Share and Follow
Charlie Watts Biography – Charlie Watts Wiki
Charlie Watts (born Charles Robert Watts) was an English drummer who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Rolling Stones. He was one of the band’s longest-serving members, joining in January 1963 and remaining a member until his death on 24 August 2021. The Rolling Stones made 30 studio albums, nine of them topping the American charts and 10 topping the British charts. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 — a ceremony the drummer skipped.
Charles Robert Watts was born in London on June 2, 1941. His first instrument was a banjo, but, baffled by the fingerings required to play it, he removed the neck and converted its body into a snare drum. He discovered jazz when he was 12 and soon became a fan of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus.
By 1960, Watts had graduated from the Harrow School of Art and found work as a graphic artist for a London advertising agency. He wrote and illustrated “Ode to a Highflying Bird,” a children’s book about the jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker (although it was not published until 1965). In the evenings, he played drums with a variety of groups.
Most of them were jazz combos, but he was also invited to join Alexis Korner’s raucous rhythm-and-blues collective, Blues Incorporated. He declined the invitation because he was leaving England to work as a graphic designer in Scandinavia, but he joined the group when he returned a few months later.
The newly formed Rolling Stones (then called the Rollin’ Stones) knew they needed a good drummer but could not afford Watts, who was already drawing a regular salary from his various gigs. In early 1963, when they could finally guarantee five pounds a week, Watts joined the band, completing the canonical lineup of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, the guitarist Brian Jones, the bassist Bill Wyman and the pianist Ian Stewart.
A 2012 review of a Rolling Stones concert reads in part: “For all of Mick and Keith’s supremacy, there’s no question that the heart of this band is and will always be Watts: At 71, his whipcrack snare and preternatural sense of swing drive the songs with peerless authority, and define the contradictory uptight-laid-back-ness that’s at the heart of the Stones’ rhythm.”
Charlie Watts Age
Charles Robert Watts was born on 2 June 1941, in Bloomsbury, London, England. He died on 24 August 2021, in London, England. He was 80.
Charlie Watts Wife
Was Charlie Watts married? He married Shirley Ann Shepherd, an art-school student and sculptor, on 14 October 1964. The couple met just before the Rolling Stones entered the world of fame and fortune. They had one daughter, Seraphina Watts, in March 1968 and, after spending some time in France as tax exiles, relocated to a farm in southwestern England. There they bred prizewinning Arabian horses, gradually expanding their stud farm to over 250 horses on 700 acres of land, according to The New York Times.
In the early stages of a midlife crisis, he got hooked on amphetamines and heroin, nearly destroying his marriage. After passing out in a recording studio and breaking his ankle when he fell down a staircase, he quit, cold turkey.
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts been married to wife Shirley Ann Shephard for 57 years. The couple stayed together even while the band were on tour, and the other members were partying hard. In a 2018 interview with NME, Watts was asked about the secret to his long marriage. “Because I’m not really a rockstar,” he said. “I don’t have all the trappings of that. Having said that, I do have four vintage cars and can’t drive the bloody things. I’ve never been interested in doing interviews or being seen.”
“I love it and I do interviews because I want people to come and see the band. The Rolling Stones exist because people come to the shows. There’s nothing worse than playing in a club with three people sitting in the front – one’s your girlfriend and the other’s your mate – and that’s the audience.”
Charlie Watts Children – Charlie Watts Daughter
Charlie Watts and his wife Shirley Ann Shepherd have a daughter, Seraphina Watts, born in March 1968.
Charlie Watts Granddaughter Charlotte – Charlie Watts Grandchildren
Charlie Watts’s granddaughter, Charlotte Watts, is a model and an artist. She made her debut modelling assignment for HELLO! Fashion Monthly. She wore a mix of designer and high street brands including Topshop, Christopher Kane, Bimba y Lola and Rag & Bone.
In an interview with the magazine, the model also spoke about her relationship with her grandfather. “We’re really proud of Pa,” she said. “He’s just so humble about it [fame]. He’s not all over the place, he’s just so damn cool.”
“It would probably be a different story if we were being chased all the time… I can’t imagine what it must be like for Mick [Jagger]. It’s a strange thing to try to look at it from the outside, but every now and then it hits me. Everyone says, ‘Where do you watch the show from?’ Everywhere! I have a pass! I can watch it from wherever I want!”
In 2015, the granddaughter of Charlie Watts made headlines when her £32,000 stuffed wolf, called Frostbite, was stolen from her London home. The rare taxidermy item, weighing 100lb, was returned undamaged to a police station in west London in August 2015.
Charlie Watts Family
His mother, the former Lillian Charlotte Eaves, was a homemaker; his father, Charles Richard Watts, was in the Royal Air Force and, after World War II, became a truck driver for British Railways. Watts is survived by his wife Shirley, daughter Seraphina and granddaughter Charlotte.
Charlie Watts Death
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts passed away peacefully in a London hospital on 24 August 2021, at the age of 80 surrounded by his family, according to the band’s publicist. A statement from the band and Watts’ spokesperson reads: “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 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.”
Charlie Watts Cause of Death
Charlie Watts’s cause of death was not revealed.
Charlie Watts Cancer
In June 2004, Drummer Charlie Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent a course of radiotherapy. The cancer went into remission.
Charlie Watts Health
Charlie Watts had generally been healthy throughout his entire career with the Stones. He was stricken with throat cancer in 2004 but successfully recovered, and suffered from substance abuse in the 1970s and ’80s, but beat that as well.
On August 4, Watts abruptly withdrew from the Stones’ upcoming pandemic-postponed U.S. tour, citing the need to recover from an unspecified but “successful” recent medical procedure.
A spokesperson said, “Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but I gather his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation. 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 saw this coming.”
Unconfirmed reports said Watts had undergone heart surgery.
Charlie Watts Height
How tall was Charlie Watts? He was 5′ 8″ (173 cm) tall.
Charlie Watts Net Worth
Drummer Charlie Watts’ net worth is estimated to be $250 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The BBC reported that Watts is estimated to have been worth £80m as a result of the enduring popularity of the Rolling Stones.
Charlie Watts Wedding
Charlie Watts and his wife Shirley Ann Shepherd wed on 14 October 1964. They stayed together for 57 years before his death on Aug. 24.
Charlie Watts Family Photos
In May 2020, Rolling Stones drummer and late music icon Charlie Watts attended a charity event with his wife of 57 years, Shirley Ann Shephard. The couple smiled together at an event for the dog foundation Forever Hounds Trust in one of the last photos of Watts before he passed away.
Charlie Watts Obituary
Source: Primal Information
