40 Year Itch : One Boy Whose Time Has Come

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   When the Rolling Stones were looking for a guitarist to replace Mick Taylor, Nils Lofgren called Keith Richards. He got the number from Ronnie Wood. Lofgren tells the rest of the story in this interview:

   Keith Richards answered. I couldn't believe it. He didn't know me, but was totally honest and open with me. He said, 'Yeah, we want Ronnie but he won't do it. I'm frustrated.' He said the whole band was going to audition guitarists at a cattle call in Geneva or some exotic city and if I wanted to come down, no problem. Then, within the next week or so, Ronnie changed his mind and took the gig. That's the whole story.

   But that story doesn't explain this song from Nils Lofgren's 1975 solo debut, which sounds like a plea to Keith Richards ( who along with Mick Jagger produced albums as The Glimmer Twins) to get healthy and stick around for future Rolling Stones albums and tours. Here's Nils's explanation:

   It is intended to be a giant thank you note to Keith on behalf of all of us fans. The ominous chords and melody, were also a great backdrop to implore Keith to take care of his health for his sake and ours and to continue sharing his great gift with us all.

    I'd just like to point out that Nils Lofgren's solo debut is also a great gift and very easily one of my 10 favorite albums of 1975. Guess I'm not the only one who feels that way:

   In April of 2014, Nils uploaded this acoustic version of "Keith Don't Go" and even if you can't spare the entire seven minutes, you should at least skip ahead to the 3:00 mark for some jaw-dropping guitar playing. 

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  On this date in 1975, The Wiz : The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" mades its Broadway debut.