The Andy Warhol-illustrated 1977 Rolling Stones double-album Love You Live has one disc of Mick Jagger’s picks and the second featuring those of Keith Richards. It’s fitting that half of Keef’s choices were recorded in Toronto.
On Feb. 27, 1977, a handful of RCMP investigators managed to get into the room at Toronto’s Harbour Castle Hilton that Richards was sharing with then-wife Anita Pallenburg and his seven-year-old son Marlon by posing as room service. In a flightcase in the washroom, cops found an ounce of heroin — enough to charge him with possession for the purpose of trafficking. They were actually acting on a search warrant in Pallenburg’s name — they had been suspicious of her ever since she and a reportedly groggy Keith arrived at Pearson Airport three days earlier with 28 pieces of luggage. A search of her luggage at customs turned up a heroin-dissolving spoon and some hash. Anita was arrested and released on a promise to appear in Brampton court March 3 — the same day Jagger arrived in Toronto without incident. So, the writing was on the wall.
The whole reason the Stones were in Toronto was to record a set at the El Mocambo club for Love You Live, which they did on March 4 and 5 (with April Wine opening) despite the bust. Both Richarfds and Pallenburg were released on bail — Keith on a $1,000 bond. When he appeared in court for his first appearance, on March 7, Richards was hit with an additional charge for possession of cocaine and ordered to come back to court a week later.
The band all left Toronto to escape further scrutiny, but Richards was required to stay put. He eventually managed to arrange permission to obtain a U.S. visa so he could travel to New Jersey with Marlon to receive treatment for his heroin addiction and get clean. But before that there were two people who helped him get through the initial trauma. The first was Bill Wyman, who came to ask Richards how he could help. Desperate, Richards asked Bill (of all people) to try to score him some heroin in order to wean himself off the drug. The second was Stu (pianist Ian Stewart), who suggested Keith get into a recording studio and try to do something creative with this time, and take his mind off things. So, arrangements were made and Richards was booked into Sounds Interchange Studios for March 12 and 13, the day before his next court appearance. A small room with just a piano and mics. In all, eight recordings of five songs were recorded — two versions each of Merle Haggard’s Sing Me Back Home, Big Maceo Merriweather’s Worried Life Blues (which the Stones also did at El Mocambo), Johnny Paycheck’s Apartment #9, and one take each of Jerry Lee Lewis’s She Still Comes Around and George Jones’ Say It’s Not You.
It’s the same Adelaide Street East studio where Black Sabbath recorded much of Technical Ecstasy in June 1976, and their last Ozzy-era album, Never Say Die, in 1978. KISS laid down some tracks for Music From The Elder in 1981 at Sounds International and Eagles used it for work on their live album Hell Freezes Over in 1994. The studio also hosted sessions by The Tragically Hip, Triumph, BTO, Teenage Head, Spoons, Raffi, Parachute Club, Oscar Peterson, The Nylons, Northern Pikes, Max Webster, Long John Baldry, Liona Boyd, Jeff Healey, Harmonium, Good Brothers, Goddo, Glass Tiger, Glen Campbell, FM, Dan Hill, Cowboy Junkies, Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty), Bob & Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas), Blue Rodeo, Anne Murray and Alannah Myles. The building was demolished 15 years ago.
The five tracks recorded by Richards give us an intimate portrait of his psyche during that tumultuous time — the day before a court appearance — and some insight into the kind of songs he loved, and perhaps why he and Gram Parsons got along so well.
Here’s a playlist I made from the session:
Richards returned to Toronto for his sentencing on Oct. 24, 1978. By this time, Love You Live had been out for a year and Some Girls had been out for four months. Judge Lloyd Graburn told the court heroin addicts should go to prison if they commit theft to pay for their habit. But, as a rich rock star, Richards had the means of getting large quantities of drugs without breaking any other laws. Graburn was also impressed with Richards’ effort to get clean. So, he was given a year’s probation and ordered to play a benefit concert for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind within the next six months.
The charity chosen is an acknowledgement of the efforts of fan Lisa Berdard, who organized other fans to show their support for Richards outside his court appearances and — most importantly — spoke directly to Graburn before sentencing. Richards refers to Berdard as his “angel” and says the long-time fan used to routinely hitchhike to Rolling Stones concerts.
It was arranged that Keith, The Rolling Stones and Ronnie Wood’s New Barbarians would play two shows in a single night at Oshawa’s 5,000-seat Civic Auditorium on Sunday April 22, 1979 for what was being dubbed the Blind Date. The New barbarians featured Ronnie and Keith, along with keyboardist Ian McLagan of Faces, sax player Bobby Keys, Meters drummer Ziggy Modeliste and jazz-rock bassist Stanley Clarke.
An unknown number of free tickets were given to visually impaired fans and the rest went on sale Monday, April 16. Fans started lining up at the box office on the 12. John Belushi travelled to Oshawa to serve as MC for the event.
New Barbarians Setlist
Sweet Little Rock & Roller
F.U.C. Her
Breathe on Me
Infekshun
I Can Feel the Fire
Am I Grooving You
Seven Days
Before They Make Me Run
Rolling Stones Setlist
Prodigal Son
Let It Rock
Respectable
Star Star
Beast of Burden
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
When the Whip Comes Down
Shattered
Miss You
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (joined by New Barbarians)
• • •
Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.