{"id":170681,"date":"2025-12-18T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=170681"},"modified":"2025-12-17T07:26:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:26:57","slug":"keith-richards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=170681","title":{"rendered":"Happy birthday KEEF"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nIt’s Keith Richards’ birthday. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said this before and I\u2019ll say it again: If you are feeling introverted, if you are feeling lonely for conversation and human contact, read Keith Richards’ spectacular autobiography<\/a> in public. People will come up to you when they see what you\u2019re reading and have to talk about it. I read it in Memphis, during a bad period, the worst. I felt like I was a ghost. I went for days without speaking to anyone. I went to the Peabody Hotel, sat at the bar in the gorgeous lobby, and drank a couple of Bloody Marys. I was alone but I needed to be surrounded by people. It made me feel like I wasn’t a ghost. I took out Richards\u2019 book and fell into its mesmerizing pages. I was lost to the world. My Bloody Mary was delicious. I was part of humanity. Suddenly, a guy down the bar struck up a conversation with me. He noticed the book I was reading. He hadn’t read it but was a huge Stones fan. We ended up talking for 45 minutes. <\/p>\n

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\nIt happened again at the famous Arcade restaurant in Memphis, where I went to have breakfast. The 20something waitress saw what I was reading and stopped to discuss. Her boyfriend gave her the book for Christmas, she had just finished it and needed to discuss. <\/p>\n

So. Take this tip, go forth, and have interesting conversations with strangers!<\/p>\n

The audio version of the book was read by three different men, one of which is a pal of mine, Joe Hurley. I met him at a Bloomsday celebration<\/a>, the one I go to every year. Joe was the maestro conductor of our impromptu sing-along. We have intersected occasionally over the years. He performed at the Losers Lounge tribute to Queen<\/a> at the Bowery Ballroom – an unforgettable night. Every year, Hurley hosts an Irish Rock Revue on St. Patrick’s Day, which I’ve gone to a couple of times<\/a>. When news hit of Richards’ audiobook, and I saw Joe Hurley’s name in the mix, I couldn’t believe it but it also made so much sense!<\/p>\n

My brother Brendan wrote quite a bit about the Stones in his music essays, which I posted here on my site, so I thought I’d share links to some of them. Brendan is such a good writer.<\/p>\n

On The Beggars Banquet<\/i>.<\/a><\/p>\n

Beatles vs. The Stones<\/a><\/p>\n

Teensy Jagger<\/a> (seeing the Stones at Dodger Stadium)<\/p>\n

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\nCheck out this awesome clip, of Jerry Lee Lewis and Richards performing “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” in 1983. It starts off pretty conventional, albeit awesome, these two giants performing with a mutual respect for one another.<\/p>\n

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