Charlie Watts, the legendary Rolling Stones drummer, has passed at age 80.
While not the original drummer, Watts joined the fledgling Stones in 1963 and played on every album they ever recorded. He was as steady as the morning star, and the Stones often said if Charlie wasn’t there, then the Stones weren’t either. However in recent weeks doctors advised Watts that he should not tour with the band and they enlisted Steve Jordan as a fill-in. Watts never recovered and passed away in hospital.
The Stones have sold 200,000,000 albums over the last 57 years. Watts’ steady beat was behind them all.
His style was simple yet essential. Charlie was one of the steadiest drummers in rock history. Perhaps his greatest performance was on “Gimme Shelter”, his unmistakable rhythm propelling the song.
Of all the rock star deaths in 2021, this could be the most devastating. Rest in peace, Charlie Watts. You helped make rock and roll what it became.
mikeladano.com 
I can not like this post.
R.I.P Charlie.
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I wish there was a DISlike button we could smash.
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It should be like Facebook where you could have ‘care’ and ‘sad’ buttons because this is a tragic loss to music, period. Rest in peace Charlie.
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A jazz drummer playing in a rock band. Legend
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Love the Stones, love Watts. So accurate, steady, stylish, and classy.
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Damn. Felt this was coming when I saw the post earlier in the month. Right after Dusty too.
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Terrible loss. I loved to watch him play as it was so effortless. There was no banging hard to show off, it was just easy going and yet perfect every time.
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The sad thing is after listening to this track, I want to check out their music, but I’ll never be able to see Charlie perform live with the Stones. He definitely has a similar feel and vibe to Phil Rudd of AC/DC.
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I hear what you mean. It’s thrift — neither drummer overplays, and both having perfect timing.
I’ll never see Charlie play live either but at least we have 57 years of music including last year’s “Living in a Ghost Town”.
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Exactly! Both drummers bring just enough flavor to their respective groups.
Oh yeah, I saw that “Living in a Ghost Town” video in someone’s post, but it’s weird watching the video now knowing that the drummer is gone.
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I… well, I already posted about this, and everything you said is true and this just sucks so much.
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