Charlie Watts | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Watts in 1965 | |
| Born | Charles Robert Watts (1941-06-02)2 June 1941 Bloomsbury, London, England |
| Died | 24 August 2021(2021-08-24) (aged 80) Chelsea, London, England |
| Occupation | Drummer |
| Years active | 1958–2021 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
Musical artist | |
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer ofthe Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as agraphic artist, Watts developed an interest injazz at a young age and joined the bandBlues Incorporated. He also started playing drums in London'srhythm and blues clubs, where he met future bandmatesMick Jagger,Keith Richards andBrian Jones. In January 1963, he left Blues Incorporated and joined the Rolling Stones as drummer, while doubling as designer of their record sleeves and tour stages. Watts's first public appearance as a permanent member was in February 1963; he remained with the band for 58 years until his death, at which time he, Jagger and Richards were the only members of the band to have performed on every one oftheir studio albums.
Nicknamed "the Wembley Whammer" by Jagger, Watts cited jazz as a major influence on his drumming style. Aside from his career with the Rolling Stones, Watts toured with his own group, the Charlie Watts Quintet, and appeared in London atRonnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Charlie Watts Tentet.
In 1989, Watts was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones, and in 2004, he was inducted into theUK Music Hall of Fame, also with the Rolling Stones. He has been ranked among the greatest drummers of all time.
Charles Robert Watts was born on 2 June 1941 atUniversity College Hospital inBloomsbury, London, to Charles Richard Watts, alorry driver for theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway, and wife Lillian Charlotte (née Eaves), who had been a factory worker.[1][2] He had a sister, Linda (born 1944),[3] with whom he was close.[4]
As a child, Watts lived inWembley, at 23 Pilgrims Way.[5][6] Many of Wembley's houses had been destroyed byLuftwaffe bombs duringWorld War II; Watts and his family lived in aprefab, as did many in the community.[5][6] Watts would remember little of theSecond World War, stating "I heard bombs exploding in the neighbourhood. I remember the mad rush from the house into the air-raid shelters. I was very young. War was something of a game to me – I don't think I ever really and truly got frightened."[7]
In 1946, Watts met neighbourDave Green,[8] who had moved next door at 22 Pilgrims Way;[5] they became childhood friends, and remained so until Watts's death. Green became a jazz bass player, and recalls that as boys, "we discovered 78rpm records. Charlie had more records than I did ... We used to go to Charlie's bedroom and just get these records out."[9][10] Watts's earliest records were jazz recordings; he remembered owning78 RPM records ofJelly Roll Morton andCharlie Parker.[9] Green recalls that Watts also "had the one withMonk and the Johnny Dodds Trio. Charlie was ahead of me in listening and acquisitions."[9] Green and Watts would become bandmates in many of Charlie's jazz projects.[7]
Watts and his family subsequently moved toKingsbury, where he attendedTylers Croft Secondary Modern School from 1952 to 1956; as a schoolboy, he displayed a talent for art, music, cricket and football.[11] When he and Green were both about thirteen, Watts became interested in drumming:[9]
I bought a banjo, and I didn't like the dots on the neck. So I took the neck off, and at the same time I heard a drummer calledChico Hamilton, who played withGerry Mulligan, and I wanted to play like that, with brushes. I didn't have a snare drum, so I put the banjo head on a stand.[9]
In 1955, Watts received a £12 drum kit for Christmas, and he practised drumming along to jazz records he collected.[12] After completing secondary school, Watts enrolled at Harrow Art School (now theHarrow campus of theUniversity of Westminster), which he attended until 1960.[13]
After leaving art school, he worked as agraphic designer for an advertising company called Charlie Daniels Studios,[14] and also played drums occasionally with local bands in coffee shops and clubs. He and Green began their musical careers together from 1958 to 1959, playing in a jazz band inMiddlesex called the Jo Jones All Stars.[9] Watts initially found his transition torhythm and blues puzzling: "I went into rhythm and blues. When they asked me to play, I didn't know what it was. I thought it meant Charlie Parker, played slow."[9]
In 1961, Watts metAlexis Korner, who invited him to join his bandBlues Incorporated.[15] At that time, Watts was on his way to a sojourn working as a graphic designer inDenmark, but he accepted Korner's offer when he returned to London in February 1962.[16][17] Watts played regularly with Blues Incorporated and maintained a job with the advertising firm Charles, Hobson and Gray.[18]
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In mid-1962, Watts first metBrian Jones,Ian "Stu" Stewart,Mick Jagger andKeith Richards, who also frequented the Londonrhythm and blues clubs, but it was not until January 1963 that Watts finally agreed to join the Rolling Stones.[19][20] Initially, the band could not afford to pay Watts, who had been earning a regular salary from his gigs.[21] His first public appearance as a permanent member was at theEaling Jazz Club on 2 February 1963.[22] Watts was often introduced as "The Wembley Whammer" by Jagger during live concerts.[23]
Besides his work as a musician, Watts contributed graphic art and comic strips to early Rolling Stones records such as theBetween the Buttons record sleeve,[14] and was responsible for the 1975 tour announcement press conference in New York City. The band surprised the throng of waiting reporters by driving and playing "Brown Sugar" on the back of a flatbed truck in the middle ofManhattan traffic.[24] Watts remembered this was a common way forNew Orleans jazz bands to promote upcoming dates. Moreover, with Jagger, he designed the elaborate stages for tours, first contributing to the lotus-shaped design of theTour of the Americas, as well as theSteel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour, theBridges to Babylon Tour, theLicks Tour, and theA Bigger Bang Tour.[13]
Watts's last live concert with the band was 30 August 2019 atHard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.[1] He had never missed a single concert throughout his career with the band. Besides Jagger and Richards, he is the only member to have appeared on every album inthe Rolling Stones discography.[25]
In October 2023, two years after Watts's death, the Rolling Stones releasedHackney Diamonds. The album features two songs on which Watts plays the drums: "Mess It Up" and "Live By The Sword".[26]
Watts was involved in many activities outside his life as a member of the Rolling Stones. In December 1964, he published a cartoon tribute toCharlie Parker titledOde to a High Flying Bird.[27] Although he made his name in rock, his personal tastes lay principally injazz.[28]
In the late 1970s, he joinedIan Stewart in the back-to-the-roots boogie-woogie bandRocket 88, which featured many of the UK's top jazz, rock and R&B musicians.[29] In the 1980s, he toured worldwide with abig band – the Charlie Watts Orchestra[30] – that included such names asEvan Parker,Courtney Pine[31] andJack Bruce, who was also a member of Rocket 88.[29]
In 1991, he organised a jazz quintet as another tribute to Charlie Parker. The year 1993 saw the release ofWarm and Tender by the Charlie Watts Quintet,[28] which included vocalistBernard Fowler. This same group releasedLong Ago and Far Away in 1996. Both records included a collection ofGreat American Songbook standards. Following their collaboration on the Rolling Stones' 1997 albumBridges to Babylon, he and drummerJim Keltner released a techno/instrumental album titledCharlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project. Watts stated that even though the tracks bore such names as the "Elvin Suite" in honour of the late Elvin Jones,Max Roach andRoy Haynes, they were not copying their style of drumming, but rather capturing a feeling by those artists.Watts at Scott's was recorded with his group, "the Charlie Watts Tentet",[28] at theRonnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.
In April 2009, he began performing with the ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. When asked by pianist Ben Waters to join the ensemble, he quickly agreed; his only demand being thatDave Green play bass, stating, "If Dave does it, I'll do it."[32]
On 14 October 1964, Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd (11 September 1938 – 16 December 2022), whom he had met before joining the Stones in 1963.[33] The couple had one daughter, Seraphina, born in March 1968, who in turn gave birth to Watts's only grandchild, a girl named Charlotte.[34] Watts and Shirley were married for 57 years, until Watts's death in 2021.[35]
Watts lived at Halsdon House nearDolton, a rural village inNorth Devon, where he owned anArabian horse stud farm.[36] He also owned a percentage of the Rolling Stones' various corporate entities.[37]
While all the Rolling Stones collected cars, Watts never had a driving licence, preferring to view his cars as beautiful objects.[38] Watts was also a fan ofcricket, and had a collection of cricket memorabilia.[39]
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Watts expressed alove–hate attitude towards touring,[40] stating in 2003 that he "loved playing with Keith [Richards] and the band" but "wasn't interested in being a pop idol sitting there with girls screaming".[21] He left the band after every tour, once stating "I don't actually like touring", citing the time commitment and travel required.[41] In 1989, when the Rolling Stones were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, Watts did not attend the ceremony.[21]
Watts's personal life appeared to be substantially quieter than those of his bandmates and many of his rock-and-roll colleagues; onstage, he seemed to furnish a calm and amused counterpoint to his flamboyant bandmates. Known for his loyalty to Shirley, Watts consistently refused sexual offers fromgroupies on the road; inRobert Greenfield'sSTP: A Journey Through America with The Rolling Stones, a documentary of the1972 American Tour, it is noted that when the group was invited to thePlayboy Mansion during that tour, Watts took advantage ofHugh Hefner's game room instead of frolicking with the women. "I've never filled thestereotype of the rock star", he remarked. "Back in the '70s,Bill Wyman and I decided to grow beards, and the effort left us exhausted."[42] In a 1996 interview withRolling Stone magazine, he said that he had sketched every bed he had slept on while on tour since 1967.[43] By 2001, he had filled 12 to 15 diaries.[44]
One anecdote relates that in the mid-1980s, an intoxicated Jagger phoned Watts's hotel room in the middle of the night, asking, "Where's my drummer?" Watts reportedly got up, shaved, dressed in a suit, put on a tie and freshly shined shoes, descended the stairs, and punched Jagger in the face, saying: "Never call me your drummer again. You'remy fuckingsinger!"[45][46] He expressed regret for the incident in 2003, attributing his behaviour to alcohol.[21]
In the mid-1980s, Watts's previously moderate use of alcohol and drugs became excessive. "[They were] my way of dealing with [family problems] ..." he said. "I think it was a mid-life crisis. All I know is that I became totally another person around 1983 and came out of it about 1986. I nearly lost my wife and everything over my behaviour."[47]
Despite quitting smoking in the late 1980s, Watts was diagnosed withthroat cancer in June 2004. He underwent a course ofradiotherapy and the cancer went into remission.[48] "I went into hospital," Watts recalled, "and eight months later Mick said, 'We're going to do a record. But we'll only do it when you're ready.' They were buggering about, writing songs, and when I was ready I went down and that was it,A Bigger Bang. Then I did atwo-year tour. It seems that whenever we stop, I get ill. So maybe I should carry on!"[49]
On 5 August 2021, it was reported that Watts had elected to sit out the resumption of the U.S.No Filter Tour due to heart surgery and thatSteve Jordan would temporarily replace him on drums.[50]
On 24 August 2021, Watts died fromsquamous-cell carcinoma at theRoyal Brompton Hospital inChelsea, London, at the age of 80, with his family around him.[1][51][52][53]
Watts's former bandmates Jagger, Richards, Wood and Wyman, all paid tribute to him.[54][55][56] Many other celebrities and rock musicians paid tribute to Watts on his death, includingPaul McCartney,[57]Ringo Starr,[58]Elton John,[59]Brian Wilson,[60]Pete Townshend,[61][62]Nick Mason,[63]Roger Daltrey,[64] the members ofU2,[65]Bryan Adams,[20]Liam Gallagher,[66]Brian May,[20]Roger Taylor,[67]Kenney Jones,[68]Chad Smith,[69]Questlove,[70]Peter Criss,[71] andMax Weinberg.[72] For 10 days, the contents of the Rolling Stones' official website were replaced with a single picture of Watts in his memory.[73][74]
Two days after his death,Jason Isbell and Brittney Spencer dedicated a cover performance of "Gimme Shelter" to Watts.[75] On 27 August, the band's social media accounts shared a video tribute to Watts consisting of a montage of pictures and film footage.[23] The montage was set to the Rolling Stones' 1974 track "If You Can't Rock Me", which opens with the lines "The band's on stage and it's one of those nights ... / The drummer thinks that he is dynamite, oh yeah".[74] Watts was buried in Devon after a small ceremony.[76][77][78] An authorised biography was released in October 2022.[79][80]
On the first anniversary of Watts's death, Jagger shared whatRolling Stone described as a "moving tribute" on social media, which included a voiceover by Jagger backed with "Till the Next Goodbye".[81] To commemorate what would have been his 82nd birthday, Watts's estate launched official Facebook andInstagram accounts on 2 June 2023, saying in a statement that "Charlie was too modest to embrace social media in his lifetime" and encouraging fans to "celebrate his huge musical contribution to the world of rock 'n' roll, blues and jazz, and the wonderful man known and loved to the millions of fans around the world".[82] In September 2023 his private book collection was set to be put up for auction; his signed first edition ofThe Great Gatsby was expected to fetch between £200,000–300,000.[83] In January 2024, the Bayeux Museum in France announced that it had paid £16,000 to acquire a lifesize replica of theBayeux Tapestry from Watt’s estate.[84]
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In the 1960s Watts usedLudwigdrum sets until he switched to aGretsch Round-Badge-Set in Black Nitron finish in 1968.[85] From 1978 he played a late 1950's Gretsch Round Badge Natural Maple Kit, in a configuration consisting of a 22" x 14"bass drum, a hanging 12" x 8" racktom which he positioned separately on a stand, a 16" x 16" floor tom,snare drum,hi-hat, and fourcymbals.[85]
Watts was known for his restrained, highly song-oriented style. He was not interested in drawing attention to himself with solos. Starting around 1969, he began omitting thebackbeat (beats 2 and 4, in a measure of music) hi-hat cymbal eighth notes, in the typical, eighth-note based rock patterns, rather than playing them straight through as was customary. This technique allowed the backbeat (played on two and four, on the snare drum) more prominence, while also reducing his physical workload.[86] Another characteristic of his playing from around 1968 to the mid-1970s was that he often delayed the snare drum on the second and fourth beats slightly (“late backbeat”), as heard in songs like "Monkey Man", "Wild Horses", "Sister Morphine", and "Let It Bleed".[87] In addition, he often did not maintain a constant tempo but significantly accelerated over the course of a song (especially in "Honky Tonk Women"). From the mid-1970s onward, both of these details decreased in his studio recordings, though they remained noticeable in live performances.[87]
In 1991,The Guardian described Watts as an "heroic yet quaint archetype ... of the 'Rock Drummer', and we are unlikely to hear their like again".[88]The Guardian attributed his professional survival to not ever aspiring for stardom nor forcing himself into songwriting.[88]
In the July 2006 issue ofModern Drummer magazine, Watts was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, joiningRingo Starr,Keith Moon,Steve Gadd,Buddy Rich and other highly esteemed and influential drummers from the history of rock and jazz.[89] The music criticRobert Christgau called Watts "rock's greatest drummer".[90] Unlike in most bands where the other musicians follow the lead of the drummer, Watts followed Richards; according toNew York Times criticMichiko Kakutani, that is what "makes the Stones impossible to copy".[44]
He is often regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.[91][92] In 2016, he was ranked 12th onRolling Stone's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time" list.[93]Variety wrote on the day he died that he was "universally recognized as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time".[17] Music criticRob Sheffield wrote forRolling Stone that Watts was "rock's ultimate drum god" who "made the Stones great by conceding nothing to them".[35]Roger Taylor ofDuran Duran cites Watts as "an incredible drummer and one of my heroes".[94]
The Daily Telegraph named him one of theWorld's Best Dressed Men.[95] In 2006,Vanity Fair elected Watts into theInternational Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.[96]
He had a sister, Linda.
He lived with his wife Shirley at Halsdon Manor, near Dolton, in North Devon, where they ran the Halsdon Arabians stud farm
