Rolling Stones drummer Watts dies at age 80

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, the stylish sticksman who helped power the British band through a half-century of international superstardom, has died at age 80.

“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts,” his spokesperson said in a Tuesday statement shared by the legendary band social media.

Watts, whose virtuoso stylings ranged from jazz to hard-driving rock and roll, “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family,” the spokesperson, Bernard Doherty, said.

“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation,” Doherty said.

Watts announced earlier this month he would not be able to join the Stones’ pandemic-postponed No Filter tour in 2021 because an undefined medical procedure led to a longer-thanexpected recovery.

“For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit, but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while,” Watts said in a statement. “

Watts said he didn’t want fans holding tickets for the tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation, so he asked his “great friend” Steve Jordan, 64, to stand in for him.

“It is an absolute honor and a privilege to be Charlie’s understudy,” Jordan, a longtime member of guitarist Keith Richards’ group the X-pensive Winos, said at the time.

“We really look forward to welcoming Charlie back as soon as he is fully recovered. Thank you to our friend Steve Jordan for stepping in, so we can still play all the shows for you this fall,” Stones singer Mick Jagger said in a Twitter post Aug. 5.

Known for his sharply tailored suits and bright smile, Watts powered the Stones’ rhythm section for more than half a century after joining Jagger and Keith Richards in 1963.

He described the group’s genesis as “white blokes from England playing

Black American music,” but they went on to create their own instantly recognizable classics beloved by millions.