Life

Never thought the book would be as engrossing and moving as it turned out to be. Richards' honesty, empathy, and crazy adventures won me over.

As lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards has been a massive influence on British music since the 1960s. Personal stories about his amazing life and rock' n'roll icons like John Lennon, James Brown, and Bo Diddley litter this autobiography and make it a fascinating read. He has created a book that is engaging and hard to put down!  

As a Stones fan, I naturally loved the origin story of when Keith met Mick and bonded over their love of blues music. And I was captivated by all the behind-the-scenes tales of writing all those immortal classics (“Satisfaction,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Angie”? I mean, come on!)

But more importantly, I was profoundly moved by Keith’s unflinching candor. Who knew he was such an incredible storyteller? His disarming honesty about everything from his substance abuse to his infidelities left a lasting impression on me and inspired me to be more fearless and take my writing to the next level.

Keith Richards is a legend in large part because of his musicianship and the many timeless songs he has written with Mick Jagger for the Rolling Stones, but he’s also legendary for his consumption of alcohol and drugs.

“I’m glad to be here,” he has said on more than one occasion. “I’m glad to be anywhere.” Therefore, it’s astonishing how much he remembers of his life, including nearly a hundred pages on his youth before the formation of the Stones.

And what a life it is, full of celebrities and misadventures and close calls with the law and, above all,… show more.

What better book for my list than one by Keith Richards titled Life?

I expected a fascinating history; I wasn’t expecting his hilarity. Often, actual humorists’ books are not well written or funny (exceptions: Billy Crystal, P.J. O’Rourke, Leslie Jones, Dave Barry, Aziz Ansari, Paula Poundstone, Mo Rocca, Chelsea Handler, David Sedaris, and others).

Aside from the juicy inside info about his life and one of the best bands ever, I dug the author's thoughts about life besides sex, drugs, rock & roll, and how choirboy Keith was a talented artist who spent time in marketing (who knew?). It's… show more.

I fell for the whole package when I was 12 years old and listening to High Tide and Green Grass, the Rolling Stones' 1966 Big Hits album. As for Life, I don’t really care if Keith just spoke it all into a tape recorder and someone else transcribed it and wrote it. He’s an icon, a survivor, and one of the greatest faces of Pop Culture and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Between the songs, the guitar, the sense of style, and his enduring relationships with Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and Patti Hansen, Life is a story like no other.  

The Keith Richards memoir, as told to British journo James Fox, not only captures his voice perfectly, I think it’s the closest thing to literature I’ve ever found on the music shelves. I love the way he hands the mic to other characters from his life, adding a dash of biographical remove to enrich his own story. As an artifact of performing-arts memoir, I think it’s as important as any Stones album.