Throughout the decades that The Rolling Stones have been together, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have split their songwriting duties down the middle. They have also written quite a bit of music together in a collaborative fashion. But when you take Jagger and the collaborations out of the picture, there are quite a few excellent songs in the Stones’ discography that were penned by Richards. Let’s look at five of the best Rolling Stones songs that were written by Keith Richards!
1. “You Got The Silver”
One of Keith Richards’ best songs has to be “You Got The Silver” from the 1969 Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed. The song features rare solo lead vocals from Richards and has a smooth, bluesy vibe to it that is absolutely killer. The song is also famous for being the last track the band ever recorded with Brian Jones.
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2. “Happy”
Another track that features some rare lead vocals from Keith Richards, “Happy” is one of the best songs from Exile On Main St. It’s also one of few Richards-lead songs that made it to the Top 30 of the Billboard charts. It’s a vibrant, explosive gem on an otherwise hazy album.
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3. “Before They Make Me Run”
Most Stones fans are aware of the time Keith Richards was arrested for drug possession in Canada in 1977. It was a startling experience for Richards, and the prospect of doing jail time inspired a few different songs in the years that followed. “Before They Make Me Run” was written about the then-pending trial over the drug bust.
4. “Little T&A”
This 1981 track from Tattoo You is one of Richards’ sassiest pieces of work to date. It’s an ode to women, namely all the women that Richards and Jagger partied with over the 1960s and 1970s. It’s a little bit sleazy, a little bit introspective (does Richards regret some of those one-night stands?), and an overall excellent jam from a sorely underrated album.
5. “Wanna Hold You”
“Wanna Hold You” is a classic Keith Richards song from the 1983 album Undercover. It’s a guitar rager about being a poor boy who is in love with a girl. This is interesting, considering Richards was filthy rich by the early 1980s. Still, the song is Richards at his sleaziest and most Chuck Berry-inspired.
Photo by Ian Gavan
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