Besides the Beatles, it was the Rolling Stones who shaped an entire generation of rock and dance musicians. The death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts heralds the end of an era. Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts was the drummer of the band The Rolling Stones from January 1963, and thus almost since their formation. Watts was known for his elegant style of dress. The English newspaper The Daily Telegraph included him in its list of the World’s Best Dressed Men. In 2006, the Vanity Fair elected him to the Hall of Fame of the International Best Dressed List…. Charlie Watts played a Gretsch drum kit, in the configuration bass drum, suspended tom, which he positioned separately on a stand, stand tom, snare, hi-hat and four cymbals..
A few weeks ago it was announced that Watts would not be taking part in his band’s upcoming US tour. He was recovering from an unspecified medical treatment, it was said. At the time, however, a spokesperson had stressed that the treatment had been “completely successful”. Bandmate Jagger tweeted in early August that he was looking forward to welcoming Watts back after his recovery.
Born on 2 June 1941 in North London, the musician discovered his love of jazz and blues at an early age. He made his first drum kit out of an old banjo. In the early 1960s, he began playing drums in London rhythm and blues clubs. In 1963, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards recruited him as a drummer for their band, which they had formed a year earlier. For the next almost six decades, Watts became one of the faces of one of the most successful rock groups of all time. The Stones were lucky and had the money to spend a lot of time in the studio, he recently told the British “Telegraph” – and they were therefore able to try out a lot.
Unlike singer Jagger and guitarist Richards, the drummer avoided the limelight. As a jazz musician, he appreciated musical collaborations and welded the Stones together – not only when he set the rhythm on stage, but especially when Jagger and Richards fell out again and again over the years.
Watts died on Tuesday in a London hospital at the age of 80. The death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has caused great sadness and dismay not only among his bandmates, but also throughout the music world and beyond.
Wind Band Editions of The Rolling Stones here.
(Quelle/Source: Wikipedia/ ORF)
