Charlie Watts live outdoors, with his jazz combo, at Lincoln Center in NYC, 2012 – Photo by Jeff Tamarkin, used with permission.
By Best Classic Bands
Charlie Watts, the drummer for the Rolling Stones, died today (August 24, 2021). He had turned 80 on June 2. His spokesman wrote, “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.
“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation. We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends are respected at this difficult time.”
On August 4, it was announced that the Rolling Stones drummer was unlikely to be available for the resumption of the band’s USA No Filter Tour this fall.
At that time, the spokesman said: “Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but I gather his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation. With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming.”
— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) August 24, 2021
In the Aug. 4 statement, Watts said: “For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while. After all the fans’ suffering caused by Covid, I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this Tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation. I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me.”
Jordan had noted at the time: “It is an absolute honour and a privilege to be Charlie’s understudy and I am looking forward to rehearsing with Mick, Keith and Ronnie. No one will be happier than me to give up my seat on the drum-riser as soon as Charlie tells me he is good to go.”
When the 21 tour begins, Mick Jagger will be 78, Keith Richards 77, and Ronnie Wood, the youngest, will be 74. Six days before opening night, the Stones will play a private concert. In 2004, Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer but it has been in remission ever since.
The Rolling Stones will celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2022. A new studio album is expected.
Charles Robert Watts was born June 2, 1941, in London. A fan of jazz from childhood, he took up the drums in his teens and first met Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones in early 1963. Watts had planned to become a graphic designer, but at their urging, he joined the nascent blues – and R&B-influenced group the Rollin’ Stones (the apostrophe was quickly replaced with a g), although he confessed to not particularly enjoying those musical styles at the time, and remained with the band for the duration of its career.
Watts played drums on every Rolling Stones recording, and at every live gig, and for many he was considered the rhythmic backbone of the group, alongside bassist Bill Wyman (who left the band in 1993). His steady, un-flashy playing style kept the Stones’ music grounded and reined in whatever excesses the others tended toward.
Watts also sometimes contributed graphic artwork to Stones album releases, including Between the Buttons, and he performed with both small and large jazz ensembles during periods when the Stones were not active.
A suave dresser (in 2006, Vanity Fair elected Watts into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame) and soft-spoken, gentlemanly individual, Watts’ image offset those of his fellow founding members Jagger and Richards.
In 1964, Watts married his girlfriend, Shirley Ann Shepherd, and they remained together until Watts’ death. Watts prided himself on his faithfulness, reportedly eschewing the groupies that constantly approached the band members. He generally disdained the rock lifestyle, even while remaining a core member of rock’s biggest band, preferring a quiet home life and recording in studios to the large-scale tours the Stones undertook.
In one rare but well-publicized outburst in the ’80s, however, Watts reportedly reacted to Mick Jagger calling him “my drummer” by punching the frontman in the face and telling him, “Don’t ever call me your drummer again. You’re my fucking singer!”
Although Watts confessed to having a drug and alcohol problem in the 1980s, he overcame it. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004 but he reportedly went into remission after a course of radiotherapy.
The Rolling Stones – No Filter USA 2021 Tour (Tickets available here and here)
Sep 26 – St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center
Sep 30 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium
Oct 04 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field
Oct 09 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
Oct 13 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Oct 17 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium
Oct 24 – Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium
Oct 29 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
Nov 02 – Dallas, TX – Cotton Bowl Stadium
Nov 06 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium
Nov 11 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Nov 15 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
Nov 20 – Austin, TX – Circuit of The Americas
