows: \u201cit was soul-stirring, loud and uncompromising \u2013 much like what had been going on at the Cavern [Club], 220 miles to the north,\u201d Spitz says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word of mouth was incredible\u2026 The Rolling Stones were drawing startlingly large crowds. The band realised what was at stake. Sundays became an exhausting doubleheader, playing an afternoon gig at Ken Collyer\u2019s club in Soho, before driving straight to the Station Hotel, where they gaped out the van window at the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rolling Stones had caught fire. The music they were playing and the way they played it struck a chord with a young crowd starved for something different, something their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Sunday afternoon, the Stones were wrapping up the last of those gigs at Colter\u2019s club, with an audience described as \u201cannoyingly polite\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Beatles \u2018marched through the crowd\u2019 and stood right in front of the Stones as they played (Getty)<\/p>\n

One of the regulars, a \u201csnaggletoothed guitar player\u201d who turns out to be Eric Clapton, was observing the crowd when he noticed a frenzy at the door: \u201cThese guys came in all wearing the same thing \u2013 black leather gear and the same haircut,\u2019\u201d Eric Clapton recalled. Bill Wyman immediately picked up the same vibe. \u2018S***,\u2019 he thought, \u2018that\u2019s the Beatles!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd parted as the four Beatles marched through the mass of dancers and planted themselves directly in front of the stage. The Rolling Stones, for their part, didn\u2019t miss a beat. They simply turned up the heat, not at all intimidated, except for Mick, who said, \u2018I didn\u2019t want to look at them. I was too embarrassed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

George Harrison later recalled being blown away by the performance: \u201cThe beat the Stones laid down was so solid it shook off the walls and seemed to move right inside your head.\u201d Ringo Starr, meanwhile, was mesmerised by the onstage chemistry between Jones and Richards: \u201cKeith and Brian \u2013 wow!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cThey just had a presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two bands met by the bar during a break and the Stones convinced the Beatles to stick around for the second set, then hang around back at their squalid flat in Edith Grove. The Beatles invited them to be guests four days later at their Royal Albert Hall debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an eye-opener,\u201d Spitz writes. \u201cThe reception the Beatles received from mostly 14-year-old girls was chaotic, unlike anything the Stones had ever heard. Shrieks and screams continued throughout the Beatles\u2019 entire set, just sheer pandemonium, causing the band to flee after taking a bow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The year the Stones broke America<\/p>\n

The Stones claimed their own iteration of \u201cBeatlemania\u201d when they landed in the US on 7 February 1964, two months before the release of their debut album. \u201cTo cats like Charlie [Watts] and me, America was fairyland,\u201d Richards said. \u201cTo be paid to go there and play to Americans, we were s****ing ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike the Fab Four and their American invasion, the Stones spurned any schmoozing with the US media or giggling on chat shows with their grinning hosts. They were already the toast of London, with a number one album and relentless coverage in the British press. When they stepped off the plane at JFK to a crowd of around 500 fans, \u201call hell broke loose\u201d and they were bundled through customs and, to their indignation, a health check: word had got out that they were \u201cdirtier, wilder, freakier, more disheveled\u201d than their mop-haired rivals.<\/p>\n

\"FromFrom top: Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman. The Rolling Stones at London Airport (later Heathrow), en route to the United States for their second American tour in October 1964 (Getty)<\/p>\n

They struggled, too, with dismissive or downright mocking hosts for filmed performances, among them a snooty Dean Martin. But again, it was the live shows where they made their impact: a riot squad was called to the Swing Arena in San Bernardino, where \u201ccrowds of kids swarmed the crowds\u201d and tried to ram through the doors.<\/p>\n

During the show, the band \u201clet it rip\u201d, Spitz writes, using some savvy crowd-pleasing during \u201cRoute 66\u201d, as Jagger sang: \u201cFlagstaff, Arizona, don\u2019t forget Kinsman, Barstow… San Bernardino.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the kids heard their town name-checked, they went apes***, the screams were deafening,\u201d Spitz says. \u201cSeveral girls broke for the stage and were dragged away by sheriff\u2019s deputies. Others, in a hysterical swoon, had to be sedated by medical staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The Rolling Stones\u2019 by Bob Spitz is out now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,207237,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-608547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-lac0125","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608547","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=608547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}