Writers can learn a lot from Keith Richards, and I’m not talking about drug abuse or successful rehab.
I say this because of Keith’s passion for what he does. He didn’t become a musician for the money. He doesn’t write to trends. He does what he does because he has to. He’d be playing in an East End dive if he hadn’t met with such spectacular success in the Rolling Stones, and he’d still be happy.
He’s the main creative force and lead vocal behind one of my favorite Stones’ songs, “Thru and Thru” from the Voodoo Lounge album. But like most people, I didn’t know it from the radio, and I don’t own the album. I came to know it when it was featured on the Sopranos, the “Funhouse” episode where Pussy meets his end. I fell in love with the transition between almost a capella and the drum crash, then heavy, driving base, and the beautiful, painful words.
Here’s what Keith said about “Thru and Thru” getting so much attention years after it was recorded: “I thought it was dead and gone. If it’s a good song, it doesn’t matter whether it immediately comes out of the starting gate. Our songs take a while to fall in. We’re way ahead of people, and they need time to catch up.”
Amen.
Don’t stop writing while you’re waiting for the world to catch up.
