10 Greatest Rhythm Guitarists In Rock History

In the grand tradition of rock and roll, Keith Richards has seemed to be designated as rhythm guitarist for decades. With the amount of amazing players like Ronnie Wood and Brian Jones who have been a part of the Rolling Stones story, Keith seems to be more of a rockstar these days rather than a guitar player. Though the riffs are etched into our collective DNA, there's only one man who can produce the sound of Keef.

As acts like the Beatles were making waves around the same time, Keith seemed to be just as curious as to where his guitar could take him, working on some strange tunings that were more reminiscent of the blues tradition. Almost single handedly pioneering the open G tuning, Keith hit on a sound that was all his own, famously saying that all you needed was "5 strings, two shapes, one ass*ole." Though the explanation itself might have been a joke, the tuning is not, being an integral part of the Stones' most famous tunes from Brown Sugar to Start Me Up.

And it's not like Keith had to necessarily change up his style from one song to another either. For all of the different sounds that the Stones have gotten over the years, you can still hear Keith hidden in there driving the band forward. The style might seem simple these days, but making songs like these only comes out when you have some actual menace in your soul.