The subtle, stoic heartbeat of the Stones
By BBC music reporter Mark Savage
Charlie
Watts was never the most flashy drummer. He wasn't known for the
frenzied solos of Cream's Ginger Baker, or for placing explosives in his
kick drum like The Who's Keith Moon. Instead, he was the subtle, stoic
heartbeat of The Rolling Stones for almost 60 years.
A jazz aficionado, he fell in love with the drums after listening to Chico Hamilton play brushes on
Walking Shoes; and was only introduced to the dark arts of rock 'n' roll by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in the early 1960s.
He
joined the Stones in 1963 after the band had discarded several other
drummers - and they never looked back. "Charlie Watts gives me the
freedom to fly on stage," Richards later observed.
His
jazz-inflected swing gave the Stones' songs their swagger, pushing and
pulling at the groove, creating room for Jagger's lascivious drawl.
He
was at his best on the cowbell-driven Honky Tonk Women or the
locked-down groove Gimme Shelter (where he even threw in some
uncharacteristically showy fills).
On
and off the stage, he was quiet and reserved - sticking to the shadows
and letting the rest of the band suck up the limelight.
"I've actually never been interested in all that stuff and still am not,"
he told the San Diego Tribune in 1991.
"I don't know what showbiz is and I've never watched MTV. There are
people who just play instruments, and I'm pleased to know that I'm one
of them."
image sourceGetty Imagesimage captionThe Stones, with Watts second right, had eight UK number one singles between 1964-69
Singer-songwriter
Joan Armatrading wrote:
"Why am I crying? Because Charlie Watts has died. Who knew that any of
the Rolling Stones musicians would ever leave this earth."
Fellow singer
Curtis Stigers said:
"My mom always claimed I was conceived during the chorus of
Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. Thank you, Charlie Watts. I owe you
my life."
image sourceReutersimage captionSir Mick Jagger with Charlie Watts in 2005
The
statement from the Rolling Stones' publicist said: "He passed away
peacefully in a London hospital earlier today [Tuesday] surrounded by
his family.
"We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time."
In 2016, Watts was ranked 12th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest drummers of all time.
He is survived by his wife Shirley, daughter Seraphina and granddaughter Charlotte.