Photo Credit: Bob Uecke
Most people came to watch Mick Jagger’s gymnastics or marvel over Keith Richards’ cool way around the guitar (and his uncanny survival). But behind it all sat the musical pulse of The Rolling Stones, the steady hands of stone-faced Charlie Watts.
Watts died Tuesday, Aug. 24 in London. Earlier this year he bowed out of the Stones’ planned 2021 tour because of an undisclosed health issue. He was 80.
As a drummer, Watts was adept at keeping the music rolling along with a swing behind the beat, a hard snap suitable for hard rock but with a sensibility rooted elsewhere. His urbane sense of rhythm came from his love for pre-1960s jazz. Working with a relatively minimal kit, he was the timekeeper who never succumbed to the temptation of being fancier than necessary.
Watts also seemed to be the Stone who kept his head straight during times when drugs and other problems tore at the band’s fabric. He wore stardom lightly and with grace.
The Rolling Stones were frequent visitors to Milwaukee. In 1965 while the British Invasion was still rolling, they performed at the Milwaukee Arena (now the UWM Panther Arena) and returned 10 years later for a bigger, more focused show at County Stadium. Incredibly, The Eagles (with Joe Walsh) were the opening act. In 1989 the Stones did three-nights at Alpine Valley. 1990 saw them at the Bradley Center. They returned to that now demolished facility in 2005 and to the Marcus Amphitheater (now the American Family Insurance Amphitheater) in 2015.
