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Keith Richards and the rest of The Rolling Stones were an early inspiration to Bruce Springsteen. The American artist taught himself to play Richards’ guitar riffs and dreamed about performing onstage with the band. When Springsteen rose to fame, he crossed paths with The Rolling Stones multiple times. Richards, who he’d admired so greatly, liked him as a person. He wasn’t as big a fan of Springsteen’s music, though.

Keith Richards liked Bruce Springsteen but had problems with his music

Richards and Springsteen had crossed paths several times by the late 1980s, and the former enjoyed each of their interactions.

“I’ve met Bruce two or three times,” Richards told Rolling Stone in 1988. “We’ve had several good chats, usually at some release party or premiere, and we just end up in the corner talking. He’s a sweet guy, a nice guy.”

While he liked Springsteen as a person, Richards didn’t appreciate his lengthy concerts.

“Mind you, I think four-hour shows really are way over the top,” he said. “To me, a great rock & roll act does twenty minutes [laughs]. I remember the Paramount, where you got the Impressions, Jackie Wilson, Joe Tex, and everybody does just their absolute supreme best shot! A lot of the shows you get these days are very self-indulgent. I don’t think anybody can be enthralling for four hours onstage playing rock & roll.”

He also wasn’t a fan of Springsteen’s music, finding it pretentious.

“Bruce? That’s a tough one, because I like the guy. But the music … I don’t know,” he said. “I’m the toughest taskmaster of all time. I’m going to annoy a lot of people. Bruce? To me, it’s pretentious.”

Richards added that he understood what Springsteen wanted to accomplish with his music. He just didn’t think the other artist was pulling it off.

“I love his attitude. I love what he wants to do,” he said, adding, “I just think he’s gone about it the wrong way. These are just my opinions, and okay, I’ll annoy the lot of you. Bruce? Too contrived for me. Too overblown.”

The Rolling Stones ended up following in Bruce Springsteen’s footsteps at concerts

Years after Richards rolled his eyes at Springsteen’s lengthy concerts, the American artist still performs in hours-long shows. While The Rolling Stones don’t perform for quite as long, their concerts are much longer than the 20-minute shows Richards praised in 1988. 

Instead, the band gets onstage for at least two hours. Like many classic rock artists, the band plays lengthy shows to tackle their extensive catalog. While Richards found it annoying when Springsteen did it, he ultimately followed in the other artist’s footsteps. 

Keith Richards played in concert with Bruce Springsteen

In 2012, Springsteen lived out his childhood dream when he joined The Rolling Stones onstage for the final show of their 2012 tour. He joined Mick Jagger for a rendition of “Tumbling Dice.” While the experience of playing with the band onstage thrilled Springsteen, he preferred their rehearsal the day before.

“The next night we did it for twenty thousand thunderstruck New Jerseyans in Newark,” Springsteen wrote in his book Born to Run. “It was a thrill but it didn’t have the mystic kick of the night before, when I got to sit in, in that little room with just those four guys, the GREATEST GARAGE BAND IN THE WORLD, in my small piece of rock’ n’ roll heaven.”

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