Welcome to Gen Z Talks Rock Music, the destination for your latest rock n’ roll news and opinions from a young adult born in the wrong generation. For my first piece, I will be discussing the loss of a legendary drummer from a legendary classic rock band. I am going to talk about the story of his life and his top 10 best drumming songs. Then why I think he is an underrated drummer and who was influenced by his drum playing. Watts was the backbone of my all-time favorite band’s exciting sound and upbeat tempo. He was able to keep up with the energy of a vocalist, who runs around all over the stage and a guitarist, who plucks the guitar string with enthusiasm. Vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones are entertaining musicians and songwriters, but their careers would be different, if drummer Charlie Watts wasn’t able to match the energy and tempo by pounding on the drum with perfect timing.
Charlie Watts Bio:
Charlie Watts was born on June 2, 1941 in London England at University College Hospital. He lived and grew up in Wembley, Middlesex with his father, his mother, and his sister. Watts loved music at a young age as he collected jazz records from artists like Charlie Parker and Jelly Roll Morton. When Watts was a teenager, he really wanted to pick up an instrument. He bought himself a banjo to learn how to play it. Watts lost interest to play the banjo very quickly, because he was frustrated with fingerpicking the strings on certain songs. This frustration gave him an idea to remove the neck of the banjo and put the base of the banjo on a stand. This allowed Watts to play the banjo like a snare drum. His parents knew he was going to be a drummer when he first hit the banjo on the stand and bought him his first drumkit.
After completing his general education, Watts continued his education at Harrow Art School. When completing Harrow Art School, he would land a job as a graphic designer and illustrator on an advertising agency, and he would play drums as a side job for a jazz band. Watts’s drumming with the jazz group was getting notice by a blues band named Blues Incorporation. Band member Alexis Korner invited Charlie Watts to be their drummer of their band, and this became Watts’s permitted gig. Another band named The Rolling Stones were looking for a percussionist and one night they watched Blues Incorporation perform their set. The Rolling Stones described Charlie Watts’s beats as tight, tasteful, and powerful. The Rolling Stones were so impressed with Charlie Watts’s drumming that they offered him the job to be the new Rolling Stones’ drummer. At first, Watts declined the offer, but eventually at the right price, he became the Rolling Stones’ drummer. The Rolling Stones would have their first massive hit with “Satisfaction,” and the band would be a juggernaut in classic rock for the next 60 years. He died peaceful in London on August 24, 2021 at the age of 80. Here is the link below if you want to read more about Charlie Watts’s incredible life. Charlie Watts Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic
An Underrated Drummer:
When thinking about the Rolling Stones, people think of Mick Jagger, the energizer bunny, Keith Richard, the king of filling the spaces of the song, or Ronnie Wood, the fantastic rhythm guitarist. People asked about the best drummers, people think of drum rolling masters like Keith Moon from The Who, John Bonham from Led Zeppelin, and Neil Peart from Rush. What about Charlie Watts? Therefore, I think he is one of the underrated legendary drummers from the classic rock era. He wasn’t drum rolling like a wild man on stage or in the studio, but he still was an important piece to The Rolling Stones’ sound. He was simple in how he played and never had a big drumkit. Rolling Stones are known for their upbeat dance songs and Charlie Watts’s groove on drum was perfect for their sound. Watts always delivered with powerful tight beats that meshed well with Mick Jagger’s energized vocals, and Keith Richards’s bouncy guitar playing. He was “The Wembley Whammer,” because he played the drum with a force of power, which he learned from his influence of jazz. He was unique with his jazz influence because no one in classic rock was playing drums like a swing drummer from the 1930’s and the 1940’s. He was the much-needed background that contributed to The Rolling Stones’ success and no one else could do what Charlie Watts did on drums.
Famous Drummers Talk About Charlie Watt:
Although the people may be blind to how Charlie Watts was a much better drummer than people think, musicians from rock music knew how unbelievable he was. Drummer Steven Copeland from The Police, who was shocked about the death of Charlie Watts, said Watts created his own sound that nobody else can do it like him. Copeland described Watts’s drumming and said he would lead with his right foot on the kick drum, while his left hand is relaxedly playing the snare. This influenced Steven Copeland’s playing, because he watched Charlie Watts play drums and he was so relaxed when he looked at him play. Steven Copeland learned from Charlie Watts is the more relaxed a drummer is, the better groove and sound is played on the drum. Copeland has played drums on The Police and solo records with laid back composure ever since.
Max Weinberg from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band said about Charlie Watts that he wasn’t just a drummer; he was a genre of music. Max Weinberg stated there is only one Charlie Watts and no one will come close sounding like Charlie Watts. Max Weinberg described a great technique of Charlie Watts that was featured on the Rolling Stones’ song “Street Fighting Man,” which Charlie Watts is playing a quick three eighth rhythm pattern. Weinberg explained his playing on “Street Fighting Man” created the sound of toughness on the drum. When Bruce Springsteen presented to Weinberg the song, “Born In The USA,” it reminded him the percussions of “Street Fighting Man.” He was inspired to do an impersonation of a Charlie Watts’s style of drumming.
Watts’s drumming was on a different level in the classic rock era as it felt he on his own little island. Many were playing rock type beats like Ringo Starr from The Beatles or playing jazz type drum rolling like Ginger Baker from Cream, but no one had a solid feel in playing drums like Charlie Watts did. He will always be known as the sound of The Rolling Stones. I have linked below what I think is the top 10 songs of Charlie Watts playing drums in no order. Make sure to check it out. Let me know in the comments below, what is your opinion on Charlie Watts and comment if you have a favorite Charlie Watts drumming song. This concludes the first blog of Gen Z Talks Rock Music but come back next week for more rock n’ roll news and opinions.
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil - YouTube
The Rolling Stones- Shattered - YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black - YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Neighbours - YouTube
The Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown - YouTube
Rolling Stones "If you can't rock me" - YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Street Fighting Man - YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud- YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Undercover Of The Night - YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Moon is Up - YouTube
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