Keith Richards has recorded a new version of Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City” for Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, revisiting a blues song The Rolling Stones themselves recorded more than six decades ago.
by Paul Cashmere
Keith Richards has released his version of “Bright Lights, Big City”, the 1961 Jimmy Reed blues classic, as one of six songs previewing Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album. The 34-track soundtrack, released through Rockstar Games and Atlantic Records, is scheduled for November 19, the same day as the new Grand Theft Auto VI game.
Richards’ recording has a direct connection to The Rolling Stones’ earliest musical education. The band recorded “Bright Lights, Big City” in London in March 1963, when American blues was central to the group’s developing sound. That recording remained unreleased for decades before appearing in the deluxe edition of GRRR! in 2012.
Richards’ new version therefore represents a return to a song he encountered during the formative years of The Rolling Stones, rather than a new departure from his musical roots. No specific reason for selecting the song for the Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack has been given publicly, but Richards has spoken extensively about his admiration for Reed, describing the Chicago bluesman as a “genius” because of his distinctive and deceptively simple musical style.
Reed wrote “Bright Lights, Big City” with his wife, Mary “Mama” Reed, and recorded it in Chicago in 1961. The song uses a traditional 12-bar blues structure and tells the story of a relationship being disrupted by the attractions of city nightlife. Reed sang and played harmonica on the recording, with Mama Reed contributing vocals, while Jimmy Reed Jr. and Lefty Bates played guitar, Earl Phillips played drums and an unidentified bassist completed the backing group.
The original became one of Reed’s best-known recordings. It reached No. 3 on the US Billboard R&B chart and No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was subsequently included on Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall, as well as numerous Reed compilations.
Richards has explained why Reed’s music had such a lasting influence on him. “He was totally unique amongst even all of the other 1950s and ’60s bluesmen out of Chicago,” Richards has said. “He has such a distinctive sound.” He also described Reed’s ability to make apparently simple music sound individual as “an extra touch of genius”.
That influence was already apparent in The Rolling Stones before Richards made his latest recording. The Stones recorded “Bright Lights, Big City” at IBC Studios in London on March 11, 1963. Mick Jagger had also performed the song with his pre-Stones group, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, demonstrating how deeply Reed’s repertoire was embedded in the musicians’ early blues repertoire.
The 1963 Stones recording featured Jagger on vocals, Richards and Brian Jones on guitar, Bill Wyman on bass, Charlie Watts on drums and Ian Stewart on piano. Produced during the band’s early recording period, it remained in the vaults until its official release as part of the deluxe GRRR! package in 2012.
The song’s influence extends well beyond The Rolling Stones and Richards. The Animals recorded it during the British rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s, while The Grateful Dead performed it regularly in concert. Duster Bennett recorded a live version in 1969, and Sonny James took the song into country music in 1971. James’ interpretation became his 15th consecutive No. 1 on the US country chart and also reached No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Other musicians to record or perform the song have included Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks, Count Basie, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings and John Mayer. The range of interpretations reflects the strength of Reed’s original composition, which has moved comfortably between Chicago blues, British rhythm and blues, country, rock and live improvisational settings.
For Richards, the new recording places one of the songs associated with The Rolling Stones’ earliest blues influences into a very different cultural setting. “Bright Lights, Big City” now becomes part of a soundtrack spanning contemporary pop, rap, country, electronic music and blues, alongside contributions from Travis Scott, Morgan Wallen, Rauw Alejandro, Yung Lean, Future, Metro Boomin, PinkPantheress, Fred again.. and others.
Six songs from Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album have been released ahead of the full soundtrack. Richards’ “Bright Lights, Big City” is joined by Yung Lean’s “That’s It” featuring Future and Metro Boomin, Travis Scott’s “RHYNO”, “Sexy Magic” by CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso with PinkPantheress, Fred again.. and Etienne de Crécy, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Thing You Need” and Rauw Alejandro’s “Macacoa 2000”.
The remaining tracks have not yet been disclosed. The full 34-track Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album will be released on November 19, giving Richards’ new interpretation of a 65-year-old blues standard a place alongside contemporary recordings created specifically for the world of Grand Theft Auto VI.
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