Charlie
Watts,
the
self-effacing
and
unshakeable
Rolling
Stones
drummer
who
helped
anchor
one
of
rock's
greatest
rhythms
sections
and
used
his
"day
job" to
support
his
enduring
love
of
jazz,
has
died,
according
to
his
publicist.
He
was
80.
Bernard
Doherty
said
Tuesday
that
Watts
"passed
away
peacefully
in
a
London
hospital
earlier
today
surrounded
by
his
family."
"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
had
announced
he
would
not
tour
with
the
Stones
in
2021
because
of
an
undefined
health
issue.
The
quiet,
elegantly
dressed
Watts
was
often
ranked
with
Keith
Moon,
Ginger
Baker
and
a
handful
of
others
as
a
premier
rock
drummer,
respected
worldwide
for
his
muscular,
swinging
style
as
the
band
rose
from
its
scruffy
beginnings
to
international
superstardom.
He
joined
the
Stones
early
in
1963
and
remained
over
the
next
60
years,
ranked
just
behind
Mick
Jagger
and
Keith
Richards
as
the
group's
longest
lasting
and
most
essential
member.
The
Stones
began,
Watts
said,
"as
white
blokes
from
England
playing
Black
American
music"
but
quickly
evolved
their
own
distinctive
sound.
Watts
was
a
jazz
drummer
in
his
early
years
and
never
lost
his
affinity
for
the
music
he
first
loved,
heading
his
own
jazz
band
and
taking
on
numerous
other
side
projects.
A
classic
Stones
song
like
Brown
Sugar
and
Start
Me
Up
often
began
with
a
hard
guitar
riff
from
Richards,
with
Watts
following
closely
behind,
and
Wyman,
as
the
bassist
liked
to
say,
"fattening
the
sound."
Watts' speed,
power
and
time
keeping
were
never
better
showcased
than
during
the
concert
documentary,
Shine
a
Light,
when
director
Martin
Scorsese
filmed
'Jumpin'
Jack
Flash'
from
where
he
drummed
toward
the
back
of
the
stage.