Rough week for rock star icons.
Earlier this week, we said goodbye to Don Everly of The Everly Brothers ...
And yesterday we lost Charlie Watts, Drummer of The Rolling Stones.
Charlie made headlines a couple of weeks ago when he announced that he wouldn't be joining The Stones when they resumed their No Filter Tour in September. Several different theories were discussed amongst fans but no official reason was ever given ... complications after knee surgery ... recovery from a recent medical procedure ... his cancer was back ... all were speculated as possibilities since Watts had never missed a Stones tour in the 58 years he was with the band. Clearly, whatever the circumstances were, they were far more serious than any of us had imagined.
In the end, he died peacefully with his family surrounding him. His wife Shirley of nearly 57 years and their daughter Seraphina were by his side. Unlike his headline-grabbing bandmates, Watts lived a quiet family life when the band was off the road. (To give you some idea of just how low-key he really was, Charlie once told Rolling Stone Magazine “Back in the ’70s, Bill Wyman and I
decided to grow beards, and the effort left us exhausted.”)
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In an official statement, his publicist said:
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"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 is respected at this difficult
time."
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Although he spent the entire duration of his career playing drums for The World's Greatest Rock And Roll Band (he, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the ONLY Rolling Stones to appear on EVERY album they ever released and, until the announcement made last week, took part in every tour ... from 1963 - 2021), Charlie was, by all accounts, a very peaceful, unassuming man.
Described as a dapper stylish, picture of fashion ... (Charlie Watts was, by all definition, a Sharp Dressed Man) ... Watts first fell in love with jazz music ... and it was this genre that initially drew him to the drums. By his own account, Keith Richards introduced him to ... and taught him ... rock and roll ... and Charlie soon fell in love with that, too.
Very understated, Charlie drummed from a minimal kit, providing only what the song called for ... no crazy frills or fills ... no lengthy drum solos ... very simply, he played what fit ... nothing more and nothing less ... and he played it as well as any drummer ever had. (In comparison to his far more outrageous bandmates, there was nothing really flamboyant about him at all ... in fact, in many ways he almost didn't seem to fit ... and yet he managed to fit PERFECTLY ... always a joy to watch and listen to as he held the backbone of the band together both on record and on stage.)
As planned, Steve Jordan will take the stage as The Stones' drummer when the tour resumes on September 26th in St. Louis. As to whether anything more permanent will evolve from here, this remains to be seen. (A new album celebrating the band's 60th Anniversary had been talked about ... it'll be interesting to see how they all feel once they come off the road. Thankfully, they've got a month prior to hitting the road to help recover from the shock of today's loss.) kk
A great and oft-repeated Charlie Watts quote ...
Apparently Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were out tearing it up one night when The Stones were in Amsterdam and returned to their hotel quite late and quite drunk. Charlie, of course, was already sound asleep in bed. But that didn't stop Jagger from calling his room and waking him up out of a dead sleep to ask "Where's my drummer?"
Charlie was pissed ... and got up out of bed, took a shower and got fully dressed in a Saville Row suit and tie, hair done, shaved and wearing cologne and went to Mick's room, pounded on the door and when Mick answered, he punched him right in the face, telling him "Don't ever call me your drummer again." And then, after a perfectly timed pause, added "You're my fucking singer!"
