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get to know charlie watts, the drummer of the rolling stones: a thread :)
charles robert watts was born in bloomsbury, london on june 2nd, 1941 to parents charles richard watts and lillian charlotte eaves. he has only one sibling, his sister, linda.
charlie was a big fan of jazz music growing up. when he was a young boy, around 13 years old, he heard "walkin' shoes" by gerry mulligan and earl bostic's "flamingo" for the first time and decided he wanted to play the drums.
charlie got a drum set the following year and taught himself.
“Charlie always wanted a drum set...We bought him his first drum set for Christmas when he was fourteen. He took to it straight away, and often he used to play jazz records and join in on his drums.” - Charlie's mom
“Charlie always wanted a drum set...We bought him his first drum set for Christmas when he was fourteen. He took to it straight away, and often he used to play jazz records and join in on his drums.” - Charlie's mom
charlie's inspirations include sid catlett, dave tough, red reece, gene krupa, max roach, joe morello, jake hanna, louis bellson, al jackson, phil seaman, georgie fame, d.j. fontana, roy haynes and jerry allison.
he'd watch jazz & blues drummers at london clubs and emulate them.
he'd watch jazz & blues drummers at london clubs and emulate them.
his drumming style and ability has been praised by many but charlie is humble: "I play as well as I can with this band and they happen to be very popular. But anyone can play like I do, yet that’s what I love about it in a way. Anyone can do it, really."
"I’m continually thankful - and more so as we go along - that we have Charlie Watts sittin’ there, you know?...There’s nothing forced about Charlie, least of all his modesty. It’s totally real. He cannot understand what people see in his drumming.” - Keith
at the same time, charlie also had a great interest in art and attended harrow art school as a teen, aspiring to be a graphic designer. after he graduated, he was on the rise in the advertising business and making good money but ultimately decided to make the drums his priority.
he still enjoyed designing, however. charlie did the art for some early stones records and, along with mick jagger, helped design stages for tours ranging from 1975-2007.
in the early 60s, he made a cartoon called 'ode to a high flying bird' as a tribute to one of his musical heroes, charlie parker, and had it published. charlie parker was also known as "yardbird" or "bird" for short. he later made an album out of it, 'from one charlie'.
charlie is also known for sketching the hotel rooms he stays in around the world. it started when he was unable to sleep on tours back in the day but he continues to do so.
while playing for alexis korner's band, blues incorporated, at various clubs and doing design on the side, charlie met the rolling stones: brian jones, mick jagger, keith richards and ian stewart. in january 1963, he agreed to join their band and officially became a stone.
fun fact: charlie is the only rolling stone along with keith richards and mick jagger to appear on every album!
another fun fact: charlie once punched a drunken mick in a hotel lobby after he asked "where his fucking drummer was", but only after charlie had showered, cleaned up and put on a suit beforehand to do so. after striking him, charlie responded "you're my fucking singer!"
outside of the stones he has his own band, the charlie watts quintet and has made appearances with the charlie watts tentet and the charlie watts orchestra. he's also performed as a member of ian stewart's band rocket 88.
he also has a "techno/instrumental" album with jim keltner, who also worked on the stones album 'bridges to babylon', called 'charlie watts/jim keltner project'.
charlie has been with his wife, shirley, since before the stones got famous and they've been married since 1964. they have 1 child together, serafina, who was born in 1968.
charlie has never been really into partying, groupies, sex or drugs. he did used to drink alcohol and smoke but hasn't for some time now. he is often been referred to as the complete opposite of his bandmates in these respects.
only in the mid-80s did charlie have a problem with drugs and alcohol due to personal problems
"I think it was a mid-life crisis. All I know is that I became totally another person around 1983 and came out of it about 1986. I nearly lost my wife and everything over my behavior."
"I think it was a mid-life crisis. All I know is that I became totally another person around 1983 and came out of it about 1986. I nearly lost my wife and everything over my behavior."
in 2004, charlie was unfortunately diagnosed with throat cancer and had to undergo radiotherapy but good news, the cancer has gone into remission since! so glad he's still here with us 
charlie is known for his fashion, being a well-dressed gentleman. he was called one of the world's best dressed men by the daily telegraph and vanity fair inducted him into their international best dressed list hall of fame. look at this king!
charlie loves animals and raises horses and adopts dogs!
more recently, in may 2020, charlie and shirley adopted a greyhound dog!
more recently, in may 2020, charlie and shirley adopted a greyhound dog!
despite not being as outgoing or outspoken as his bandmates, charlie is still a vital member of the stones. keith has said "no charlie, no stones". the book 'sympathy for the drummer: why charlie watts matters' goes more in-depth on charlie's impact on and role in the band!
i think that's all i'll say here! if you read all of this, thank you sm and i hope you got to know charlie better :) he has plenty of interviews and other clips on youtube if you want more of him. he's genuinely such a nice, funny guy, he deserves all the love in the world 
