Charlie Watts
To the eye, he was the least likely member of the Rolling Stones, yet to the ear, Charles Robert Watts was the living heartbeat of the world’s greatest rock ‘n roll band. A consummate drummer, he found his calling when he turned a banjo on its head. Originally a graphic artist, Watts began gigging as a student, seeking to emulate the jazz artists he idolized. When Mick, Keith and Brian Jones first recruited him, they had to pay Charlie extra as he was the band’s only working musician. Throughout the next five decades of constant touring, Watts maintained his dignified demeanor, and his reputation as a fastidious dresser, passing up the sex and drugs but never losing sight of the rock ‘n roll. He also never gave up his first love, jazz.