When Keith Richards Got A "Black Eye" From Chuck Berry...

18 December 2018, 16:27 | Updated: 18 December 2018, 16:39

Celebrate The Rolling Stone guitarist's 75th Birthday with his tribute to the "granddaddy" of rock 'n' roll.

Shortly after Chuck Berry passed away earlier last year Keith Richards revealed the moment he was punched by the late icon. 

Speaking to Rolling Stone about the rock 'n' roll pioneer, who died on 18 March 2017, he recalled: "Chuck Berry once gave me a black eye, which I later called his greatest hit. 

The Rolling Stones guitarist continued: "We saw him play in New York somewhere, and afterward I was backstage in his dressing room, where his guitar was lying in its case. I wanted to look, out of professional interest, and as I'm just plucking the strings, Chuck walked in and gave me this wallop to the frickin' left eye.

"But I realised I was in the wrong," mused the Sympathy For The Devil rocker. If I walked into my dressing room and saw somebody fiddling with my axe, it would be perfectly all right to sock 'em, you know? I just got caught."

Richards - who cited Berry as his hero and friend - went on to describe his character, revealing: "He was a little prickly, but at the same time there was a very warm guy underneath that he wasn't that willing to display."

On his influence, the Brown Sugar guitarist gushed: "Chuck is the granddaddy of us all. Even if you're a rock guitarist who wouldn't name him as your main influence, your main influence is probably still influenced by Chuck Berry. 

"He is rock & roll in its pure essence."

Photo by: Photo by Terry O'Neill/Iconic Images/Getty Images