Charlie Is My Darling

Sympathy for the Drummer: A Memorial Scrapbook

Charles Robert Watts

2 June 1941 - 24 August 2021

Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
“Dead Flowers” Mick Jagger/Keith Richards

The news of Charlie Watts passing at 80 today caught us by surprise and left us saddened. His astounding life reached from three weeks after the Nazi blitz of his London neighborhood to a once in a hundred years global pandemic. In between he beat the drums in over 2,000 Rolling Stones concerts.

He was the most uncomplicated of rock stars, having held his position since 1963, a total of 58 years. He played on all 30 studio albums, 33 live albums, 29 compilations, 121 singles, 32 box sets, and 77 music videos. A jazz lover at heart, especially bebop, he wrote a book in 2017, Charlie Watts’ Favorite Drummers. He released ten albums without the Stones, mostly with the Charlie Watts Quintet. He collected cars but could not drive. He owned an Arabian horse stud farm in west Devon.

He had his rounds with liquor and drugs. But hey! He was a Rolling Stone ! Get off his cloud. He curtailed his out of boundaries in the 80s after suffering a broken ankle during a substance session. He stayed married to the same woman from 1964 until today. He and Shirley Ann Shepherd had one daughter, Seraphina, who made him a grandfather with Charlotte. Vanity Fair put him on their international best dressed list in 2006 and in 2011 GQ called him “one of the most stylish musicians of a time.” He was torn and frayed but survived throat cancer in 2004. He left an estate of just under $275 million.

Charlie Watts was as real and as laid back a musician as ever played with a band of such a combustibly intense legend. He rolled on with no expectations, the salt of the earth, drinking from the loving cup. He was the rock of The Rolling Stones.

“The past is a blast!”