CHARLIE WATTS

Just about everyone considers Charlie Watts to be the coolest man in rock,
but he would be just as happy to be considered one of the coolest men in
jazz.
Bringing the sensibilities of a jazz drummer to rock music has always been
at the heart of what has made Charlie Watts one of the most respected
musicians in the world.
Charles Robert Watts was born on Monday 2 June 1941 at University
College Hospital in London and then went to live in Kingsbury, an area of
Wembley, but with his father away in the Royal Air Force on wartime
duties and his mother working he would often spend time with his
grandmother who lived near Kings Cross Station in central London, It was
when he was around ten years old that Charlie discovered jazz, and Miles
Davis and John Coltrane in particular. It was soon after this that he began
to explore the idea of becoming a drummer when he converted an old
banjo, with a skin covering, into a snare drum. Charlie had no formal
lessons and credits being able to watch great jazz drummers in Londons
jazz clubs as being the people that taught him how to play drums,
properly.
Leaving school in 1957 Charlie went to Harrow School of Art and in 1960
he got a job as a graphic artist with an advertising agency in London. A
year later he combined his love of art and jazz by writing a book about
Charlie Parker that he called, Ode to a High-Flying Bird, that was
eventually published in 1965.
In the evening, while working in the advertising agency, Charlie played
drums with a variety of groups including Alexis Korners Blues
Incorporated, a band that Mick Jagger sang with a couple of times. As the
fledgling Rolling Stones were coming together to practice they tried to
persuade Charlie to become their drummer, but he sensibly stayed with
his paying gigs with more established bands. Eventually in early January
1963 Charlie relented, the Stones were finally earning some money and he
played his first gig with the band on 12 January at the Ealing Blues Club
with the six piece band that included pianist Ian Stewart, bass player Bill
Wyman and guitarist Brian Jones.
Away from the Rolling Stones Charlie has found the time to continue to
play jazz he considers jazz to be his principal recreation with a number
of different groups, including a 32-piece band the Charlie Watts
Orchestra as well as working with Ian Stewart in the band Rocket 88 during
the 1980s. In the 1990s the Charlie Watts Quintet released several
albums, including a tribute to Charlie Parker. Come 2004 and the quintet
and expanded to become, Charlie Watts and the Tentet that both recorded
and played live.

Throughout the bands recording career and live performances Charlie has
been rock solid and despite resigning after every tour since 1969 Charlie
continues to be the heartbeat of the Rolling Stones, and not just when hes
perched on the drum stool. Everyone respect him for his quiet and polite
approach to the business of being a member of one of the most successful
bands in history. As a jazzman he understands the power of collaboration,
never seeking the limelight he swings and always provides the Rolling
Stones with the rock solid foundation.
Via: http://www.rollingstones.com/artist/charlie-watts/