The Country Star Keith Richards Wanted To Be Like When He Grew Up: “That Was the Epitome of a Hero”

Countless aspiring guitarists have wanted to be like the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards when they grew up, but when Richards was still a kid growing up in Kent, he wanted to be a country star—not a rock star. But while Richards called his childhood idol “the epitome of a hero,” his neighbor and future bandmate, Mick Jagger, was less enthused.

Nevertheless, Richards’ earliest country influences found their way into the Stones’ repertoire in one way or another. We’d say all’s well that ends well, even if Richards never learned how to rope and ride.

Keith Richards Wanted To Be Like This Country Star

Like so many other young lads growing up in England in the 1950s, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards had an undying infatuation with American cowboys. So, it’s unsurprising that Richards would have taken to Roy Rogers, nicknamed the King of Cowboys, for his total commitment to the Western lifestyle. Rogers was not only a guitarist and singer. He was also an actor, horseman, and marksman.

“I was a Roy Rogers freak,” Richards told the Poughkeepsie Journal in 2014. “There was a man who could ride a horse, shoot straight, and play a guitar. To me, that was the epitome of a hero. Nothing to shoot? Just get the guitar out.” Along with the helpful guidance of his maternal grandfather, Theodore Augustus “Gus” Dupree, Richards began learning guitar at 5 or 6 to emulate his singing cowboy idol.

Richards certainly wasn’t alone in his admiration, either. The sheer fact that a young boy from England would know of an Ohio native film star was a testament to Rogers’ international fame. He went on to influence countless musicians and actors after him. Lyle Lovett, Elton John, Toby Keith, and Randy Travis mentioned Rogers’ legacy directly in their works. Richards’ future bandmate, however? He was less enthusiastic.

Mick Jagger Was Never a Huge Roy Rogers Fan

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards might have grown up a massive Roy Rogers “freak,” but the Stones’ frontman, Mick Jagger, was less of a fan. Jagger once recalled the first conversation he remembered having with Richards, saying, “I asked Keith what he wanted to do when he grew up. He said he wanted to be like Roy Rogers and play guitar.”

“I wasn’t particularly impressed with the Roy Rogers bit,” Jagger admitted. “But the part about guitar did interest me.” Richards and Jagger’s friendship varied over the years. Although Jagger said he never knew a time in his life when he didn’t know who Richards was, thanks largely to the fact that they grew up in the same neighborhood, they weren’t always the closest of companions. Eventually, they rekindled their friendship into a musical collaboration after meeting on a train by chance and bonding over a mutual love of the blues.

Despite Jagger not being a big fan of Roy Rogers, Richards’ early country influence is evident in classic Rolling Stones tracks like “Wild Horses” and “Dead Flowers.” Indeed, Richards might have never been a cowboy in real life, but at least he plays music that cowboys enjoy.

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