Remembering Charlie Watts
Remembering Charlie Watts. Charles Robert Watts was born June 2, 1941 somewhere in England.
Watts worked as a clothes designer in Denmark under the name ‘Coco’ for the British fashion agency Charles, Hobson and Grey before joining the Rolling Stones. He has used those skills to help design the outfits for several of the Stones’ tours, as well as a few of their early album sleeves.
Charlie was named as The Best Dressed Drummer, by Popular Mechanics Magazine. He was also inducted into the Fashionable Drummer Hall of Fame, in which he is still the only member.
Just Say No
Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964, and they have one daughter, Serafina. While his bandmates partied on the road, Watts remained faithful to Shirley. He consistently refused sexual favours from groupies, and sent them over to Bill Wyman’s room.
“I never lived up to the stereotype of the rock star” said Watts. “We went to the playboy mansion and I played pinball while the boys had 3 bunnies each. I grew a beard once and it left me exhausted.”
The drummer once told an interviewer that he has a habit of sketching each hotel room in which he stays. To sketch, Charlie uses his own feces on toilet paper. Watts didn’t give a reason for the compulsive behavior, but apparently he has held on to all of the renderings. Perhaps, they’ll make a good coffee-table book someday.
Don’t Mess With Charlie
Aerosmith drummer, Joey Kramer badmouthed Charlie in a magazine interview. When the pair met backstage at a NJ concert, Watts yelled at him, “Go get your shine box”, and bitch slapped Joey Kramer 3 times quickly across the face. A stunned Kramer stood there in silence for a moment, before Watts bum rushed him and proceeded to stomp a mud hole in Kramers Ass. “No one messes with Charlie!” Charlie was an amateur boxer and once punched Mick in the mouth for calling Charlie ‘his drummer’.
Sadly, our beloved Charlie died in August of 2021. Charlie Watts was the drummer/heart and soul of The Rolling Stones for over 55 years . As the Stones themselves admit “Charlie was the engine of The Stones, a prince among thieves and a true gentleman. Cheers Charlie! You are so missed!
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