Elton John's Feud With Keith Richards Is Finally Spilling Into The Open

Still going strong into their 70s, Elton John and Keith Richards are two of the British music scene’s most enduring personalities. But despite their similar career paths, there is little love lost between the Rocket Man and Rolling Stone. And their beef began where they both became famous: right on stage.

Rising To Fame

Keith Richards became The Rolling Stones' infamous lead guitarist and party boy in the mid-1960s. Meanwhile, a man named Reg Dwight changed his name to Elton John a few years later, joining forces with songwriter Bernie Taupin. The two musicians’ paths would continue to cross over the next half-century.

Wild Lifestyle

Richards’ infectious riff on the band’s iconic hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” in particular, helped The Rolling Stones achieve chart success on both sides of the Atlantic. But he also regularly made the headlines for his hellraising lifestyle. You see, in 1967 he was sentenced to a year in prison after amphetamines were discovered by police.

Full-Blown Addict

Thankfully for Richards, this decision was quickly reversed following an outcry from the British public. But the guitarist continued to embrace his decadent nature. And by the time The Rolling Stones dropped what many consider to be their essential LP, Exile on Main St., the guitarist was a full-blown heroin addict.

Elton And Coke

John and Taupin initially began penning material for other artists. But thanks to the success of “Your Song” in 1970, the former became a superstar himself. But just like Richards, his commercial heyday was defined just as much by his intake of various substances. Indeed, during the 1970s John developed an addiction to cocaine and alcohol that would continue well into the next decade.