1. Charles Robert Watts was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
32 Facts About Charlie Watts
1. 2.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Charlie Watts developed an interest in jazz at a young age and joined the band Blues Incorporated.
3.
Charlie Watts started playing drums in London's rhythm and blues clubs, where he met future bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones.
4.
In 1989, Charlie Watts was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones, and in 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, with the Rolling Stones.
5.
Charlie Watts has been ranked among the greatest drummers of all time.
6.
Charles Robert Charlie Watts was born at University College Hospital in Bloomsbury, London, to Charles Richard Charlie Watts, a lorry driver for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and wife Lillian Charlotte, who had been a factory worker.
7.
In 1946, Charlie Watts met neighbour Dave Green, who had moved next door at 22 Pilgrims Way; they became childhood friends, and remained so until Charlie Watts's death.
8.
When he and Green were both about thirteen, Charlie Watts became interested in drumming:.
9.
Charlie Watts's parents gave him his first drum kit in 1955, and he practised drumming along to jazz records he collected.
10.
In 1961, Charlie Watts met Alexis Korner, who invited him to join his band Blues Incorporated.
11.
At that time, Charlie Watts was on his way to a sojourn working as a graphic designer in Denmark, but he accepted Korner's offer when he returned to London in February 1962.
12.
Charlie Watts played regularly with Blues Incorporated and maintained a job with the advertising firm Charles, Hobson and Gray.
13.
In mid-1962, Charlie Watts first met Brian Jones, Ian "Stu" Stewart, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who frequented the London rhythm and blues clubs, but it was not until January 1963 that Charlie Watts finally agreed to join the Rolling Stones.
14.
Charlie Watts was often introduced as "The Wembley Whammer" by Jagger during live concerts.
15.
Besides his work as a musician, Charlie Watts contributed graphic art and comic strips to early Rolling Stones records such as the Between the Buttons record sleeve, and was responsible for the 1975 tour announcement press conference in New York City.
16.
Charlie Watts remembered this was a common way for New Orleans jazz bands to promote upcoming dates.
17.
Charlie Watts had never missed a single concert throughout his career with the band.
18.
The album features two songs on which Charlie Watts plays the drums: "Mess It Up" and "Live By The Sword".
19.
Charlie Watts was involved in many activities outside his life as a member of the Rolling Stones.
20.
In December 1964, he published a cartoon tribute to Charlie Watts Parker titled Ode to a High Flying Bird.
21.
Charlie Watts stated that even though the tracks bore such names as the "Elvin Suite" in honour of the late Elvin Jones, Max Roach and Roy Haynes, they were not copying their style of drumming, but rather capturing a feeling by those artists.
22.
On 14 October 1964, Charlie Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd, whom he had met before joining the Stones in 1963.
23.
Charlie Watts lived at Halsdon House near Dolton, a rural village in North Devon, where he owned an Arabian horse stud farm.
24.
Charlie Watts owned a percentage of the Rolling Stones' various corporate entities.
25.
Charlie Watts was a fan of cricket, and had a collection of cricket memorabilia.
26.
Charlie Watts left the band after every tour, once stating "I don't actually like touring", citing the time commitment and travel required.
27.
Charlie Watts underwent a course of radiotherapy and the cancer went into remission.
28.
On 5 August 2021, it was reported that Charlie Watts had elected to sit out the resumption of the US No Filter Tour due to heart surgery and that Steve Jordan would temporarily replace him on drums.
29.
Charlie Watts died at a London hospital on 24 August 2021, at age 80, with his family around him.
30.
Unlike in most bands where the other musicians follow the lead of the drummer, Charlie Watts followed Richards; according to New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani, that is what "makes the Stones impossible to copy".
31.
Charlie Watts is often regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.
32.
Music critic Rob Sheffield wrote for Rolling Stone that Charlie Watts was "rock's ultimate drum god" who "made the Stones great by conceding nothing to them".