Last week I introduced you to a band that created some controversy with their release of a cover of the Cranberry’s song “Zombie”. This week is not about controversy but is a tribute to one of rock and roll’s legends, drummer Charlie Watts.
Watts was the drummer for the Rolling Stones since 1963. He played on all of their studio albums and was one of the remaining core members of the band. I didn’t know that Watts did not start out as a rock drummer, but pursuing his love of jazz started in a jazz group, Jo Jones All Stars. Mick Jagger and the other Rolling Stones’ band members of the time were frequenters of the London rhythm and blues clubs where they met Watts. After joining the band, later in life Watts would call the Rolling Stones his day job but continued to be involved in the jazz scene.
As I am sure most of you have heard by now, at the age of 80, Charlie Watts passed away peacefully this week surrounded by his family. Sadly I didn’t know a whole lot a week ago about Watts. In the last two days while reading a bunch of articles about Watts, I have come to know more about him. What fascinated me the most were all the tributes I have read which are a testament to his character.
One tribute by a fellow musician said that when they would go backstage to visit with the Rolling Stones, Watts was always the first one to greet him. When reading some of the other tributes in Rolling Stone magazine, I believe this was typical Watts’ behavior.
Another article I read about Watts talked about his marriage to his wife, Shirley, who he met before the Rolling Stones were famous. He was married to her until his death. They had one daughter, Seraphina, and one grandchild, Charlotte. The article talked about how Watts turned down “favors” from groupies and when invited by Hugh Heffner to the Playboy mansion stayed in the game room as he “didn’t want to frolic with the women”. Watts was quoted as saying, “I’ve never filled the stereotype of a rock star.” It’s great to see someone who placed a high value on family. As with all people, Watts had his funny quirks.
For example, Watts never got a drivers license. He collected cars like the other Rolling Stones, but preferred to view his cars as beautiful objects, not transportation. He also said in a 1996 interview that he sketched every bed he slept in while on tour since 1967. Knowing the success of their tours, that had to be a lot of beds. A couple things that touched me personally were that the Rolling Stones website content was removed and a picture of Charlie Watts was what appeared when you went to the link. And another was the photo of Watts’ drum-set posted by Keith Richards, with a closed sign hanging on it.
A quote that I couldn’t find a source for said that “a lot of people wanted to be Rolling Stones but the Rolling Stones wanted to be Charlie Watts“. My condolences go out to the family and friends of Charlie Watts. His life touched so many in the music industry and I suspect will touch many a young drummer in the years to come.
I hope that you learned a little about the man and the musician Charlie Watts today. But don’t stop here, check out some of the articles about him this week. And more importantly, get to know something more about someone you are close to while they are still around to share. Until next week, if you’re a music lover, you can hear, see or learn about new music every day on my Facebook group, Spotify playlist or YouTube playlist. And as always, feel free to reach out and let me know about your favorite new musical discovery.