“I got a call from Keith Richards. He acted like he had known me for 20 years. He asked me to come over and play. They wanted me to join – I couldn’t believe that”: Why Jeff Beck turned down The Rolling Stones

Jeff Beck at World Rock Festival at Kohrakuen Baseball Studiam in Tokyo, Japan, 7th August 1975; and Keith Richards performing with the Rolling Stones,circa 1976.

The following excerpt is taken from The Original Punk – Jeff Beck Stories: From Yardbird to the Guitar Shop by Steve Rosen.

Sometime around mid-December 1974, Mick Taylor left the Rolling Stones. He had been in the band since June 1969 and played on their most legendary albums: Let It Bleed; Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out; Sticky Fingers; Exile on Main Street; Goats Head Soup; and It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll. Despite being part of the world’s biggest rock and roll band, Taylor couldn’t take another day.