If you don’t know who Keith Richards is and you saw a picture of him for the first time, you might believe that he was a boxer. The man is weathered, tough, leathery, and carries an air that says, “I’ve been through the ringer.” Well, a rough and tumble life leads to some scars, and that is the case for both rock stars and professional fighters. Aside from that reason, Keith Richards believes he shares one similarity with the nastiest, baddest, most cutthroat prizefighter of all time, Mike Tyson.
In terms of life experience, Keith Richards and Mike Tyson share a lot in common. Mainly, the two figures spent a period of time letting their inner beast control the sticks. Consequently, both suffered from drug and alcohol abuse, run-ins with the law, and have since reformed their ways. However, Keith Richards did not mention this past as their similarity. Rather, that similarity resides in the shared features of their hands.
Why Keith Richards Believes His Hands Operate in the Same Way As Tyson’s
There is certainly a connection between the metacarpal movements of a boxer and a guitarist. Furthermore, without hands, neither a boxer nor a guitarist would have a career. That being said, the appendage is the definition of a necessity in these two fields. Here is what Richards said about the physical hand movements that connect him and Mike Tyson.
In the book Anatomy of a Song, Richards stated, “On that opening riff, I used enormous force on the strings. I always did that and still do. I’m looking at my hands now, and they look like Mike Tyson’s.” “They’re pretty beat up. I’m not a hard hitter on the strings — more of a striker. It’s not the force as much as it is a whip action. I’m almost releasing the power before my fingers actually meet the strings. I’m a big string-breaker since I like to whip them pretty hard,” added Keith Richards.
You might be thinking that Richards’ comparison is a stretch. After all, could Keith Richards knock out any man on the face of the Earth with one clean punch, even if he trained? Probably not, but the motor movements he’s speaking about suggest a more poetic comparison than a physical one. Thus, Richards is seemingly suggesting that he and Tyson share a nuanced craftsmanship, and not an equal power of force. Regardless, what a comparison to draw upon.
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