The rock behind the Rolling Stones
Whenever anything is written or said about legendary UK rock band The Rolling Stones it’s usually about Mick Jagger’s voice or stage strut or guitarist Keith Richards’ supreme guitar licks.
But as anybody who knows will tell you, those two frontmen wouldn’t be anywhere today if it wasn’t for the steady, superb backbeat of drummer Charlie Watts that holds everything together and gives the band the impetus to do their own work.
So when Watts died last year the tributes rightly flowed for this outstanding drummer, who used his jazz influences to take this fledgling blues rock band to the next stage when he joined in 1962.
That was when the newly formed Rolling Stones were on the hunt for a permanent drummer to join their ranks. And they had their sights firmly set on Watts, a jazz drummer already well known in London’s rhythm and blues scene.
Fortunately Watts, who was reportedly in very high demand at the time, agreed to join, and the rest, as they say, is history as the drummer stuck with the Stones until he died.
This authorised biography of Watts includes forewords by Jagger and Richards.
Jagger says Watts was an incredibly open minded musician with a real subtlety to his play.
‘‘He was so catholic in his taste, through jazz, boogie woogie, blues, classical, African music, dance, reggae and dumb pop songs that just happened to be good. People always say he was a great jazz fan, but he wasn’t just that. It’s oversimplifying his musical tastes and what he liked to play.
‘‘He was intelligent and softly spoken, but he could be direct and say what he thought. He would keep his private life very private, but we understood each other’s thought process... I miss him in so many ways.’’
The love for Watts is also evident from Richards:
‘‘Every time I think, ‘I’m going to talk about Charlie Watts’, you realise the essential man wasn’t something you put into words. Charlie was
a presence, and when you were with him, that was it.
‘‘He was a very private man. I always had the feeling that I wouldn’t necessarily step over or enquire about something unless he wanted to talk about it. There was no side on him, there was no act to follow. Charlie was just what you got, which was Charlie. He was the realest guy I ever met.’’
So with those accolades, and talk about how private he was, what would Watt think of all this fuss about his life now?
Well this authorised work by Paul Sexton - who has known Watts since those heady early 60s - will no doubt have been approved of by the great drummer, even if he might be a bit embarrassed about the attention.
It paints the picture of a very private, but incredibly talented and driven man, who for 60 years remained the rock at the heart of one of the biggest bands in the world over that time.
A man who was the opposite of the rock star persona (besides, Jagger had plenty of that) who wanted to keep his family life private and protect them from the rock and roll circus.
And it’s clear that family was everything to Charlie Watts, whether that be those connected by blood or rock and roll.
The Stones have already survived well after the death of a founding member after guitarist Brian Jones died in 1969, but I’m not sure how they will overcome Watts’ death and huge contribution to the band.