Besides co-founding and sharing songwriting duties for one of the most influential bands ever, Keith Richards is also the poster child for rock and roll decadence, making him one of the most interesting personalities in music. By 1982, just before the Rolling Stones would embark on their 20th anniversary tour, Keith had matured and mellowed enough to make this conversation with Lisa Robinson coherent, but has never matured so much as to make the stories boring.

And this interview has it all. Highlights include discussions about his role as a torch-bearer for American blues; his upcoming marriage to Patti Hansen; the end to his estrangement with his father; his prescient views on the interaction between technology and the music industry; and, of course, the Rolling Stones, from their origins with Brian Jones and Ian Stewart through their upcoming tour. Join Keith in having a cocktail, kick back, learn, and enjoy.

Part 1 00:00 – The futility of making plans with The Stones 01:21 – The challenges that face the band: same today as they were yesterday 02:14 – Carrying on the tradition of blues guitarists / imitators of the Stones 04:07 – The hardest part of the job / the talent of handling stress 05:28 – The support network within the band 06:16 – Re-uniting with his father after 20 years / a grandfather for Marlon 08:44 – Not thinking about how cool he is / emphasizing certain parts of the swagger 10:04 – Bemoaning the music industry’s inability to keep up with advances in technology 11:43 – The merchandising opportunities for the 20-year reunion 12:30 – Other thoughts on the 20-year anniversary 13:22 – Reaction to the press’ reaction to his upcoming marriage to Patti Hansen 14:26 – “Avoiding” marriage for a long time

Part 2 00:00 – Making the Let’s Spend the Night Together movie 01:41 – Cocksucker Blues: the truth, the legend 02:32 – Pleasantly surprised by Let’s Spend the Night Together 03:21 – Unfortunately mixing with the Hollywood crowd 04:32 – Hollywood making the Stones palatable 05:10 – The Stones’ involvement with the film (sound, mixing) 06:08 – Trying not to put out pieces of crap 06:54 – The derivativeness of popular music 09:27 – Thoughts on the place of his body of work in the context of musical history 11:22 – Keith Richards coming of age / reflections on being a drug addict 14:04 – Increased decision making within the Stones and the problems it’s causing 17:04 – The group decision making process in the 1960’s 18:50 – People that still test his will power to not do drugs 20:24 – Traveling with three generations of Richards 21:20 – Why Mick receives more attention about his age / who exerts the most energy on stage 23:53 – The dilemma of young people not being exposed to certain music 26:01 – Technology’s role in changing new music 27:00 – Current music not turning Keith on; always 90% trash

Part 3 00:00 – Racism to be found in what radio stations play 01:24 – Suffering as the impetus for the greatest music (except for the Stones) 02:53 – The social and racial underpinnings to the Stones’ music / regurgitating American music to Americans

Part 4 00:00 – Possibility of working with the Neville Brothers on the Stones’ record label 02:56 – Thoughts on touring with corporate sponsorships 05:55 – Where the Stones would draw the line about corporate sponsorships 07:21 – You can trust the Stones to not sell out 09:37 – Playing with Brian Jones and Ian Stewart / why Ian left the band 11:12 – Brian’s initial role in the band 13:05 – Ian Stewart’s sense of humor and sainthood 13:48 – Another 20 year reunion? / bootlegged merchandise 14:48 – Rumors about making more money on t-shirts than the tour 16:49 – How many albums the Stones made / hearing the bootleg tapes 18:24 – Keith and Patti as a media couple / thoughts on marriage 20:19 – Lisa’s assurances about marriage 21:52 – Thoughts on pre-nuptial agreements 22:21 – What the new album (Undercover) will sound like 24:05 – Thoughts on the Emotional Rescue album 26:39 – Thoughts on the Exile on Main Street album