RIP Bobby KeysHe's about 3:15 in though the whole songs kicks assFrom Richard's Bio "Life," Keith gives Keys the liberty of describing when they met:But Bobby Keys should be allowed to tell the tale of our first meeting, since this is a Texan story. He flatters me, but in this case I have allowed it. Bobby Keys: I first met Keith Richards physically in San Antonio, Texas. I was so biased against that man before I actually met him. They recorded a song, "Not Fade Away," by a guy named Buddy Holly, born in Lubbock, Texas, same as me. I said, "Hey, that was Buddy's song. Who are these pasty-faced, funny-talking, skinny-legged guys to come over here and cash in on Buddy's song? I'll kick their asses!" I didn't care much for the Beatles. I kind of secretly liked them, but I saw the death of the saxophone unraveling before my eyes. None of these guys have saxes in their bands, man! I'm going to be playing Tijuana Brass shit for the rest of my life. I didn't think, "Great, we're going to be on the same show." I was playing with a guy named Bobby Vee, who had a hit at the time called "Rubber Ball" ("I keep bouncing back to you"), and we were headlining the show until They came on, and then they were headlining the show. And this was Texas, man. This was my stomping ground. We were all staying at the same hotel in San Antonio, and they were out on the balcony, Brian and Keith, and I think Mick. I went out and listened to them, and there was some actual rock and roll going on there, in my humble opinion. And of course I knew all about it, given it was invented in Texas and me being present at its birth. And the band was really, really good, and they did "Not Fade Away" actually better than Buddy ever did it. I never said that to them or anybody else. I thought maybe I had judged these guys too harshly. So the next day we must have played three shows with them, and about the third time I was in the dressing room with them, they were all talking about the American acts, how before they went on stage they all changed clothes. Which we did. We went on with our black mohair suits and white shirts and ties, which was stupid, because it was nine hundred degrees outside, summertime in San Antonio. They were saying, "Why don't we ever change clothes?" And they said, "Yeah, that's a good idea." I'm expecting them to whip out some suits and ties, but they just changed clothes with each other. I thought that was great. You got to realize that the vision, the image, according to 1964 US rock-and-roll standards, was mohair suit and tie, and nicey-nicey, ol' boy next door. And all of a sudden here comes this truckload of English jackflies, interlopers, singing a Buddy Holly song! Damn! I couldn't really hear all that well, amplifiers and PAs being what they were, but man, I felt it. I just fucking felt it, and it made me smile and dance. They didn't dress alike, they didn't do sets, they just broke all the fucking rules and made it work, and that is what enchanted the shit out of me. So, being inspired by this, the next day I'd got my mohair suit out and put the trousers on, and my toenails split the seam down the front, and I didn't have anything else to wear. So I wore my shirt and tie and put on Bermuda shorts and cowboy boots. I didn't get fired. I got "What are you... How dare... What is fucking going on, man?" It redefined a lot of stuff for me. The American music scene, the whole set o f teenage idols and clean-cut boys from next door and nice little songs, all that went right out the fucking window when these guys showed up! Along with the press, "Would you let your daughter," all that stuff, forbidden fruit. Anyway, somehow they noticed what I did, and I noticed what they did, and we just kind of met there, really just brushed paths. And then I ran into them again in LA when they were doing the T.A.M.I. show. I discovered that Keith and I had the same birthday, both born 12/18/43. He told me, "Bobby, you know what that means? We're half man and half horse, and we got a license to shit in the streets." Well, that's just one of the greatest pieces of information I'd ever received in my life! The whole heart and soul of this band is Keith and Charlie. I mean, that's apparent to anybody who's breathing, or has a musical bone in his body. That is where the engine room is. I'm not a schooled musician, I can't read music, I never had any professional training. But I can feel stuff, and when I heard him playing guitar, it reminded me so much of the energy I heard from Buddy and I heard from Elvis. There was something there that was the real deal, even though he was playing Chuck Berry. It was still the real deal, you know? And I'd heard some pretty good guitar players coming out of Lubbock. Orbison came from Vernon, a few hours away, I used to listen to him, and Buddy at the skating rink, and Scotty Moore and Elvis Presley would come through town, so I'd heard some pretty good guitar players. And there was just something about Keith that immediately reminded me of Holly. They're about the same size; Buddy was a skinny guy, had bad teeth. Keith was a mess. But some folks, they just got a look in their eye, and he looked dangerous, and that's the truth.
