Talk:Charlie Watts

Is Charlie Dead??

I read/heard today that Charlie Watts died on Tuesday (Aug 9th).. even though i've found several articles about it on the internet the information is not conclusive... should i update the article adding his death??? --Danrha 17:28, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

Finally i cleared the mistake!! and thank god he's alive :)... the one who died was Carlo Little... yet lots of articles used "the first drummer of the stones" instead of saying his name... :S — Preceding unsigned comment added by Danrha (talk • contribs) 17:38, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

Long after the comments above were made, he died in 2021, aged 80. Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:43, 24 August 2021 (UTC)

Heroin, etc.?

From this article: Although formerly a smoker, Watts did not abuse harder drugs.

From Dirty Work: Watts was reportedly not as involved in the sessions due to a period of rehab from alcohol and heroin addiction.

Um? Hoary 10:44, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

Charlie Watts did reveal that he had a heroin addiction in an interview on "60 Minutes" several years ago.Radonman 01:46, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, that claim is still included, but unsourced, in the Dirty Work article. It says: "Charlie Watts' involvement in the recording sessions was also limited; in 1994 Watts told Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes that during the 1980s he had been addicted to heroin and alcohol." Martinevans123 (talk) 10:50, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

Edit May12th

I saw some flaws in the article, and wanted to add a little weight, gave it Solo discography and organized it like Richards and Jagger articles. I think there was a bit of a faulty belief Watts was a "mr. Clean" throught he years, and there is some truth to it, compared to others, but he still was a touring muscian and a lot the stuff i added i got from Rolling Stone magazine interviews, not with him but others, and his own interviews in print and t.v.--Mikerussell 04:55, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Flat Bed Truck

The first Rock band to play live from the back on a flat bed truck was The Edgar Broughton Band — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.139.49.64 (talk) 03:02, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Drumming Style

Hello, I was wondering if someone could post something about Charlie's drumming style which I observe to be quite idiosyncratic. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.28.141.229 (talk) 01:19, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Private life and public image

I believe it`s relevant..it relates to his character especially as he is associated with a group of the biggest party animals in music..I don`t mean that in a judgmental way..I just think it may have something to do with their success oveall..after all..he is the drummer..it`s been my experience in music it`s pretty much the drummer who has to keep it together..that`s my opinion anyway..leave it in. Lonepilgrim007 (talk) 07:35, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

also this seems to be an extremely short article regarding a very well known musician..isn`t there anything else anyone can add? Lonepilgrim007 (talk) 17:10, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

Father

'a lorry driver for British Rail' British Rail was founded in the 1960s. Before that there was British Railways, but that was founded in 1948. Watts' father must have worked for some other company when he was born.217.43.226.218 (talk) 01:40, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Charlie Watts Jewish?

Is Charlie Watts Jewish? I know he doesn't practice the religion, and I can find no evidence of his ethnicity. This article has him in the "English Jews" category. Is there any evidence of this? SpanishStroll (talk) 17:02, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Charlie's stated on a couple of occasions that he's Jewish, but i've never read/heard anything that went into any detail about it. Sssoul (talk) 16:01, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Can you find a source for that? SpanishStroll (talk) 16:47, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

at present i don't have time to go hunting for the very brief mentions of it i've seen - literally two words in a statement about something else entirely, a la "i was in X and, being Jewish, i felt Y". one of them might be somewhere in Stanley Booth's book The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones, if you want to look for it yourself. Sssoul (talk) 07:15, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

I'd like to get the source. Alan Clayson's biography of Watts doesn't mention it. SpanishStroll (talk) 22:55, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

no, he hasn't quit

re the rumours started on 02 september 2009, see this correction by the Rolling Stones' publicist. Sssoul (talk) 17:30, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Photographs

Aren't there any photographs of him from when he was younger? Iminrainbows (talk) 02:23, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Charlie is not dead, has not quit the Stones, and is not Jewish. He mostly averted the drug thing in the '60s/'70s (although he was a binge drinker), but began abusing hard drugs, by his own account while going through some depressive things, in the late '70s/early '80s; by his own account this included amphetamines and heroin as well as alcohol. He's been clean and sober for years, and, as of 2004 when he was treated for throat cancer, is a non-smoker after over 4 decades of heavy smoking (like almost every other Britisher who came of age in the '50s and '60s). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maccb (talk • contribs) 19:11, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Discography was grossly inaccurate (Aug 17, 2012)

Everything in the discography was the work of CHarlie Watts the jazz saxophone musician. I deleted it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Coltranedis (talk • contribs) 13:17, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Background

Any more info re his parents? When they died, etc., whether his sister Linda is older or younger? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:8C0:4300:1130:3158:420A:EA8D:117C (talk) 00:57, 23 October 2020 (UTC)

Charlie Watts was a great man

I know this page isn't for general discussion of the subject, but I have to say it. My parents bought me Between the Buttons as a gift in 1967, little knowing they were infecting me with the sex, drugs, and rock and roll disease. I always liked Charlie. RIP. Carlstak (talk) 00:48, 27 August 2021 (UTC)

@Carlstak: He was definitely the reluctant star who reportedly never understood why people liked his drumming. It was a gut punch to the music industry when he died. I have enjoyed reading the stories about him that have come out since though and the tributes made. I just wish he was still around. --TheSandDoctor ^Talk 03:36, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

Me too. He was so solid, the anchor of the group. Thanks for all the work you've done on his article. Best, Carlstak (talk) 11:38, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

Lived to 80 years of age. Still performing at the age of 78. And I think he may have had a bob or two. Lucky guy. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:45, 3 September 2021 (UTC) p.s. how much was he worth, by the way?

The Who have posted a group tribute here. That page has a link to My Baby Gives It Away from the 1977 Rough Mix, a copy of which, I am pleased to say, I have owned and enjoyed for over 40 years. Great sharp, economical drumming. An exemplar of his very neat style, in my opinion. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:54, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

Nice tributes by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. I hadn't heard the Rough Mix album, so I listened to a few tracks. In my opinion, Charlie's drumming was the best part of the music. The banjo on "Nowhere To Run" was a surprise, didn't know Townshend played the instrument (so that was him on "Squeeze Box"), reminded me of the Kinks' Dave Davies. Carlstak (talk) 19:28, 4 September 2021 (UTC)

It certainly was him, haha. A great track. In fact, Watts plays on only two tracks of Rough Mix (the other one is the boogie-woogie/rockabilly "Catmelody")! The wonderful Henry Spinetti also plays, especially on "Heart to Hang Onto" (a song which should have won a Granny, in my opinion - YT has a wonderful clip of PT with Eddie Vedder on the Letterman show in 1999, well worth a look). Sorry to digress. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:46, 4 September 2021 (UTC)

Funeral

I think the article should include details about his funeral and burial Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 21:15, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

Wholly agree. Here are some sources: NME, Evening Standard, Devon Live. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:21, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

Halsdon

More informations in Furse (surname). Perhaps to use that references/informations here? Xx236 (talk) 08:45, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

Combined two sentences

To: TheSandDoctor
Dear colleague,
Thank you for this edit, although the repetition of his surname within the space of three words still sounded unnatural to me (At the time of Watts' death, Watts, Jagger and Richards...). In another attempt to resolve the need for repetition, I have now combined that sentence with the existing one about his tenure, as it seemed to me that they were closely related. An added benefit is that it is easy for the reader to infer who the subject ("he") is, in the resulting sentence:

Watts' first public appearance as a permanent member was in February 1963; he remained with the group for 58 years until his death, at which time he, Jagger and Richards were the only members of the band to have performed on every one of their studio albums.

I am hopeful we might agree on such a compromise? Should the above sentence be considered too long, then it would also be possible to replace the semicolon with a period/full stop and keep the rest as a separate sentence.
In any case, thank you for your interest in getting this right, and for all your other contributions to our encyclopaedia.
With kind regards;
Patrick. ツ Pdebee.^{(talk)(become old-fashioned!)} 11:28, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

@Pdebee: I think that that is okay for now. I don't know why it didn't occur to me until just now, but a modification of the other one -- At the time of his death, Watts, Jagger, and Richards -- might work as well. But I think what you instituted is better than the original edit made and is fine for the time being. Perhaps that paragraph should ultimately be restructured -- I'll look at it further in future. TheSandDoctor ^Talk 23:25, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply, TheSandDoctor . I agree that your suggested variant will work too, as long as its preceding sentence refers only to Watts, so that the reader is clear about "his". I would still contend that the form: At the time of Watts' death, he, Jagger, and Richards ... is clearer and more self-contained, although that's the variant you reverted earlier. As for the paragraph itself, it seems OK to me, as it gives a concise and orderly summary of his entire career.
In any case, thank you for your time and consideration in this matter, and for all your other contributions to Wikipedia.
With kind regards;
Patrick. ツ Pdebee.^{(talk)(become old-fashioned!)}