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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 08:00, May 18, 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 18 May 2013].
"Charlie Watts." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 08:00 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 18, 2013].
"Charlie Watts," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722 (accessed May 18, 2013).
Charlie Watts [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722.
Charlie Watts, http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722 (last visited May 18, 2013).
Charlie Watts. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-watts-454722. Accessed May 18, 2013.
He returned to his first love, jazz, by forming a number of different groups, including a 32-piece band called the Charlie Watts Orchestra. Around that same time, Watts performed with early Rolling Stones member Ian Stewart in the band Rocket 88.
In the early 1990s, Watts released several albums with another group, the Charlie Watts Quintet,
including a tribute to Charlie Parker. He later joined forces with drummer Jim Keltner for 2000's Charlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project, which covered a broad spectrum of musical styles. In 2004, he put out an album with Charlie Watts and the Tentet, another jazz ensemble. Also in 2004, Watts, a longtime smoker, was also diagnosed with throat cancer. After receiving treatment, the musician made a full recovery.
In recent years, Watts has gained fame for his work with the swing band the A, B, C & D of Boogie Woogie. Today, the musician continues to record and play with the Rolling Stones, and has said he plans to stay with the band until Mick Jagger or Keith Richards decides to retire. "We couldn't go on without them. Maybe as the Keith Richards All Stars, but it would be a different band—which I wouldn't mind playing for," Watts said.
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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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