--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody starts by imitating their…" description: "\"Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. For me it was Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.\" — Keith Richards" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/keith-richards-1996_berries_everybody-starts-by-imitating-their-hero_827093.png" --- # Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. For me it was… ![“Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. For me it was Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.” quote by Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/keith-richards-1996_berries_everybody-starts-by-imitating-their-hero_827093.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/keith-richards-1996_berries_everybody-starts-by-imitating-their-hero_827093.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/keith-richards-1996_berries_everybody-starts-by-imitating-their-hero_827093.png) > “Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. For me it was Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.” [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists often begin by copying their idols before developing a unique voice. **In simple terms:** Imitation precedes originality. Key Takeaway Study masters, then innovate. Themes inspiration musical lineage creativity Mood motivational creative Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - learning an instrument - songwriting - performance practice Key Concepts artistic development cultural transmission Questions to Reflect On - Who are your creative influences? - How will you transform their impact into something new? A Different Perspective Copying can limit personal expression if not transcended. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [I look at my first books and am glad they weren't published… You start writing by imitating your heroes, then you keep the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-look-at-my-first-books-and-am-glad-they-weren-t-published-you-start/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [The first songs I learned were 'It Takes a Worried Man' and Woody Guthrie's 'Grand Coulee Dam,' 'Rock Island Line' - those kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/the-first-songs-i-learned-were-it-takes-a-worried-man-and-woody/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [What Muddy Waters did for us is what we should do for others. It's the old thing, what you want written on your tombstone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/what-muddy-waters-did-for-us-is-what-we-should-do-for-others-it-s-the/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [It’s one thing to play a Muddy Waters song. It’s another thing to play with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/it-s-one-thing-to-play-a-muddy-waters-song-it-s-another-thing-to-play/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [“We were in Mississippi. We’d been playing this music, and it had all been very respectful, but then we were actually there sniffing it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/we-were-in-mississippi-we-d-been-playing-this-music-and-it-had-all/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I'd play whenever I could get my hands on an electric guitar; I was trying to pick up rock'n'roll riffs and electric blues -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-d-play-whenever-i-could-get-my-hands-on-an-electric-guitar-i-was/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [Everybody starts off in the same place going into sport; you don't go into any sport being good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-campbell/everybody-starts-off-in-the-same-place-going-into-sport-you-don-t-go/) [Luke Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-campbell/) > [Everybody starts caring when it's too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-starts-caring-when-it-s-too-late/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everybody starts out as strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-redmerski/everybody-starts-out-as-strangers/) [J.A. Redmerski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-redmerski/) > [Everybody is talking and everybody is trying to block things out, but eventually you just yell, "Action!," everybody starts moving, the camera starts going,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-gillespie/everybody-is-talking-and-everybody-is-trying-to-block-things-out-but/) Craig Gillespie > [When everybody starts out in the process of 'The Voice,' you do think about the people who have won or that have made it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-kohanski/when-everybody-starts-out-in-the-process-of-the-voice-you-do-think/) [Chloe Kohanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-kohanski/) > [Everybody starts with a clean slate only altered by unnecessary hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-chisholm/everybody-starts-with-a-clean-slate-only-altered-by-unnecessary-hate/) [Melanie Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-chisholm/) > [You didn't know whether Chuck Berry was black or white - it was not a concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/you-didn-t-know-whether-chuck-berry-was-black-or-white-it-was-not-a/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [When I started, all I wanted to do was play like Chuck (Berry)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/when-i-started-all-i-wanted-to-do-was-play-like-chuck-berry/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [ I wouldn't warm to \[Chuck Berry\] even if I was cremated next to him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-wouldn-t-warm-to-chuck-berry-even-if-i-was-cremated-next-to-him/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) ## More by Keith Richards > [“When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/when-you-are-growing-up-there-are-two-institutional-places-that/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [“Wild Horses" started in a B-minor chord, and Stu didn't play minor chords, "fucking Chinese music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/wild-horses-started-in-a-b-minor-chord-and-stu-didn-t-play-minor/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [“And you listen to some of that meticulous Mozart stuff and Vivaldi and you realize that they knew that too. They knew when to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/and-you-listen-to-some-of-that-meticulous-mozart-stuff-and-vivaldi/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [Everybody's got a different way of telling a story - and has different stories to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/everybody-s-got-a-different-way-of-telling-a-story-and-has-different/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [Let me be clear about this. I don't have a drug problem. I have a police problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/let-me-be-clear-about-this-i-don-t-have-a-drug-problem-i-have-a/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [It's called the mysterious rhythm of life, ... I can't quite account for it. It's probably an addiction, quite honestly. I need that shot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/it-s-called-the-mysterious-rhythm-of-life-i-can-t-quite-account-for/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I never thought I was wasted, but I probably was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-never-thought-i-was-wasted-but-i-probably-was/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I don't encourage anybody to do what I do, you know? Why should you? More for me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-don-t-encourage-anybody-to-do-what-i-do-you-know-why-should-you/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [The idea of retiring is like killing yourself. It's almost like Hari Kari. I intend to live to a 100 and go down in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/the-idea-of-retiring-is-like-killing-yourself-it-s-almost-like-hari/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [“La gente me pregunta "por qué no lo dejas?". El hecho es que no me puedo retirar hasta que no estire la pata. Creo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/la-gente-me-pregunta-por-qu-no-lo-dejas-el-hecho-es-que-no-me-puedo/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [Before Elvis, everything was in black and white. Then came Elvis. Zoom, glorious Technicolor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/before-elvis-everything-was-in-black-and-white-then-came-elvis-zoom/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [There's no substitute for live work to keep a band together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/there-s-no-substitute-for-live-work-to-keep-a-band-together/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [But I've always felt very comfortable on stage, even if I screw up. It always felt like a dog, this is my turf, piss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/but-i-ve-always-felt-very-comfortable-on-stage-even-if-i-screw-up-it/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I'm not getting old I'm evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-m-not-getting-old-i-m-evolving/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I'm an unpure purist, something like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-m-an-unpure-purist-something-like-that/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) [Explore all 190 Keith Richards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) ## More Berries quotes > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me. And maybe that was the seed of it, but from that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/i-ve-blamed-her-for-all-of-this-for-leaving-for-ruining-me-and-maybe/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Even as a kid, I was a businessman. I figured out that if you plucked all the berries off my neighbor's tree and smashed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/even-as-a-kid-i-was-a-businessman-i-figured-out-that-if-you-plucked/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [Grey cloth coaxes the lime trees of friends shadowing berries dropped by the grateful earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-chicho/grey-cloth-coaxes-the-lime-trees-of-friends-shadowing-berries-dropped/) [Bradley Chicho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-chicho/) > [They’ll be black because that’s the way they’re seen. Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, have all known that. Will that change? Don’t hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hacker/they-ll-be-black-because-that-s-the-way-they-re-seen-barack-obama/) [Andrew Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hacker/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [If you're going to do Chuck Berry, you got to, you know, go all out, and the duck walk is just kind of you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/if-you-re-going-to-do-chuck-berry-you-got-to-you-know-go-all-out-and/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [After Halle Berry does her films and Queen Latifah does her films, it's left to all the black, Latino and Asian actresses to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/after-halle-berry-does-her-films-and-queen-latifah-does-her-films-it/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I see what I want of Love... I see horses making the meadow dance, fifty guitars sighing, and a swarm of bees suckling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-see-what-i-want-of-love-i-see-horses-making-the-meadow-dance-fifty/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [For a long time, no village girl would dress her hair or bosom with the sweetest flower from that field of death: and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/for-a-long-time-no-village-girl-would-dress-her-hair-or-bosom-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I love dried mangoes, walnuts, and goji berries. The mix provides iron, antioxidants, and omega-3s and really kicks up my energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-bleiler/i-love-dried-mangoes-walnuts-and-goji-berries-the-mix-provides-iron/) [Gretchen Bleiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-bleiler/) > [I've always had a thing for Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry in tight leather pants, with the boots - I'm pretty good with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-ve-always-had-a-thing-for-catwoman-michelle-pfeiffer-or-halle-berry/) [Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/) > [The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-darker-the-berry-the-sweeter-the-juice/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I never liked blues music, and I really didn't like jazz. I liked Chuck Berry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-ramone/i-never-liked-blues-music-and-i-really-didn-t-like-jazz-i-liked-chuck/) [Johnny Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-ramone/) > [No one had ever called her wild before. She wanted to be wild now, for him. Wild seemed more enticing then a bowl of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/no-one-had-ever-called-her-wild-before-she-wanted-to-be-wild-now-for/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) Browse all 222 Berries quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. 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