Catherine’s Column
THE ROCK WORLD IS IN MOURING AS LEGENDARY ROLLING STONES DRUMMER CHARLIE WATTS PASSES AWAY AGED 80... CHARLIE WATTS known to many as the “rock’’ behind The Rolling Stones, has passed away peacefully in London surrounded by his family. Charlie’s passing has resulted in an outpouring of grief from heartbroken fans around the globe, and subsequently caused an irreparable void in the music industry... Watts achieved international fame as the drummer of The Rolling Stones from 1963, and remained with the band for 58 years. He was regarded by the music industry as one of the greatest drummers of his generation. Watts developed an interest in jazz at a young age and joined the band “Blues Incorporated.’’ During that time he was also playing drums in rhythm and blues clubs in London, where destiny appeared to intervene and he met future bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones. However, Watts admitted on many occasions that it was jazz that had a major influence on his drumming style. Watt’s first public appearance as a member of The Rolling Stones was in 1963, at the time of his death, Watts, Jagger and Richards were the only members of the band to have performed on every one of the band’s studio albums. The Rolling Stones went on to achieve enormous success as recording artists, with estimated record sales of over 200 million, making them the best-selling music artists of all time.
Charlie Watts was inducted into “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. In 2004, he was inducted into the “UK Music Hall of Fame.’’ STORY SOURTESY OF CATHERINE COLUSSO
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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOWLING & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
