In an geological era when rock drummer were bombastic - than - life history showmen with big kits and egos to gibe , Charlie Watts remained the quiet serviceman behind a small drum set . But Watts was n’t your distinctive rock music drummer .
Part of the Rolling Stones setup from 1963 untilhis decease Aug. 24 , 2021 , Watts render the back - cadence to their greatest hits by injecting jazz esthesia — and swing — into the Stones ' audio .
As amusicologistand Colorado - editor of theCambridge Companion to the Rolling Stones — as well as a fan who has seen the Stones live more than 20 times over the past five ten — I see Watts as being intact to the band ’s succeeder .
LikeRingo Starrand other drummer who come forth during the 1960s British pop explosion , Watts was influenced by the swinging and openhanded band sound that washugely popular in the U.K.in the forties and 1950s .
Modest With the Sticks
Watts was n’t formally trained as a jazz drummer , but jazz musician like Jelly Roll Morton , Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monkwere early influence .
In a 2012 interview with the New Yorker , he recalled how their recordsinformed his playing style .
" I corrupt a banjo , and I did n’t like the dots on the cervix , " Watts said . " So I have the neck opening off , and at the same time I heard a drummer called Chico Hamilton , who played with Gerry Mulligan , and I wanted to diddle like that , with thicket . I did n’t have a snare metal drum , so I put the banjo head on a stand . "
Watts ' first group , the Jo Jones All Stars , were a malarkey band . And elements of malarkey remain throughout his Stones career , providing Watts with a all-embracing stylistic versatility that was critical to the Stones ' forays beyond megrims and rock to country , reggae , disco , funk and evenpunk .
There was a modesty in his acting that came from his jazz learning . There are no big rock barrel solos . He made sure the attention was never on him or his drumming — his role was keeping the songs give-up the ghost forward , giving them move .
He also did n’t use a fully grown kit — no tam-tam , no scaffolding . He kepta modest onemore typically found in jazz quartet and quintets .
Likewise , Watts ' occasional use of brushes over reefer — such as in " Melody " from 1976 ’s " dim and juicy " — more explicitly shows his debt to jazz drummers .
But he did n’t come in with one style . Watts was trained to accommodate , while observe chemical element of nothingness . you’re able to hear it in the R&B of " ( I Ca n’t Get No ) Satisfaction , " to the infernal obechi - like rhythm of " Sympathy For the Devil " — two Sung dynasty in which Watts ' contribution is fundamental .
And a song like " Ca n’t You Hear Me ping " from 1971 ’s " Sticky Fingers " develop from one of Keith Richards ' highest caliber riffle into a longsighted reason out instrumental section , unequaled in the Stones ' vocal catalogue , of Santana - esque Latin jazz , comprise some great syncopate rhythmical shots and refined hi - hat playing through which Watts drives the different melodic sections .
You hear similar elements in " Gimme Shelter " and other classic Rolling Stones songs — it is perfectly placed drum fills and gestures that make the song and surprise you , always in the backdrop and never dominate .
Powering the “Engine Room”
So central was Watts to the Stones that when bassist Bill Wyman retired from the band after the 1989 " Steel Wheels " hitch , it was Watts who was tasked with blame his replacement .
He take a freshwater bass player that would fit his style . But his option of Darryl Jones as Wyman ’s replacement was not the only key partnership for Watts . He played off the pulse , complement Richards ' very syncopate , Riffian - driven guitar style . Watts and Richards set the groove for so many Stones songs , such as " Honky Tonk Women " or " bulge Me Up . "
If you watched them last , you ’d notice Richards looking at Watts at all times — his eyes fixated on the drummer , look for where the melodic accents are , and matching their rhythmical " shaft " and off - beats .
Watts did not draw a bead on to be avirtuoso like John Bonham of Led ZeppelinorThe Who ’s Keith Moon — there was no drum excess . From that initial jazz training , he kept his length from outward gestures .
But for most six decades , he was the master occupant , as Richards put it , of the Rolling Stones ' legendary " engine room . "
This article is republish fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons permit . you may receive the original article here .
Victor Coelho is a professor of music at Boston University .
