Remembering the Rolling Stone Charlie Watts on his birthday
The quiet Stone was and remains one of Rock’s most influential drummers
Remembering the Rolling Stone Charlie Watts on his birthday
Charles Robert Watts was born in London on June 2, 1941. He met Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in 1962 while playing drums in London’s rhythm and blues clubs. He joined the Rolling Stones soon after, in 1963 as the drummer. Trained as a graphic artist, he doubled the drumming with the design of their early record sleeves and also tour stages, even in recent years. Watts’ personal life has outwardly appeared to be substantially quieter than those of his bandmates and many of his rock-and-roll colleagues; onstage, he seems to furnish a calm and amused counterpoint to his flamboyant bandmates. Ever faithful to his wife Shirley, Watts consistently refused sexual favors from groupies on the road. Watts played on every Rolling Stones record to date and it was one of the three original members remaining in the band. Over the years he has formed several other bands and side projects, mainly in the Jazz area. Watts was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as a member of the Rolling Stones. In 2016, he was ranked 12th on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” list. Charlie Watts “starred” in one of Rock’s most famous episodes when he punched Mick Jagger in the face after Jagger reportedly called Watts “his drummer”. Watts has since stated that he “was drunk” when that episode happened. Charlie Watts passed in 2021 at age 80 shortly before a new tour by the legendary band.
Watch a recent interview of Charlie Watts to NME in 2018
Also watch Charlie Watts in action playing the Rolling Stones 1969 song “Monkey Man”
Watch more Rolling Stones related videos
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