They’re the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. Everyone knows the name. Everyone knows the tongue logo. But if you actually sit down and listen to the records—really listen—you realize the band's secret isn't just Mick Jagger’s hips or Charlie Watts’ swing. It’s the guitar. Specifically, it’s the way The Rolling Stones guitarists have cycled through three distinct eras, each one fundamentally altering how the band moved, breathed, and survived.
Most people think a rock band is just a lead guy and a rhythm guy. That’s not how the Stones work. Keith Richards calls it "the ancient art of weaving." It’s this messy, beautiful blurring of lines where you can’t quite tell who is playing what. It shouldn't work. On paper, it’s a disaster. In practice, it’s why they’re still selling out stadiums in their eighties.
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The Brian Jones Years: Invention and Chaos
Before the stadium tours and the private jets, there was Brian Jones. He formed the band. He chose the name. Honestly, without Brian, there is no Rolling Stones. In the early 1960s, he was the undisputed leader, a blues purist who could pick up literally any instrument—marimba, sitar, recorder, dulcimer—and make it sound cool.
But as a guitarist? He was the foil to Keith.
In those early Chess Records-inspired tracks, Brian and Keith were obsessed with Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters. They weren't trying to play solos; they were trying to play together. If you listen to "The Last Time," that driving, repetitive riff is Brian. It’s hypnotic. It’s not flashy, but it’s the hook. However, as the 60s progressed, Brian’s interest in the guitar waned as his drug use skyrocketed. By the time they were recording Beggars Banquet, he was barely there. He’d show up, play a bit of slide on "No Expectations"—which is arguably his most beautiful contribution—and then fade out.
The tragedy of Brian Jones isn't just his early death in 1939; it’s that he lost his grip on the very thing he created. When the band fired him in 1969, they didn't just need a new player. They needed a technical upgrade.
Enter Mick Taylor: The Virtuoso Era
If you ask a guitar nerd which era of The Rolling Stones guitarists is the best, they will say 1969 to 1974. Every single time.
Mick Taylor was twenty years old when he joined. He came from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, which was basically the Harvard of British blues. Taylor didn't "weave" much. He excelled at fluid, melodic, soaring solos that Keith Richards simply couldn't play. Keith knew it, too. Instead of competing, Keith leaned into his open-G tuning riffage, creating the "Keef" sound we know today, while Taylor provided the icing on the cake.
Listen to "Can't You Hear Me Knocking."
The first half is a classic Keith riff. Gritty. Dirty. Then the song shifts. It turns into this Latin-infused jam where Mick Taylor goes on a melodic journey for several minutes. It’s sophisticated. It brought a level of musicality to the Stones that they hadn’t seen before and haven't seen since. This was the era of Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.—the peak of their creative powers.
But Taylor was a shy kid in a den of pirates. He didn't get songwriting credits, he felt marginalized, and the lifestyle was wearing him down. When he quit in late 1974, it caught everyone off guard. Jagger was devastated. Keith, in his own way, was probably relieved to get his "weaving" partner back.
Ronnie Wood and the Return of the Weave
Replacing Mick Taylor wasn't easy. They auditioned everyone. Jeff Beck was considered. Rory Gallagher was in the mix. But they chose Ronnie Wood.
Why? Because Ronnie is a Stone. He looked the part, he lived the part, and most importantly, he understood Keith. Since 1975, the lineup of The Rolling Stones guitarists has been defined by the symbiotic relationship between Richards and Wood.
Ronnie isn't the technical wizard Taylor was. He’d admit that. But he has this incredible ability to slide into whatever space Keith leaves open. They don't play lead and rhythm. They play "the weave." On tracks like "Beast of Burden," the guitars are like two people having a conversation. You can’t tell where Keith ends and Ronnie begins. It’s loose. It’s sloppy in the best possible way.
Why Open G Tuning Matters
You can’t talk about these guys without mentioning Keith’s five-string setup. He famously removes the low E string and tunes the rest to an open G chord ($G-D-G-B-D$).
- The Drone: It allows for a resonant, droning sound that fills the room.
- The Simplicity: You can play a major chord with one finger.
- The Percussion: Because there's no low E, Keith can wham the strings harder without it sounding muddy.
This tuning is the DNA of "Brown Sugar," "Start Me Up," and "Honky Tonk Women." While Ronnie plays in standard tuning, the contrast between his traditional shapes and Keith’s open-G "telecaster" chime creates that specific Stones wall of sound.
The Misconceptions About Keith’s Playing
People joke that Keith Richards is just a "riff guy" or that he’s survived on luck. That’s nonsense. Keith is one of the most disciplined rhythm players in history. He plays behind the beat—just a fraction of a second late—which gives the songs that "rolling" feel.
When Charlie Watts was alive, he and Keith were the engine. If Keith moved his arm, Charlie hit the snare. The guitarists in this band aren't just there to look cool; they are there to dictate the pulse of the music.
What Really Happened With the 2023 'Hackney Diamonds' Sound?
When the Stones released Hackney Diamonds in 2023, the guitar world noticed something. The guitars were louder. They were sharper. Andrew Watt, the producer, basically forced Keith and Ronnie to stop being polite.
For years, the studio recordings had become a bit "safe." On the new record, you hear the grit again. You hear the mistakes. That’s the irony of The Rolling Stones guitarists—they are at their best when they are slightly out of tune and pushing against each other. It’s a chemistry that you can’t manufacture with AI or session pros.
Actionable Steps for Aspiring Guitarists
If you want to capture that Stones sound, don't just buy a Telecaster and a Fender Twin amp. You have to change how you think about the instrument.
- Try Open G Tuning: Take off your low E string. Seriously. Tune to $G-D-G-B-D$. It will force you to play differently. You'll stop playing "scales" and start playing "shapes."
- Focus on the Snare: Don't listen to the metronome. Listen to the drummer’s snare. Try to hit your chords just a millisecond after the snare hits. That’s the "swing."
- Stop Soloing: Most amateur players want to be Mick Taylor. Try being Ronnie Wood first. Find the holes in a song and fill them with small, two-note fills instead of long, fast runs.
- Study the Blues Masters: The Stones are just a loud version of Jimmy Reed. Listen to Live at Carnegie Hall by Jimmy Reed. You’ll hear where Keith got everything.
The history of the Stones is a history of transition. From the experimentalism of Brian Jones to the melodic heights of Mick Taylor and finally to the telepathic bond of Keith and Ronnie, the guitar has always been the North Star. They aren't just players; they are the architects of a sound that defined the last sixty years of culture.