Keith Richards remembered the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts in a recent interview with The New York Times. Tears came to his eyes.
The pain of the death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts sits at Keith Richards still low more than two years later. “When I just thought of his name, I started to cry,” says the 79-year-old in a recent interview with the “New York Times” – and notes: “Thank you for making me cry have driven your eyes”.
In the conversation, Richards leaves no doubt about how important and influential Watts was for the band. “The Rolling Stones would have existed without Charlie Watts, but without Charlie Watts there would have been the Rolling Stones didn’t exist,” said the guitarist. Watts was one of the warmest people he had ever met and was extremely tolerant of others. “He even stopped me from murdering people,” Richards says.
Ronnie Wood on Charlie Watts: “Like fireworks”
Ronnie Wood also remembers his late friend and colleague in the interview – and explains what it was like to get drummer Steve Jordan on board. “Charlie was like a firework, and Steve is like a train,” says Wood. “When Charlie handed over the baton to Steve Jordan, it was a very special moment.”
Wood also talks about receiving news of Watts’ death: “We were rehearsing in Boston when Charlie died. We were rehearsing when we heard the news and we had a day off. And we thought Charlie didn’t want us to sit around and mope. We got right back to work and kept going – keeping the flame alive.”