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Quick Facts
- NAME: Charlie Watts
- OCCUPATION: Drummer
- BIRTH DATE: June 02, 1941 (Age: 71)
- EDUCATION: Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School, University of Westminster, Harrow School of Art
- PLACE OF BIRTH: London, England, United Kingdom
- Full Name: Charles Robert Watts
- AKA: Charles Watts
- AKA: Charlie Watts
- ZODIAC SIGN: Gemini
Best Known For
Charlie Watts is best known for playing drums as part of the famed rock 'n' roll group the Rolling Stones. He is also a noted jazz musician.
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The Rolling Stones - Full Biography
They began calling themselves the "World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band" in the late '60s, and few disputed the claim. The Rolling Stones' music, based on Chicago blues, has continued to sound vital through the decades.
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Play NowCharlie Watts. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:50, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722.
Charlie Watts. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Charlie Watts." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 03:50 http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722.
"Charlie Watts," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Charlie Watts," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Charlie Watts [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722.
Charlie Watts, http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Charlie Watts. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722. Accessed May 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on June 2, 1941, in London, England, drummer Charlie Watts went on to join the rock band the Rolling Stones. The group debuted in 1962 and became one of the biggest musical acts in the world, with hits like "I Can't Get No Satisfaction," "As Tears Go By" and "Start Me Up." In recent years, Watts has gained fame as part of the swing group the A, B, C & D of Boogie Woogie.
Early Life
Charles Robert Watts was born on June 2, 1941, in London, England. For more than four decades, Charlie Watts has been a prominent figure in the world of rock 'n' roll, most notably as the longtime drummer of the Rolling Stones. The son of a truck driver, he grew up in Wembley, near London.
Around the age of 10, Watts discovered jazz and blues music; Miles Davis and John Coltrane were two of his early influences. He started playing music on his own a few years later, converting a banjo into a snare drum. But music was just a side interest for Watts at the time. He left school at 16, and then studied at the Harrow School of Art.
Burgeoning Career
In 1960, Charlie Watts got a job with a London advertising agency. He showed his literary and artistic talents though his children's book about jazz legend Charlie Parker, Ode to a High-Flying Bird, which was published in 1961. Watts also played drums with a variety of groups, including Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. Blues Incorporated was an important part of London's burgeoning blues scene, and featured appearances by such performers as Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and others.
Watts, however, quit the band as it became more popular because he did not want to leave his day job. Guitarist Brian Jones went to form the Rollin' Stones (later renamed the Rolling Stones) with singer Mick Jagger, pianist Ian Stewart, and guitarists Keith Richards and Dick Taylor in 1962. After previously turning down the Rolling Stones, Watts finally agreed to join the group and played his first gig with the band in January 1963.
Rolling Stones
"For me it was just another job offer," Watts later explained. He couldn't have anticipated then that the group would soon be the next big rock sensation, nor could he have predicted that the Stones would remain one of the most revered rock 'n' roll bands in music history for decades to come. In 1964, the Rolling Stones hit the No. 3 spot on the British pop charts with their cover of Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now."
While the rest of the band was cultivating their image as rock music's bad boys, Watts was settling down. He married Shirley Ann Shephard in 1964, and the couple welcomed a daughter named Seraphina four years later.
The Rolling Stones scored their first No. 1 hit in the United States in 1965 with "Satisfaction." A string of other successful songs quickly followed, including "Paint It Black" and "Ruby Tuesday." The self-described "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" continued to enjoy enormous popularity for the next two decades.
Projects Beyond the Stones
By the 1980s, Watts had found time to pursue projects outside of the Rolling Stones.
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View groupIn 1962, one of the most successful and critically acclaimed rock bands of all time, The Rolling Stones was started in London. Named after, the Muddy Water’s song “Rollin’ Stone," the original band included frontman Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, drummer Charlie Watts and pianist Ian Stewart. Guitarist Ron Wood joined Jagger, Richards and Watts in 1975. The Stones, in their various incarnations, have rocked on for 50 years, selling over 200 million albums worldwide. Here’s a look at the musicians who critics and fans alike have dubbed the “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.”
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