Friday, May 22, 2026

RIP The Rock World Cries for Charlie Watts, 80, Famed Rolling Stones Drummer

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Charlie Watts had the longest marriage, lived the best life, and was the standard bearer for The Rolling Stones. He has died at age 80. The rock world mourns the loss.

Bernard Doherty, Charlie’s PR guy, said Tuesday that Watts “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.”

Doherty said: “Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation.”

Watts had pulled out of the Stones next tour after having a surgical procedure. He said on Twitter that he felt his timing was off, but expected to recover from whatever was ailing him.

Steve Jordan is replacing him as the Stones’ drummer but no one can really ever replace him. Charlie was the heart and soul of the Stones. With his exit, we are down to two original members, Mick and Keith.

Charlie married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964. They have a daughter, a grandaughter, and a step-grandson. They lived a grand life, but he was never like the other Stones. Watts was a family man, and a serious musician. What a shame.

Steve van Zandt Tweeted: “Oh no! This is terribly shocking. Not just one of greatest drummers in one of the greatest bands of all time, but a gentleman’s gentleman. He singlehandedly brought the Rock world some real class. Rock and Roll will miss him profoundly. We are significantly less without him.”

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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