Rolling Stones: Death Of Saxophonist Bobby Keys ‘Devastated’ Band Members

The Rolling Stones were reportedly “devastated” by the death of their bandmate, Bobby Keys, who played saxophone with the band for over 40 years, Keys died at his Tennessee home at the age of 70 after battling a long illness for many years.

A statement released by the band earlier this week noted, “The Rolling Stones are devastated by the loss of their very dear friend and legendary saxophone player, Bobby Keys. Bobby made a unique musical contribution to the band since the 1960s. He will be greatly missed.”

During his illustrious career, Keys played with such legends as Buddy Holly, John Lennon and Eric Clapton, even though Bobby admitted that despite his talent, he never learned how to read music properly,

“That’s not where I come from musically. I come strictly from feeling, and that feeling comes from rock ‘n’ roll,” he said, adding that the first time he heard the stones, he knew they were going to be a big hit, “I went out and listened to them and there was some actual rock & roll going on there, in my humble opinion.”

In Keith Richards’ autobiography, Keys said,

“You got to realize that the vision, the image, according to 1964 US Rock and roll standards, was mohair suit and tie, and nicey-nicey ol’ boy next door. And all of a sudden hear comes this truckload of English jackflies singing a Buddy Holly song! Damn! I couldn’t really hear all that well, amplifiers and PAs being what they were, but man I felt it…it reminded me so much of the energy I heard from Buddy and I heard from Elvis. There was something in there that was the real deal.”

Even though Bobby Keys wasn’t a regular feature on-stage with the Rolling Stones, he was close to the band. Keith Richards was also shocked by the news of Keys’ death, telling reporters, “I have lost the largest pal in the world and I can’t express the sense of sadness I feel, although Bobby would tell me to cheer up. My condolences to all that knew him and his love of music.”