Thursday, April 10, 2008

NOT INTIMIDATED BY BUDDY GUY: MICK JAGGER

Most rock stars have a sense of reverence about legendary blues artists. These are the people who laid the foundation of the music that changed the world. You could be more crass about it and say that the early blues guys got exploited and later waves of rock stars got rich by commercializing what had come before them. 

But whatever, Mick Jagger doesn't play the reverence game. In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Mick is on the cover with Keith Richards and Jack White. (interestingly, Keith and Jack are interviewed together, Mick alone). 

The interviewer asked him if he was intimidated by playing on stage with Buddy Guy in the Shine A LIght flick, and Mick said, "I'm not intimidated. I might have been when I was twenty." But then added, "Well, not even then." The followup question was if he would be intimidated by anyone onstage? "No (laughs)." 

On one hand, I find it annoying that this guy - even though he is the singer from The Rolling Stones - doesn't bow to Buddy Guy (and Keith Richards would probably agree with me on that one). On the other, here's a guy who isn't what you would call a great singer in the technical sense, who is a good but not great musician (Keith would be much harsher than that in assessing his chops) and yet he is intimidated by exactly no one.  You've got to admire that kind of confidence, that kind of swagger. I wonder how many rock stars there will ever be with that kind of confidence (who aren't totally full of shit). 

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