Keith Richards has inspired so many imitators that it's easy to forget that he, too, was once a geeky teenager standing in front of a mirror, guitar in hand, mimicking his idols.
At age 71, the guitarist can still recall that time like it was yesterday. That's part of the charm of Crosseyed Heart, his first solo album in 23 years (due out Friday) and a mash note to the American music that inspired him to form the Rolling Stones with his boyhood pal Mick Jagger.
"The first spark was hearing Big Bill Broonzy in 1952, a minor miracle to hear something like that on BBC radio," Richards says by phone from a hotel suite in Chicago, not far from the Chess Records studio the Stones paid homage to in 1964's "2120 South Michigan Avenue."
"When rock 'n' roll came around, it resonated immediately, especially Chuck Berry. And when I found out Chuck was working out of Chess Records, I checked out Muddy Waters. And then I found out Muddy was influenced by Robert Johnson, and I kind of followed the thread all the way through, you know? And I'm still doing it," he says.
He lets out an impish cackle, followed by a deep cough — a reminder of his lifelong cigarette habit, one vice he hasn't given up (more on that in a minute). Richards is perfectly polite and intelligible this morning — no need for a translator — and he's excited to talk about the records that shaped his devil-may-care style.
"Basically, it all starts with the blues," he says of the album's Robert Johnson-influenced title track and blues-rockers like "Blues in the Morning."
"I think the blues go beyond the color of the skin," he says. "It goes down to the bones, and there, we're all the same. That's one of the beauties of the blues. White people can play the blues, too, although I prefer my blues by black people: They've done it more often, and better," he says.
Recorded with his longtime solo band the X-Pensive Winos and co-produced by Steve Jordan, Crosseyed Heart explores Richards' lifelong love of country music in "Robbed Blind." He also dabbles in soul balladry on "Illusion," a duet with Dallas-raised Norah Jones.
"I've loved Norah Jones from the first time I heard her," he says. "She has a texture to her voice. There's a class and a taste you can't miss."
His longtime fascination with reggae turns up on his cover of the late Gregory Isaacs' "Love Is Overdue." Richards has owned a home in Jamaica for years and has produced the Jamaican band Wingless Angels.
"I've always loved the Rastafarians, and they've always loved me. They're pretty spiritual, but at the same time, they're pretty unspiritual when it comes down to day-to-day living," he says, referring to their sacramental ganja smoking.
Richards makes no secret of his own pot use, and he says he's thrilled to see marijuana gradually becoming legal in the U.S.
"I'm overjoyed. It's about time, isn't it?" he says. "It's so stupid that jails are full of people for having a few ounces of this or that. [Legalization] was bound to happen. I'm just glad I stayed around long enough to see it."
The odds of that weren't always in his favor. Although he kicked heroin addiction decades ago, he was a junkie for most of the 1970s, leading to several arrests, including a Canadian bust that threatened to put him behind bars for seven years.
"I think the blues go beyond the color of the skin," he says. "It goes down to the bones, and there, we're all the same."
Richards sang about his arrests in the Stones' 1978 classic "Before They Make Me Run," and he tackles the topic again on the organ-fueled rocker "Nothing on Me," featuring Aaron Neville.
"Steve [Jordan] said, 'You know, Keith? When in doubt, write about the cops and you'll come out with some great lines,'" he says with a laugh before turning serious about his drug busts.
"I'll tell you, baby, if it's happened to you, you'll never forget it. There's a well of information, and at the same time, you're very glad it's just a memory."
He's happy to walk down memory lane to talk about the recent reissue of 1971's Sticky Fingers, an album that ranks next to Let It Bleed as the Stones' greatest single disc.
What is it about Sticky Fingers that makes it so timeless?
"First off, it caught the Stones at a great working period with [producer] Jimmy Miller, and I think it's just a good mixture of songs," he says. "I mean, you've got 'Brown Sugar,' but surprisingly enough, when you listen to it, it's not some raving rock album. Somehow, the slow stuff really works, things like 'I Got the Blues' and 'You Gotta Move' and 'Moonlight Mile.'
"Who knows? Maybe it's the cover that made it special," he says, referring to the album's famously risqué "zipper" artwork, which inspired the name of the Stones' "Zip Code" tour that came to AT&T Stadium in June.
After Richards plays a few shows to promote Crosseyed Heart, he plans to regroup with the Stones to tour South America early next year. After that, he's hoping the Stones will write and record their first studio album since 2005's A Bigger Bang.
"I'd love to get the Stones back into the studio," he says. "It's about time."
Today, at 71, time is no longer on his side. But he's says he rarely thinks about mortality, despite the endless jokes he hears about his superhuman death-defying powers.
"I've never thought about age, really. I mean, I don't really feel any different than I did years ago, physically," he says. "Maybe it's just loving the job. I still love the gig, and I still have great fun making records. Maybe that's the ingredient."
Thor Christensen is a Dallas writer and critic. Email him at thorchris2@yahoo.com.
