Posted on 12/16/2008 8:23:10 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LONDON (AFP) – Famously drug-addled Rolling Stone Keith Richards turns 65 this week, but he remains tightlipped about any wild party plans he might have to celebrate becoming a pensioner.
The legendary guitarist, songwriter and archetypal wild rocker will reach the landmark age -- more usually associated with gardening and cardigans -- only a few months after Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who turned 65 in July.
"He wants to keep it very private," was all a spokesman for Richards would say when asked how the musician would mark his birthday on Thursday.
Named by Rolling Stone magazine as the tenth best guitarist in the world, the shaggy-haired star has proved remarkably resilient to a lifetime of substance abuse, explained by his view that his body was a "laboratory".
Richards toured the world with the Stones last year, and continues to release music, although his image as a hell-raiser was nuanced by his recent appearance in an advert for upmarket luggage maker Louis Vuitton.
But the myth surrounding him remains strong, reinforced by tales of him falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji in 2006, reports that he snorted his father's ashes with cocaine and, for younger fans, his reincarnation as Johnny Depp's character Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
Born December 18, 1943 in Dartford, east of London, Richards was initiated into the world of the blues by his mother.
In 1960, he met up with Jagger, an old primary school classmate, and with Brian Jones they formed Rolling Stones, named after the Muddy Waters song.
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Everybody always joking on Keith Richards and making fun of the way he looks and his “rock and roll” lifestyle. Fact is, Keith Richards is a bit of a health freak, which is why he’s lived so long. He doesn’t eat any high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. He uses olive oil daily. He’s up at the crack of dawn whereupon he jogs for three miles and he’s usually in bed by 10PM, but not before he does 50 pushups and 100 situps. Yeah, he might crack a beer from time to time or maybe even smoke some weed but he’s basically as clean as Pat Boone.
I don’t know about how clean he is considering what his body and lungs endured in countless concert halls and clubs, air quality-wise, but diet can definitely help. I never saw the Stones, managed to see Led Zeppelin ages ago.. maybe when I hit 65 myself in 10 years, I can go see the Stones perform.
Let it Bleed has withstood the test of time. (And surprisingly, so has Richards. he’s outlived a lot of musicians from the 60s.)
A great album.
And it sounds better on vinyl than it ever did on CD.
The lyrics are “Hey! You! Get offa my lawn!!”
while looking over the comments, Hate it when you Leave(with the Xspensive Winos)came up on my computer!!!!
Happy birthday to Keef.
BTTT
Put him in a studio where he belongs.
What year did he turn 65? Just kidding. Rock on, Keith!
Keef!
Keef!
>>Time is on my side , Yes, It is.
Especially when one can afford spare parts.
Gotta wonder how many of KR’s are OEM - same as with Fidel.
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