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LOS ANGELES - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has signed a deal reportedly worth more than US$7 million ($9.29 million) to write his autobiography, a tome that will trace his trek from cherubic choirboy to rock 'n' roll survivor.
The memoir will hit stores in the fall of 2010, said New York-based publisher Little, Brown and Co, which partnered with Britain's Weidenfeld & Nicolson to secure worldwide English-language rights.
Media reports said on Tuesday a bidding war pushed the price above US$7 million, a hefty sum given that music-based books are traditionally not big sellers. Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton reportedly received a US$5 million advance for his upcoming memoir.
Richards, 63, will collaborate on the book with James Fox, author of the 1982 murder mystery White Mischief. The Stones guitarist becomes only the second member of the venerable band to write his memoir, following former bassist Bill Wyman, who wrote Stone Alone in 1990. Singer Mick Jagger started to write an autobiography, but soon got bored and abandoned the idea.
"Keith Richards has stood cool at the center of the hurricane for nearly fifty years," said Michael Pietsch of Little, Brown.
"His story, in his own words - the band, the songs, the tours, the life - will be the most eagerly awaited book ever to come out of the hallowed halls of rock and roll."
Richards has never been shy about expressing his opinions in interviews, with Jagger often bearing the brunt of his acerbic wit. The guitarist got himself into big trouble with his own family earlier this year when he claimed that he snorted the ashes of his dead father. He hastily backtracked after generating worldwide headlines.
Richards, whose passion for perpetuating the musical legacies of Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry was almost surpassed by his unquenchable desire for drugs, was the shy, only child of a mother who spoiled him. He sang in the choir until his voice broke, and slipped into the role of juvenile delinquent.
He and childhood pal Jagger co-founded the Rolling Stones in 1962. Richards famously came up with the riff for (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction in his sleep. He also was responsible for such tunes as Ruby Tuesday, Gimme Shelter and Angie.
He spent much of the 1970s in a heroin fog, eventually cleaning up, to a degree, when faced with the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence after he was arrested in Canada in 1977. He wrote about his struggles in the song Before They Make Me Run.
The Rolling Stones are now on tour in Europe. Richards remains a fan favourite, but his slurred speech, inconsistent playing and arthritic joints testify to his hard-living days.
COURTING CONTROVERSY
* During the 1960s and '70s Richards' openness about his drug use made him a poster boy for those who shared his penchant for seeking refuge by chemically altering their minds.
* In 1967 Richards', Mick Jagger and some of their friends were arrested on drugs charges at Richards' estate in Sussex. Their convictions were quashed after just two days in prison, but Richards' testimony during the trial about England's "petty morals" was not forgotten and made him unpopular with the establishment.
* 1977 saw Richards arrested again, this time by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Toronto. He was charged with importing narcotics after being found with 22 grams of heroin - a charge which carried a mimimum sentence of seven years in jail.
* Rolling Stones fans packed the Toronto court room for the October 1978 trial. Despite having been caought in possession of drugs, it was found that Richards was not likely to steal for his habit - which was the court's main concern with heroin charges. He escaped a prison sentence and was ordered to perform a charity concert for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
* In 1983 Richards married model Patti Hansen. He and Hansen have two daughters and Richards also has three children with his former lover Anita Pallenberg.
* In 2006 Richards signed on for the final Pirates of the Caribbean movie to appear in a cameo role as Captain Jack Sparrow's father. Johnny Depp had long said he based his performances as Sparrow on Richards.
* After allegedly falling out of a coconut tree while holidaying in Fiji last year, Richards was flown to New Zealand with head injuries and received brain surgery at Auckland's Ascot Hospital.
* Richards claimed in an interview with NME earlier this year that he had snorted his late father's ashes: "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared. It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive," he said. The comments created an international uproar and Richards later claimed he had been joking.
- REUTERS, NZ HERALD STAFF
