Bobby Keys

Bobby Keys earned his greatest recognition through decades of close collaboration with the Rolling Stones, though the tenor saxophonist also thrived as a versatile session player and road musician equally at home in blues, R&B, and rock & roll. Born and raised in Texas, he was already performing in rock & roll ensembles by the 1950s and recorded with Buddy Holly, Bobby Vee, and numerous other artists. Steady work at Alabama’s renowned Muscle Shoals studios led to his first encounter with the Stones in 1969; his playing on Let It Bleed, combined with that new connection, quickly elevated his profile. Over the following years he contributed to George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass as well as projects by Delaney & Bonnie, Eric Clapton, Humble Pie, the Faces, Carly Simon, Nilsson, Joe Cocker, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and B.B. King. He remained linked to the Stones on Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St., developing an immediate rapport with Keith Richards. In 1972 Keys issued a self-titled solo album on Warner Bros. that featured guest musicians from the Beatles, Cream, Mountain, and Traffic plus his longtime trumpet partner Jim Price. Although his work with the Stones lessened by the mid-1970s, he kept up occasional studio and touring appearances with the band. Fresh opportunities continued through earlier contacts, including a 1979 stint with Ron Wood’s touring group the New Barbarians. In later years he rejoined the Stones on the road and on records such as Sheryl Crow’s The Globe Sessions while also performing with the Lubbock, Texas-based Ace Liquidators. Keys died at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, in December 2014 at the age of 70.