During the past six decades since The Rolling Stones were formed, Keith Richards has been one of the most important artists in Rock and Roll, not only for his incredible guitar riffs but also for his songwriting partnership with Mick Jagger. Influenced by American Blues musicians, they incorporated that style into Rock and Roll, showing especially to American fans that the music they loved so much came actually from their own country and deserved more appreciation. Keith considers himself an artist who truly cares about the music, with fame and success being secondary. Over the years, he has talked about many other artists and mentioned three who, according to him, also shared his same passion for music and songwriting. The 3 only artists Keith Richards said really cared about music Keith Richards said in his autobiography "Life", that the only three musicians he knew that had the same attitude towards music and really cared about what they were doing were Otis Redding (who he didn't have the chance to meet) and other two he had the chance to be a good friend of: John Lennon and Gram Parsons (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers). "Of the musicians I know personally (although Otis Redding, who I didn’t know, fits this too), the two who had an attitude towards music that was the same as mine were Gram Parsons and John Lennon. And that was: whatever bag the business wants to put you in is immaterial. That’s just a selling point, a tool that makes it easier. You’re going to get chowed into this pocket or that pocket because it makes it easier for them to make charts up and figure out who’s selling. But Gram and John were really pure musicians. All they liked was music, and then they got thrown into the game." "And when that happens, you either start to go for it or you fight it. Some people don’t even realize how the game works. And Gram was a bold man. This guy never had a hit record. Some good sellers, but nothing to point to, yet his influence is stronger now than ever. Basically, you wouldn’t have had Waylon Jennings, you wouldn’t have had all of that outlaw movement without Gram Parsons." Keith Richards continued: "He showed them a new approach, that country music isn’t just this narrow thing that appeals to rednecks, he did it single-handed. He wasn’t a crusader or anything like that. (Gram) loved country music, but he really didn’t like the country music business and didn’t think it should be angled just at Nashville. The music’s bigger than that. It should touch everybody. Gram wrote great songs. “A Song for You,” “Hickory Wind,” “Thousand Dollar Wedding,” great ideas. He could write you a song that came right round the corner and straight in the front, up the back, with a little curve on it," Keith Richards said in his book released in 2010. He listed Gram Parsons and Otis Redding among the 20 best singers of all time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZHJajD6T-M&list=RDLZHJajD6T-M&start_radio=1 When Rolling Stone asked Keith to list the 20 best singers of all time in 2008, he placed Otis Redding at number 13. He was ahead of names like Smokey Robinson, Little Richard and Elvis Presley. Gram Parsons was ranked higher, at number 10. He was in front of singers such as Mavis Staples and Ronnie Spector, both of whom Richards is a huge fan of. In an interview with Guitar World in 2005, Richards said that his favorite "Satisfaction" version was the one made by Otis Redding. “When I wrote the song, I didn’t think of that particular riff as the big guitar riff. That all fell into place at RCA when Gibson dumped on me one of those first Fuzz-Tone pedals. I actually thought of that guitar line as a horn riff.” “The way Otis Redding ended up doing it is probably closer to my original conception for the song. It’s an obvious horn riff. And when this new Fuzz Tone pedal arrived in the studio from the local dealership or something. I said, “Oh, this is good. It’s got a bit of sustain, so I can use it to sketch out the horn line.” “So we left the track and went back out on the road. And two weeks later I hear it on the radio. I said, “No, that was just a demo!” They said, “No, it’s a hit.” At least Otis got it right. Our version was a demo for Otis,” Keith Richards said. The guitarist already revealed that one of his favorite songs by Otis is "These Arms of Mine". The track was written and recorded by the late musician in 1962. He tragically passed away in an airplane crash in 1967 at the age of 26. Keith Richards said Lennon was a "beautiful spirit" and they were good friends Keith Richards and John Lennon were close although they didn't used to see each other that much in the 1970s. In an interview for Ask Keith, a special serieS of questions and answers he had on his website back in 2004, the Stones guitarist talked about that friendship. “I used to hang out with John quite a bit. He was outrageous. I mean, he was just a beautiful spirit, he certainly didn’t deserve that (being killed). I guess the older it gets, the more we are gonna go through of this saying like Gram Parsons, George and John, ‘What the hell am I doing here. You know what I mean?'” “As I say, the good die young. John, I think he used to come and see me just to be sort of one of The Stones for a night and not be one of The Beatles. Like to get outrageous, you know (laughs). ‘Ok, so you just sleep in front of the toilet, John. You will be alright!’ It was kind of like that, you know. We were just great mates and he is a free sprit,” Keith Richards said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Although the press and fans created the idea of a rivalry between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, there was no animosity between them. Lennon and McCartney even helped them to get their first hit. They gave them them the song “I Wanna Be Your Man” in the early 60s. The post The 3 only artists Keith Richards said really cared about music appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.