The Rolling Stones celebrate Charlie Watts’ 82nd birthday
The other members of the Rolling Stones – Mike Jagger, Keith RichardsAnd Ronnie Wood — have all paid tribute to their late bandmate, the drummer Charlie Watts.
The trio have had a habit of paying tribute to their departed friends lately, and now they’re taking the time to honor Watts on his 82nd birthday. Watts, who had been the drummer for the Rolling Stones since 1962, died in August 2021.
Watts died while the Stones were on their No Filter Tour. Watts’ illness forced him to retire from touring; Watts’ last tour with the band was in 2016.
A longtime friend of the band, Steve Jordan, sat behind the gear on tour. Jordan is also the drummer for Keith Richards’ solo project The X-Pensive Winos.
Watts died shortly after a ‘successful medical procedure’
Watts’ rep announced the “successful medical procedure” he underwent prior to the start of the “No Filter” tour.
“Charlie had a procedure that was completely successful,” the announcement began (via The Blast, per page six). “But as far as I know, his doctors have concluded that he needs adequate rest and recovery this week. With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one was expecting it.”
The Rolling Stones announcer announced Watts’ death after his death on August 24.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital surrounded by his family,” the statement began. “Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and a member of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation. We politely ask that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is now respected.”
His wife Shirley died in December the following year. The couple had been married since 1964.
The Rolling Stones celebrated Watts’ first posthumous birthday last year
The other Stones members also commemorated the bandmate and brother’s birthday on June 2, 2022. The band followed suit on their respective Instagram accounts today.
Wood has shared photos of the pair over the years, including a black and white snap of the duo celebrating their birthday together.
The former Faces guitarist wrote: “I remember dear @thisischarliewatts on his birthday ❤️ Thinking of you my friend ❤️🙏”
Richards, 79, posted two vintage photos of the duo and paid tribute to the original photographers. The “Connection” singer wrote: “To my dearly missed friend Charlie Watts!”
Jagger rounded out the honors. The Rolling Stones frontman posted a black and white photo from the band’s 1981 Still Life tour.
Jagger, 79, wrote: “Happy Birthday Charlie dearest. Love Mick” as the caption.
Richards had spoken about Watts’ sense of humor in an interview Interview with Rolling Stone after the death of his beloved friend. He described Watts as having “an incredible sense of humor”. And my joy was that I loved making him laugh. If you could hit that point, it wouldn’t stop, and it was the funniest thing in the world. He had an incredible sense of humor that he kept to himself unless ignited. And then it could be painful to laugh,” the Take It So Hard singer recalled. (according to The Blast)