The best drummer of all time, 12th place: Charlie Watts (Blues Incorporated & The Rolling Stones)
Keith Richards once said that the Rolling Stones, when they were founded, could not afford a drummer like Charlie Watts, since the drummer was already incorporated for Alexis Korner’s more established band. Finally, the Stones managed to win him over and he asked if he couldn’t join.
“You are already quite good,” said Watts to Richards, “but you need a really good drummer.” Watts added Jagger, Richards and the rest of the gait with his swinging grooves (“Brown Sugar”), the tight “Four-On-Floor” rhythms (“Satisfaction”) and subtle impressionism (“Sympathy for the Devil”) Without specifying large, simply in perfect way for more than 50 years. “When we finally had Charlie, it was the breakthrough for us,” said Richards. “Charlie can rush like crazy and it still feels casual and good. That is his style, ”recalls Jim Keltner in an interview with“ Drum! ” “He himself cannot explain it and I don’t want to go into detail with him. I just admire it. “
In a recent interview, Mick Jagger remembers his close friend and bandmate Charlie Watts. “I knew him since I was 19 and I was a lot with Charlie. He was one of my closest friends, ”explains the Rolling-Stones front man in an interview with the American radio provider Siriusxm.
Since 1963, the artists stood together on stage and created countless classics together until Watt’s death in August 2021. But the music was not the only passion that hunts connected with the drummer. “Charlie and I had many other interests than just playing in one band. We loved football and cricket. Charlie and I often went to the cricket together, ”the musician recalls his friend. “Charlie knows himself very well [mit Fußball] out of. He played football as a child. He was pretty good. Much better than me. Charlie loved beautiful things. He liked antiques, he liked furniture. So we talked a lot about such things. “
Charlie Watts not only stays part of the Rolling Stones in the heart. He will also be heard on the new album of the rock band, “Hackney Diamonds”, which will be released on October 20. The group announces this in an interview with “The Tonight Show” moderator Jimmy Fallon on September 6th, on the occasion of the release of their current single “Angry”. Two of the twelve tracks of the record were recorded with the drummer in 2019. Said songs will appear one after the other on the work and run under the titles “Live by the Sword” and “Mess IT Up”.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood also reflect on their development within the band after Watts’ death. “Since Charlie has been gone, it is of course different. I mean he’s number four. Of course you miss him. Incredible ”, guitarist Richards commemorates his bandmate. But the drummer thought ahead and ensured a suitable successor. In conversation, Keith Richards explains: “Thanks to Charlie Watts, we also have Steve Jordan, who was Charlie’s recommendation if something should happen to him. [Er sagte uns:] ‘Steve Jordan is your man.’ Without Charlie’s blessing it would have been much more difficult, do you know? “