Letter Describing The Meeting of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger Unearthed
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The story of how Keith Richards met Mick Jagger at the Dartford train station is one of the most frequently told stories in rock history. Today (April 11), a letter from Richards, then 18, to his Aunt Patty describing the Rolling Stones‘ earliest days was posted on the Letters Of Note website.
“You know I was keen on Chuck Berry and I thought I was the only fan for miles,” Richards wrote after the opening. “But one mornin’ on Dartford Stn…I was holding one of Chuck’s records when a guy I knew at primary school 7-11 yrs y’know came up to me.”
After saying that his new friend has introduced him to a new group of people, all of whom collect American rhythm-and-blues records, Richards mentions his name. “Anyways the guy on the station, he is called Mick Jagger and…is the greatest R&B singer this side of the Atlantic and I don’t mean maybe. ”
There is one slight deviation. The story has always been that Richards was carrying his guitar and that he approached Mick to ask about the records Jagger was holding (‘Rockin’ at the Hops’ by Chuck Berry and ‘The Best of Muddy Waters’), only to realize it was his old school mate. Here, Richards has the records and Jagger came up to him.
Still, it’s cool to read Richards describing the event with all the excitement (and poor punctuation) of a teenager, and without the years of bad blood between them. It’s even more fun if you imagine it being read in Richards’ trademark wheeze.
