Charlie Watts – In Retrospect

26 September 2021, St. Louis Missouri – the opening night of the Rolling Stones much delayed “No Filter” US tour.

As the lights fade to black and the audience is hushed a raw, rock steady, no frills drum beat pounds through the stadium while dramatic 5 meter high video screens project the Stones late, legendary drummer in all phases of his storied 58 year career with the band.

The drum stand is empty; a legend has passed.

The legend continues – “Ladies and gentlemen – THE ROLLING STONES!”

Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts (02/06/1941 – 24/08/2021) was the ultimate rock n roll paradox. Essentially a jazz drummer, steeped in the music of Charlie Parker and Jelly Roll Morton from his teenaged years, he kept the beat for the world’s biggest, baddest rock n roll band for nigh on 6 decades never missing a concert, never missing a beat.

At the time he first met future bandmates Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart in mid-1962, Charlie was already a member of “Blues Incorporated” a prominent London rhythm n blues outfit whilst holding down a full graphic design job. In Keith Richards biography he famously relates the story of how he and the fledgling Stones were immediately impressed with Charlie’s drumming style but that their initial advances to him were quickly rebuffed since Charlie already earned a performance fee and would not budge on being paid on a fixed per-performance rate. After Richards and Jagger had shivered through the last months of 1962 in their shared apartment to save on heating bills for Charlie’s salary payments he finally relented and officially joined the nascent Stones in January 1963.

A reserved, calm and modest man with a love/hate relationship with the band’s never ending touring cycle commitments, Charlie was the very antithesis of a rock star with a lifestyle every inch the opposite to those of his hedonistic band mates. As the mayhem, drugs, sex, groupies and rock ‘n roll lifestyle swirled around the Jagger/Richards/Jones axis during the heady days of the mid - 60s, Charlie remained apart and aloof from it all. Dubbed the “Wembley Whammer” by Jagger, Charlie dressed and looked more like an English country gent, retaining lifelong fidelity to one woman, Shirley Ann Shepherd whom he had met before the band became successful and married in 1964. He lived quietly in rural Devon with his main passion being an Arabian horse stud farm.

In terms of his unique drumming style, Charlie was almost inevitably the opposite of his counterparts of the 1960s – the flamboyant on-stage exhibitionism and showy solos of Keith Moon being a case in point. ?Universally recognized as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, Charlie played off the lead provided by Richards, unlike the traditional “drummer – leading from the front style” so prevalent in most rock n roll bands. With his sparse, no-frills style grounded in deep jazz roots, Charlie played in and around the musical spaces, never missing a beat and keeping it constantly rock steady. His various jazz side – projects outside of the Stones remained a driving passion throughout his career. Rock critics are unanimous in their opinion that Charlie’s signature style can simply never be fully copied or replicated.

Keith Richards relates the now infamous anecdote of how, during one of the bands epic swings through the States, an inebriated Jagger phoned Charlie’s hotel room in the early hours of the morning with the words “Oi where’s my drummer?” Watts reportedly got up, shaved, dressed in a fresh suit, tie and shined shoes descended the stairs to Mick’s room and punched him in the face as he opened the door saying “Never call me your drummer again. You’re my (expletive deleted) singer and don’t you forget it!”

Beloved by his bandmates Charlie was in many senses the ultimate team man, the unsung hero who controlled it all from behind the drum riser and never let his team down. E-Street Band drummer Max Weinberg states: “The drummer is the last line of defense – very much like your goalie in soccer. He has to be a little crazy as well!”

On a personal note, one defining image of Charlie’s popularity and widespread acclaim remains indelibly etched in my mind from the band’s February 1995 “Voodoo Lounge” South African concerts in Johannesburg’s cavernous Ellis Park rugby stadium. During Jagger’s band introductions when he announced Charlie pandemonium erupted – 60,000 people chanting “Charlie, Charlie” as one voice for over 3 minutes as Keith and Ronnie bowed at his drum kit. Clearly emotional, tears welling in his eyes Charlie waved back at the crowd in acknowledgement.

In the final analysis Charlie Watts remains a true original who is simply irreplaceable both to the Stones and to the Rock World in general. RIP Charlie.