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bye bye johnny
The Rolling Stones’ producer Chris Kimsey on Charlie Watts: “It’s all in the style”
The longtime Stones producer and engineer remembers a “gentleman”
By Chris Kimsey
4th October 2021
“Charlie [Watts] never changed over the years. When I first worked with the Stones, on Sticky Fingers, I wasn’t really noticing the individual personalities in the band. They just struck me as strong, innovative characters, searching for something in their sound and their groove. But as I got to know them, I realised that Charlie was just a wonderful, wonderful person.
“After many years I could never figure out why he was in the band, because he was not like the others. The rest of them were all frontmen, as it were – though I’m sure Mick wouldn’t agree. Even Bill had this persona. Charlie was just this quiet man at the back, but he was the one holding it all together.
“His energy was intense. I’ve worked with drummers who go through their drum heads after one session, because they hit them so hard. But while Charlie was not a heavy hitter – his touch was lighter because his background was in jazz – he had this ability to hit them the way they should be and get a very loud tone.
“Most drummers hit the hi-hat at the same time as the snare, which is a very normal thing to do. But Charlie would always lift his hand off the hi-hat, so there would just be the snare beat alone. Nothing around it, which was a dream to record. That, in itself, made his drums sound louder and more powerful. I didn’t figure that out until I was working on Some Girls with them, but it was terrific to discover.
“Excuse the pun, but he was so in tune with his drums. There was one session when I got there before anyone arrived. I was sitting down at his drumkit and decided to tune the snare up a little, so I literally did a half turn on two of the lugs. When Charlie came in that night, he sat down and hit his snare drum. And after the first hit he just stopped and looked up in shock. I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ He said, ‘Someone’s touched my drums!’ It was such a minimal thing, but he knew the response so well. It was amazing that he could immediately pick up on such a small change.
“Charlie was No 1 when it comes to drummers. What he did for the Stones’ music, no-one else could do that. That’s why Steve Jordan is in the band now, because he just emulated Charlie. He learned how to play by watching and listening to him. A lot of drummers I’ve worked with have said, ‘I want to sound like Charlie Watts.’ And I’d say, ‘Well, good luck there, mate. You don’t sound anything like him.’ It’s all in the style. They think they have it, but Charlie had so many subtleties that made such a difference when it came to the big picture. Coming from a jazz background, his playing had dynamics in it. It wasn’t just thump-thump-thump. He was extraordinary.”
As told to Rob Hughes
[www.uncut.co.uk]
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Rollin92
One of the newspapers mentioned at the time of Charlie’s death that there were plans afoot to celebrate Charlie’s life in the U.K. later this year. Any word on this?
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JadedFaded
Has anybody seen this incredible child’s tribute to Charlie? What a talented kid Nandi Bushell is and what great taste in music she has!!
[www.iheart.com]
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SomeTorontoGirlQuote
JadedFaded
Has anybody seen this incredible child’s tribute to Charlie? What a talented kid Nandi Bushell is and what great taste in music she has!!
[www.iheart.com]
Nandi is simply amazing. I love that so many excellent musicians are mentoring her, from Dave Grohl and Lenny Kravitz to (I learn) Ringo. I do hope the Stones reach out to her and show her some love.
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MAFQuote
SomeTorontoGirlQuote
JadedFaded
Has anybody seen this incredible child’s tribute to Charlie? What a talented kid Nandi Bushell is and what great taste in music she has!!
[www.iheart.com]
Nandi is simply amazing. I love that so many excellent musicians are mentoring her, from Dave Grohl and Lenny Kravitz to (I learn) Ringo. I do hope the Stones reach out to her and show her some love.
What a great talent! And she did a live performance with the Foo Fighters at the Forum LA.
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swissQuote
Naturalust
swiss~!!
Naturalust!!
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Doxa
Thanks! A beautiful piece by Dave Green, his friend from 5 years old. And a wonderful photo of Charlie from 1959. He really had a style already then.
- Doxa
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bye bye johnny
The Rock Hall Induction Cut a Charlie Watts All-Star Tribute for Time
By Devon Ivie
Nov. 8, 2021
Despite Paul McCartney and Foo Fighters somewhat reviving the tradition of an “all-star jam” at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (two is better than nothing, but still …) fans were seemingly deprived of a bigger and more poignant way to close out the evening’s festivities. According to Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine, who was inducted with the rest of her pop-punk sisterhood at the ceremony, the original plan was to perform “Tumbling Dice” as a tribute to Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died unexpectedly earlier this year at the age of 80. “It ended up not happening, due to the show length and union issue I am fairly certain,” Valentine wrote on her website. “It was not the Rock Hall’s fault, that’s for certain. Anyway, rehearsing the song was a highlight for sure and this was where I ended up feeling totally comfortable with our place in the whole she-bang.” Valentine shared a photograph of the tribute’s rehearsal, which would’ve mixed the talents of the Go-Go’s, Foo Fighters, Mickey Guyton, Brandi Carlile, Jennifer Hudson, and H.E.R.
The touchstones of the performance, Valentine continued, were that Belinda Carlisle, Brandi Carlile, and Jennifer Hudson would’ve traded “Tumbling Dice” vocal duties with each verse, while Dave Grohl and H.E.R. shredded the guitar solos together. “Everyone was so supportive and mutually fanning on each other, it was just incredible,” she added. “It was a great way to end the night before the induction ceremony.” Vulture has reached out to the Rock Hall for comment and clarification about what could’ve been. Until then, you can all “Get Back” and demand that they release the Dice Cut.
[www.vulture.com]
Thank you for sharing. Charlie and Dave give us so many great music. Very touching words from Dave.