(Credit: Jim Marshall)

The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to his musical choices. His outspoken ways have landed him in the occasional feud, but more often than not, he’s celebrating his influences in such a way that in another lifetime, he could’ve been some sort of eccentric musicologist living vicariously through the blues, roots and reggae artists that went before him or followed in his stride.

“What I love about reggae,” Richards regales in the recent Under the Influence documentary, “Is that it’s all so natural, there’s none of this forced stuff that I was getting tired of in rock music.” He then goes on to clarify, “Rock and roll I never get tired of, but ‘rock’ is a white man’s version, and they turn it into a march, that’s [the modern] version of rock. Excuse me,” he adds humorously, “I prefer the roll.”

Naturally, with those comments in mind, his 20 favourite singers list is quite reggae and blues heavy, but there are a few other outliers in the mix that hint at the Rolling Stones legend’s eclectic selection of loves and influences. The list in question comes as part of Rolling Stone’s ‘100 greatest singers of all time’ piece that saw eminent stars supply a ballot of their own arsenal of favourites.

Now, it is well worth noting that Richards’ list dates back to 2008, so it may well have changed a bit over the years and with Richards himself taking up a spot on the list, it is perhaps not his most definitive selection, but it still makes interesting reading, nevertheless. Notably, his taste is pretty impeccable. While there are notable absentees in the form of stellar vocalists like Nina Simone, Al Green and Jeff Buckley, Richards showcases a refined and dignified ear with his stirring roster.

Taking the top spot on Richards’ list is the woman who famously could “make anything sound good” – Aretha Franklin. Her inclusion is perhaps unsurprising, not just because it is self-evident that she is one of the greatest singers of all time, but because Richards also inducted her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was the first-ever female to join when Richards opened the door. His speech was mostly a list of grunts and nods, but his affection for Lady Soul was clear. ‘Keef’ was also lucky enough to collaborate with her, so he knows her skills firsthand, too.

The next spot on the list is occupied by the reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff. The duo became pals after meeting when The Rolling Stones were cutting Goats Head Soup in Jamaica in 1973. This was a time that he remembered fondly in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, “[It was] very memorable, especially in that year. Because that was ’73. That was the year that [Bob] Marley and the Wailers put out Catch A Fire.”

“I remember being in Jamaica,” he adds. “There was this feeling in the air, actually, that Jamaica was starting to make a mark on the map. It was a great feeling.” After the record was cut, Richards decided to stay in Jamaica for a while, where he immersed himself in the vivified culture and basked in the sun-soaked glory of Reggae for a while and fell in love with Cliff’s music. “He wrote some of the most beautiful ballads that ever came out of Jamaica,” Richards remarked.

Further down the list, another of Richards’ close pals crops up in the form of Tom Waits and his thousand-year-old, stout-hearted, smokey voice. “There’s nobody in the world like him,” Waits says of his friend and collaborator, Richards.

Speaking to NPR’s Fresh Air, he spoke of their time working on Waits’ iconic Rain Dogs together, stating: “We wrote songs together for a while and that was fun [but] he doesn’t really remember anything or write anything down. So, you play for an hour and he would yell across the room, ‘Scribe!’ And I looked around. ‘Scribe? Who’s the scribe?’ And he’d say it again, now pointing at me.” This, like his list, is indicative of the fact he’s interested in fresh energy rather than familiar tradition.

The common theme throughout all of Richards’ selections is that he champions a unique voice over the classical measures. Every one of his choices exhibits a great deal of character in their singing, and when you reflect on the near-fictional figure that Richards cuts for himself, that couldn’t be a more befitting criteria.

The second most notable theme is his penchant for making a stir. Mick Jagger proves to be a glaring omission, particularly in light of the fact that he included himself. Over the years, he has augmented the stance of this exclusion by making quips about how he was jealous of the fact that The Beatles had four fine singers at their disposal, and The Rolling Stones didn’t even have one.

Yes, in typical Richards style, you might be hard-pushed to say that his list is objectively correct, but you can’t say that it isn’t entertaining and full of personality. You can check out the full list below.

Keith Richards’ 20 favourite singers:

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Jimmy Cliff
3. Sam Cooke
4. Buddy Holly
5. George Jones
6. Willie Nelson
7. Toots Hibbert
8. Aaron Neville
9. Muddy Waters
10. Gram Parsons
11. Ronnie Spector
12. Mavis Staples
13. Otis Redding
14. Smokey Robinson
15. Tom Waits
16. Little Richard
17. Warren Zevon
18. Bonnie Raitt
19. Elvis Presley
20. Keith Richards

Related Topics