Rolling Stones Keith Richards is set to be awarded with the Brass Balls award for his contributions to the music industry.The honor will be bestowed upon Richards by Robert De Niro during Spike TV's "Guys Choice" event which taped on Saturday and is set to premiere this Friday, June 10thJune 10 at 9:00 PM ET/PT.
"Keith Richards is a rock-n-roll superhero who lives his life the way he plays his music...balls to the wall," said Casey Patterson, EVP, event production, talent and studio relations, Spike TV. "Our audience doesn't just want to honor Keith Richards, they want to be Keith Richards."
Born and raised in England, Keith Richards is widely considered one of the most iconic rock guitarists to ever grace the stage. In 1962, Richards teamed with Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Brian Jones and Ian Stewart to form the Rolling Stones and, in 1963, the group signed with Decca Records, beginning a run atop the music industry with international smash hits such as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Brown Sugar," and "Start Me Up," among many others. With Richards' virtuoso guitar work prominent on each Stones song, Rolling Stone magazine named him the 10th greatest guitarist of all-time in 2003. In 2007, Richards was featured on the big-screen alongside Johnny Depp in the role of Captain Teague in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and can most recently be seen in the same role in the recently released "On Stranger Tides." In October 2010, Richards released his best-selling autobiography "Life," which is nominated for a 2011 "Guys Choice" award in the Literary Achievement category. Richards joins luminaries Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford as Brass Balls recipients.
