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Rolling Stones quotes:Keith Richards on the change of his last name to Richard and then back to Richards
KEITH RICHARDS OR KEITH RICHARD? Before he was the ultimate rock outlaw, Keith Richards had a little name drama. Back in 1963, manager Andrew Loog Oldham thought “Richards” sounded too stuffy for a pop star — so off went the “s.” For years, albums listed him as “Keith Richard,” partly to sound cooler, maybe even a bit like Cliff Richard. Wild, right? Subscribe to read how Keef later reclaimed his name — and his legend.
“It made me sick – my name’s Keith Richards. It hardly makes it against Howlin’ Wolf or Muddy Waters, does it? On my first guitar I had ‘Boy Blue’ written – just pathetic. But that was as good as I got at the time.”
Before Keith Richards became the rock ‘n’ roll outlaw we know today, his name went through a bit of an identity crisis. Born on December 18, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, the only child of Doris and Herbert Richards, Keith carried that final “s” proudly — until the early days of the Rolling Stones. When image-obsessed manager Andrew Loog Oldham came along in 1963, he figured “Richards” sounded too square for a budding pop star. “Keith Richard” just felt punchier, more radio-friendly — and maybe, Oldham thought, a little closer to (fellow artist) Cliff Richard.
From Richard To Richards Again
Keith didn’t put up much of a fight. In fact, he once admitted to the BBC that he actually hated his own name, saying it “hardly makes it against Howlin’ Wolf or Muddy Waters.” He even scrawled “Boy Blue” on his first guitar — his teenage attempt at something cooler. For the rest of the 1960s and most of the 1970s, the world knew him as “Keith Richard.” Every record sleeve, every tour poster dropped that final letter.
But by the late ’70s, after his infamous Toronto drug bust in 1977, Keef decided to reclaim his full surname — and maybe a little of his old self. The “s” returned quietly, with no big announcement, just a slow restoration of identity from the man who’d seen and survived it all. Whether it was maturity, rebellion, or just rock ‘n’ roll symmetry, “Keith Richards” was back for good.
It’s funny how one little letter can sum up a life — a kid from Kent turned blues disciple, outlaw guitarist, and ultimate survivor. “Richard” might’ve been the image. But Richards? That’s the legend.
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