Keith Richards Signs A Publishing Deal With BMG

BMG is honored to announce Keith Richards has signed a new worldwide deal to bring his solo recordings catalog to BMG. The agreement now brings together Richards’ 1978 debut solo single and four solo albums from 1988-2010, alongside his publishing that BMG has represented since 2013.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Richards’ debut solo release, a 1978 recording of the Christmas classic ‘Run Rudolph Run’, BMG will release a limited edition 45rpm 12” on red vinyl, remixed and remastered by longtime collaborator Steve Jordan. The November 23rd North American Record Store Day exclusive includes a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Come’, a version of ‘Pressure Drop’ featuring Toots & The Maytals, and a “Santa Keith” holiday card featuring a greeting from Richards himself.

Keith Richards said, “Looking forward to working with Hartwig Masuch and everyone at BMG.”

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch, “It has been a pleasure to build a relationship with Keith and his exceptional team over the past five years. It is a real honor now to extend that relationship even further to work with his classic solo releases.”

BMG EVP Global Catalogue Recordings Peter Stack said, “This agreement paves the way for a  reappraisal and repositioning of the solo work of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s true originals and arguably its most pre-eminent guitarist. Fans can expect a programme of releases which truly does justice to these great recordings.”

Released in 1988, Richards’ debut solo album, the Gold-certified Talk Is Cheap, featured the Top 5 US rock hit ‘Take It So Hard’, Top 20 US rock hit ‘You Don’t Move Me’, and single ‘Struggle’. Co-writing every song on the album, Richards teamed up with Steve Jordan to co-produce the album featuring his band the “X-Pensive Winos”.

During pre-production of his follow-up studio album in 1991, Richards released Live At The Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988, a live set recorded during the Talk Is Cheap Tour. Featuring performances with his band the X-Pensive Winos, the album includes a collection of songs from Talk Is Cheap and several of his Rolling Stones vocal highlights, which would go on to sell more than 100,000 copies in the US alone.

Once again pairing with Jordan to co-produce and co-write his next album, Richards added Waddy Wachtel to the mix and returned with his second studio effort, Main Offender, in 1992. Notching another pair of US rock chart hits, the Top 5 ‘Wicked As It Seems’ and Top 20 ‘Eileen’, Main Offender would be his last solo studio release for 23 years, following a nearly year-long tour in support.

In 2010, the Vintage Vinos compilation was released featuring a collection of solo and live tracks from Talk Is Cheap, Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988, and Main Offender, including the bonus song ‘Hurricane’, recorded during the Rolling Stones’ sessions for Forty Licks in 2002.