RIP, Charlie Watts
Aug. 24th, 2021 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOn Tuesday this week Charlie Watts passed away. For those who are like, "Who?" the answer is "No, not the Who, the Stones." 😅 Watts was the drummer for the Rolling Stones. Maybe you've heard of them? They're an English rock band that hit it big in the mid 1960s and has basically been touring for the past 55 years.
As you might imagine from the phrase "touring for the past 55 years" the members of the band are getting on in years. Watts was age 80. He was older than lead singer Mick Jagger, 78, and guitarist Keith Richards, 77.
While Watts was the oldest of the Rolling Stones he wasn't the one I would've expected to pass on first. He lived his life more cleanly than his band mates. The years showed less harshly on his face. Even 20-25 years ago Jagger already looked like a wax figure of himself with hollow cheeks and spindly limbs, and Richards looked like a wax figure that had been left in a hot room and started to melt. Indeed, of rock musicians coming out of the era of the 1960s, many of whom died of their own vices in their 20s, Watts has always been the picture of aging gracefully.
In music drummers often don't get much respect. There are tons of jokes out there about drummers. "What do you call a person who hangs out with musicians? A drummer." "How can you tell if the stage is level? The drummer is drooling out of both sides of his mouth." "How do you get a drummer off your porch? Pay him for the pizza." Indeed, in school the students with the least musical aptitude are pointed toward the drums. How much real talent is needed anyway? In many styles of popular music the drumming is completely formulaic. More and more modern performers skip hiring a drummer to use a computer instead. But having a genuine talent in percussion makes a difference. A good drummer both keeps the beat with the song and drives it. Watts had that talent. He helped make the Stones they success they are.
As you might imagine from the phrase "touring for the past 55 years" the members of the band are getting on in years. Watts was age 80. He was older than lead singer Mick Jagger, 78, and guitarist Keith Richards, 77.
While Watts was the oldest of the Rolling Stones he wasn't the one I would've expected to pass on first. He lived his life more cleanly than his band mates. The years showed less harshly on his face. Even 20-25 years ago Jagger already looked like a wax figure of himself with hollow cheeks and spindly limbs, and Richards looked like a wax figure that had been left in a hot room and started to melt. Indeed, of rock musicians coming out of the era of the 1960s, many of whom died of their own vices in their 20s, Watts has always been the picture of aging gracefully.In music drummers often don't get much respect. There are tons of jokes out there about drummers. "What do you call a person who hangs out with musicians? A drummer." "How can you tell if the stage is level? The drummer is drooling out of both sides of his mouth." "How do you get a drummer off your porch? Pay him for the pizza." Indeed, in school the students with the least musical aptitude are pointed toward the drums. How much real talent is needed anyway? In many styles of popular music the drumming is completely formulaic. More and more modern performers skip hiring a drummer to use a computer instead. But having a genuine talent in percussion makes a difference. A good drummer both keeps the beat with the song and drives it. Watts had that talent. He helped make the Stones they success they are.
