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Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies at 80






Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones in 2012.
Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images



The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died, his publicist said in a
statement published on the band's Twitter profile.

Watts — who joined the legendary rock band in 1963 before it rose to
international fame — was 80 years old.

"He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded
by his family," the publicist said on Tuesday.

"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," the statement added.
"We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members, and close friends
is respected at this difficult time."







Watts announced in early August that he was dropping out of the Stones' upcoming
US tour, opting to have Steve Jordan replace him, after undergoing an undisclosed
medical procedure.

"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," he had said in a statement to CNN.

He was the third-longest-running Rolling Stones member, behind Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards. His last concert with the band took place in Miami on August 30, 2019.

Watts was reserved and largely avoided the limelight. In a 1986 interview with the BBC,
he described promotional media appearances as a "waste of time" and famously summed
up his career with the Rolling Stones as "work five years, and 20 years hanging around."

Unlike his bandmates' flair and flash, Watt's performance style was laid-back yet precise.
He is widely recognized as one of the most skilled drummers of all time.

In a 2012 review of a Rolling Stones concert in Brooklyn, New York, Billboard described
Watts as "the heart of the Stones' rhythm."

"For all of Mick and Keith's supremacy, there's no question that the heart of this band is
and will always be Watts," the review said. "At 71, his whipcrack snare and preternatural
sense of swing drive the songs with peerless authority."



The Rolling Stones members Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger,
Keith Richards, and Watts in 1965.
Michael Ward/Getty Images




Along with his work with the Stones, Watts had a number of side projects in which he
explored jazz, including the Charlie Watts Orchestra and the A, B, C & D Of Boogie Woogie.

In fact, Watts insisted that he wasn't originally fond of rock music. He drummed with local
British jazz bands in the late '50s before officially launching his career with
Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated.

Watts became acquainted with Brian Jones, Jagger, and Richards during his time with
Korner on London's R&B club circuit. They convinced him to join the Rolling Stones
after their original drummer, Tony Chapman, quit in 1962.

"Every band I'd ever been in had lasted a week," Watts said, according to The Associated Press.
"I always thought the Stones would last a week, then a fortnight, and then suddenly, it's 30 years."

In 1989, Watts and the other members of the Stones were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Other music legends have paid tribute to Watts on social media, including his fellow drummer
Ringo Starr, Carole King, Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, and Elton John.

"A very sad day. Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer," John wrote.
"The most stylish of men, and such brilliant company."

"Love you Charlie. I've always loved you, beautiful man,"
McCartney said in a video.

Many offered condolences to Watts' wife, Shirley, whom he met before getting famous
and married in 1964, as well as the couple's daughter and granddaughter,
Seraphina and Charlotte.










R.I.P.

Charlie will be missed by generations
the Rock and Roll family.
Present and Future.

Rest Sir, you deserve it

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