25 Replies to “Charlie Watts, Dead At 80”

  1. Bummer. Seemed a nice bloke. Kinda like the only adult in the room.

    I must say, though … the rest of the Strolling Bones are walking advertisements for the resilience of the human body. While some people treat their bodies as God’s temple and die from a sudden heart attack … these musicians stay up late, do all manner of drugs and booze to excess … and keep on ticking

    2. From Wayne’s World, “Of course, everyone knows that Keith cannot be killed by conventional weapons”. RIP Charlie.

  4. dang.
    just watched a vid on youtube about Charlie’s early rise, joining the Stones, lilt towards jazz, very broad and deep talent.
    now this. gonna miss ya Charlie. time to play some antique CDs.

  6. Charlie Watts understood drumming. He knew that the drummer and bass player were the pulse of the band. Never tried to make the music about himself. There were enough large personalities on the front line of the RS.

    He was a competent jazz player – less is more.

    1. Agree. Charlie Watts provided drumming appropriate to the song. He didn’t try to sound like a bomb going off all the time. The ensemble sound of the Stones was key to their success. RIP.

  7. Keith richards has been dead for 40 years just doesn’t know it , rest in peace brother

  8. As the saying goes (when it comes to good drummers), “He knew where ONE is.” RIP Charlie. You were one of the best and will be missed. Apparently, Steve Jordan was to sit in for him on this year’s tour but I can’t see The Stones going on much longer without him.

  9. Not the fanciest of drummers by any stretch of the imagination. But his metre was impeccable. Like a living metronome.

  11. I’m not a drum aficionado as some of my colleagues here so I’ll leave it up to them for his technical ability but to me he always seemed to be the coolest guy of the band. Yup, even cooler than Keith.

  12. Big Stones fan, but live they where Shit. They were one of only 2 live concerts ever for me. They disappointed me enough to never go to another live concert. RIP Charlie!

    1. Wasn’t a big Stones fan but I certainly give them their due. When I was in college in 1981, a friend of mine tried to talk me into going to a Stones concert, and I declined. He countered by adding “But this might be your last chance to see them live!” Still makes me chuckle. RIP Charlie.

      1. Same for me, not much of a fan but I did like their ” Sympathy For the Devil ” track.
        More into other ” Artists’ “.
        Yup , another one bites the dust.

  15. Yikes, this one hurts a lot. Many of my musical heroes have passed in the last few years, but this one is a real loss to me. I saw the Stones 5-6 times between 1969 and about 1978. And while I concur that they could be ragged in a live setting, they were nonetheless the soundtrack of my youth.
    Charlie was the coolest, a counterweight to Mick and Keith’s extravagance.
    RIP Charlie

  16. Come to think of it, Rush weren’t exactly The Rolling Stones either. 🙂

    Reading that, I have to shake my head at Jagger saying Viet Nam wasn’t like WWII or Korea. “It was a really nasty war.”

  17. I was born in 63 so the Stones and Charlie were background music for me to adulthood. Once in a while I still enjoy some of their classic stuff on Blu ray Audio like Sticky Fingers and Beggar’s Banquet.
    In my opinion, without Charlie, the Rolling Stones are officially finished.

  18. Charlie will be missed. I read a good story about the time Charlie clocked Mick Jagger whose ego was way too big by then. Jagger referred to Charlie as only my drummer and other insults. According to Keith, Charlie decided to do something, first getting properly attired and leaving his hotel room for Jagger’s. Walking past Keith, Charlie slugged Jagger in the jaw saying “I’m not your drummer, you’re my singer”. Great stuff
    https://news.yahoo.com/why-charlie-watts-once-punched-202844270.html

    I was once surprised to see a review in a Toronto paper years ago about a small low key jazz group coming to play in a local club. The drummer was Charlie. That was when I found out he was foremost a jazz drummer.

    1. He was indeed a jazz drummer and ran a successful big band project for some years. Indeed, my favourite Charlie Watts story was from Edmonton, where the Stones played two nights at the stadium in the nineties. Charlie’s big band had played the Edmonton jazz festival that summer.

      Late on the first night of the Stones engagement, Charlie walked into the Wee Book Inn bookstore on Jasper Avenue,, picked up a couple of titles and brought them over to the counter. The guy at the counter had seen Charlie’s band at the festival that summer, and couldn’t resist. He said, “Hello, sir, you look familiar.” Charlie smiled pleasantly and said, “I probably am. I’m Charlie Watts.” And the fellow said, “Why yes, that’s right, I’ve seen you perform with your band. Tell me, don’t you also play with the rolling Stones?”

      He said Charlie just loved that.

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