Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies at age 80

Charlie Watts, the self-effacing and unshakeable Rolling Stones drummer who helped anchor one among rock’s biggest rhythms sections and used his “day job” to assist his enduring love of jazz, has died, in line with his publicist. He was 80.

Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that Watts “handed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier at the moment surrounded by his household.”

“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and likewise as a member of The Rolling Stones one of many biggest drummers of his era,” Doherty mentioned.

Watts had introduced he would not tour with the Stones in 2021 due to an undefined well being subject.

The quiet, elegantly dressed Watts was usually ranked with Keith Moon, Ginger Baker and a handful of others as a premier rock drummer, revered worldwide for his muscular, swinging model because the band rose from its scruffy beginnings to worldwide superstardom. He joined the Stones early in 1963 and remained over the subsequent 60 years, ranked simply behind Mick Jagger and Keith Richards because the group’s most lasting and most important member.

The Stones started, Watts mentioned, “as white blokes from England taking part in Black American music” however shortly developed their very own distinctive sound. Watts was a jazz drummer in his early years and by no means misplaced his affinity for the music he first liked, heading his personal jazz band and taking over quite a few different facet initiatives.

A traditional Stones music like “Brown Sugar” and “Begin Me Up” usually started with a tough guitar riff from Richards, with Watts following carefully behind, and Wyman, because the bassist appreciated to say, “fattening the sound.” Watts’ pace, energy and time holding had been by no means higher showcased than through the live performance documentary, “Shine a Gentle,” when director Martin Scorsese filmed “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” from the place he drummed towards the again of the stage.

Watts turned 80 on June 2 and Jagger posted a contented birthday message and video of the drummer on Twitter.

In 2005, Watts was treated for throat cancer and accomplished a course of radiotherapy at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital.