On Tour Team: Bobby Keys

This week’s playlist celebrates Bobby Keys!

Because when you talk about Delaney & Bonnie’s “friends” AND Leon Russell, you have to talk about sax man Bobby Keys. “The Ruby Lipped Essence of Lubbock, Texas.”

Bobby Keys played sax on everything and with everyone in the ’70s. Bobby played on solo albums for all the Beatles (except Paul. Because Paul is Paul.) He played with a variety of musicians from Dr. John to Barbra Streisand to Jim Carroll. He was a Mad Dog. AND Bobby Keys was a Rolling Stone. Twice*!!

Bobby was drinking buddies with Keith Richards. And when he got “fired” from the Stones*, Bobby Keys made his way back to America and became Harry Nilsson’s drinking buddy.

*Bobby was with the Stones in the South of France recording Exile on Main Street and then in the band for the subsequent tour…until he decided to stay with a female companion in a bathtub filled with Dom Perignon instead of traveling to the next gig. Mick was not happy and it took several decades until Bobby got to play with the Stones again.

But Bobby eventually got back in Mick’s good graces and played with the band until he passed in 2014. See. Some Storytimes can have a happy ending!

Here are some of Bobby’s highlights on a playlist. We tried our best to tame it, but this thing could go on forever. Bobby wasn’t afraid to blow his horn!

The documentary on Bobby, Every Night’s A Saturday Night, is a must if you’re craving more hot sax and debauchery-filled stories from Keys.

And you if you’re talking Bobby Key, you might as well start talking Nicky Hopkins. Bobby Keys, Nicky Hopkins and Klaus Voormann have so much overlap you can fill another playlist with the three of them together. Just another incestuous stew of 70s rock ‘n’ roll goo. Enjoy!