It was one year ago today — August 24th, 2021 — that that the music world was shocked to learn that Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died at the age of 80. Fans had been showing concern when the news broke earlier this month that for the first time in his career, Watts was sitting out of a Stones tour due to an unspecified illness. Keith Richards‘ longtime collaborator and drummer, Steve Jordan was announced as Watts’ understudy throughout the then-upcoming 13-city trek.
An official statement was released which read:
It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family. Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation. We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time.
Due to Covid protocols, the Stones were unable to attend Watts’ funeral in early-September 2021. Watts was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Devon.
Charlie Watts enjoyed the only stable family life of any of the Stones, having remained faithful to his girlfriend and then wife of over 55 years, Shirley, throughout the Stones’ career. The couple, who raised Arabian horses, have one daughter Seraphina — and a granddaughter, her 24-year-old daughter, model Charlotte Watts.
The Rolling Stones paid tribute to Watts by posting a recent portrait of the drummer on the website, which stays frozen on the photo. Watts is the third of the original Stones to die, with co-founding guitarist Brian Jones drowning on July 3rd, 1969 at age 27, and co-founding pianist-turned-roadie Ian Stewart dying of a heart attack on December 12th, 1985 at 47.
Charlie Watts, who turned 80 the prior June 2nd, was the second-oldest Stone; co-founding bassist Bill Wyman is 85, Mick Jagger is 79, Keith Richards is 78, and Ron Wood is 75.
Coming on October 11th will be the first authorized biography on Charlie Watts, titled Charlie’s Good Tonight: The Life, The Times, And Rolling Stones: The Authorized Biography Of Charlie Watts, was written by Paul Sexton and features new and intimate interviwws with the Stones and Watts’ family — along with forewords by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
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