George Harrison's opinion on Keith Richards

Besides being the most underrated songwriter in The Beatles, George Harrison was also an incredible guitar player who was fundamental to the band’s sound. He inspired countless guitarists around the world, many of whom, like him, became influential and carved their names in Rock history. Unlike his bandmate Paul McCartney, who gave thousands of interviews during his career, George didn’t talk to the press that much and spoke even less about other artists. However, he did share his opinions on some of them, including The Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards. What was George Harrison’s opinion on Keith Richards?

George Harrison was called “the quiet Beatle” by the media and fans during his career and he was always modest when it came to talking about his own guitar playing. When asked in an interview about ELO’s Jeff Lynne calling him a “great guitar player” and pointing out that Harrison always played it down when praised, he mentioned Keith Richards as one of the greatest Rock and Roll rhythm guitar players, but also said that the Rolling Stones member was not very good as a lead guitarist.

“I’m not playing it down. I’m just not playing it up! I think Keith (Richards) is one of the best rock ’n’ roll rhythm guitar players. I don’t think he’s very good at lead. But this is what I feel about myself too: What we do is make records, and the records have some good guitar parts on them. I like Keith enormously, I think he’s great, but he’s not Albert or B.B. King. Anyway, the main thing about him is that he has the confidence,” George smiles. “So even if it’s not perfect he doesn’t care,” George Harrison told Musician magazine in 1990.

Source: Rafael Polcaro/rockandrollgarage.com

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