The entire concept of modern rock guitar playing may as well be derived from Keith Richards’ right hand. As acts like The Beatles and Chuck Berry may have laid the groundwork for what modern rock would become, The Rolling Stones helped invent the art of a great guitar riff, with Richards coming up with little song fragments out of the air. While Keef may have many classic songs, one riff stands out above the rest.
Then again, The Rolling Stones were never meant to be a typical songwriting band. In the group’s early years playing the London clubs, most were satisfied playing the typical 12-bar blues songs that they loved as kids, often filling their albums with loads of covers and adding in the odd original tune here and there.
Once they saw what John Lennon and Paul McCartney were capable of in The Beatles, Mick Jagger and Richards would begin to write their original masterpieces, coming up with classic tracks like ‘As Tears Go By’ and ‘Play With Fire’. Although most songs followed the conventional structure of verse and chorus, Richards hit on something unprecedented when he sat down to write ‘Satisfaction’.
Looking to simulate a horn line on guitar, Richards created the blueprint for the guitar riff, which would later be adopted by everyone from Led Zeppelin to AC/DC. Along the way, Richards was also experimenting with various open tunings, which led to one of the most savage singles the band would ever create, ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’.
Named after a gardener who would look over Richards’ house while he was on tour, the song featured some of the most feral guitar tones heard on a record, with Richards leading the way for Jagger’s bad-attitude vocals. Although Richards is constantly chasing after the one riff that he hasn’t written yet, he admitted that he came as close to perfection when he wrote the leading hook of the song.
When talking about the final track, Richards would go on to say that there was nothing like plugging his guitar into an amp and playing that riff, saying, “As soon as I pick up the guitar and play that ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ riff, something happens here – in your stomach. It’s one of the better feelings in the world. You just jump on that riff, and it plays you. Matter of fact, it takes over. An explosion would be the best way to describe it. It’s the one that I would immediately go to if I wanted to approach the state of nirvana”.
Even though Richards may have written one of the foundational riffs of rock history, he was only just getting started. Eventually tuning most of his guitars to an open tuning, Richards would unlock a new sonic vocabulary on The Stones’ later releases, creating musical pieces that were full of attitude, from the ominous sounds of ‘Gimme Shelter’ to the one guitar break that kicks off ‘Start Me Up’.
Despite the massive amount of legendary songs in their catalogue, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ would still feature prominently throughout the band’s setlist, always getting the crowd excited from when the guitar begins. Although Richards may have written more complicated riffs afterwards, there aren’t many songs that define what The Stones are really about than that guitar break.
