Charlie Watts was born on June 2 1941 in Bloomsbury, London. He spent his early years in Wembley. As a boy, Charlie Watts developed an interest in jazz. Among the first records he owned as a boy were ones by Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Parker, Johnny Dodd, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. His family eventually moved to Kingsbury. It was when he was thirteen that he became interested in drumming. He received his first drum kit in 1955 from his parents He practised by playing along to the various jazz records he owned. He later enrolled in Harrow Art School. He worked for a time as a graphic designer for the advertising firm Charlie Daniels, and played drums in a Middlesex band called Jo Jones All Stars.
It was in 1961 that Alex Korner invited Charlie Watts to join Blues Incorporated. He played with Blues Incorporated while continuing to work in advertising for the firm of Charles, Hobson, and Gray. It was in 1962 that Mr. Watts met Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, and Keith Richards, who had recently formed a band then called "The Rollin' Stones." It was in January 1963 that he first played with The Stones and in February 1963 that he became The Rolling Stones' permanent drummer. In addition to being The Rolling Stones' drummer, as a graphic artist Charlie Watts would also add artwork to the band's early album sleeves. Ultimately, Charlie Watts drummed on all forty of The Rolling Stones' albums.
Charlie Watts also worked outside of The Rolling Stones. It was in the late Seventies that he formed the boogie woogie band Rocket 88 with Ian Stewart, Alex Korner, and Dick Morrissey. In the Eighties he formed his own big band, The Charlie Watts Orchestra. In 1991 he formed The Charlie Watts Quintet. In 2009 he began performing with the ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. He also owned an Arabian stud farm in Devon. While he never received a driver's licence, he also collected cars.
Both on stage and off stage, Charlie Watts offered a sharp contrast to his band mates in The Rolling Stones. Impeccably dressed in his Saville Row suits and quiet, he avoided much of the drug abuse and infighting that sometimes occurred in the band. He was married to his wife Shirley for 57 years and never strayed from her. On stage he avoided the flamboyance of his band mates as well, his the power of his drum beats, his keeping time, and his sheer speed as impeccable as his suits. Although sometimes he was not counted among the greatest drummers of all time, he truly was one of them. He was easily the match of Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, and John Bonham. By his own admission he did not like drum solos, but in truth Charlie Watts never needed them. His talent was obvious on such songs as "Paint It, Black," "Gimme Shelter," "Brown Sugar,' and many, many others. What is more, Charlie Watts wasn't just a great drummer, he was a very versatile one. He was as at home playing The Rolling Stones' songs as he was jazz standards. He was so important to The Rolling Stones that Keith Richards called him, "the Key." What made Charlie Watts even more charming was that he refused to take being part of one of the most legendary rock bands seriously. He did not particularly care to talk about his place in the history of rock music, and he was often self-effacing when he did. In the end, it can be said that Charlie Watts was a class act all the way.
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