‘My Life As A Rolling Stone’ Episode 4 Recap: Mick, Keith, and Ronnie Pay Tribute To The Late Charlie Watts

The first three installments of the documentary series My Life As A Rolling Stone profiled the surviving members of the world’s longest running rock n’ roll band. Fittingly, its final episode is a tribute to their dearly departed drummer Charlie Watts, who died on August 24, 2021, at the age of 80. Watts sat behind the drum kit for 58 years, from the Stones’ 1963 inception up to his final show on August 30, 2019, in Miami, Florida. The Stones hit the road a month after his death with fill-in drummer Steve Jordan, shows beginning with a loop of Watts’ unadorned drum beats while a photo montage played on giant monitors above the stage.

Footage from their first show without Watts sees the remaining Stones working through their grief in real time. Singer Mick Jagger, whose usual demeanor vacillates between on-stage effusiveness and backstage cool, is nearly breathless as he searches for the words to address the drummer’s colossal absence. Later in the episode, he says he misses Watts’ contributions and his camaraderie, including sports talk about British soccer. “I’m still dealing with it,” guitarist Keith Richards admits in his own interview and calls Watts, “The best drummer England has ever produced.”

The only time we see Watts in new footage shot for the series, he’s wearing a fanciful stage outfit and says, “It’s all about me and I’m the star for once.” If Jagger commands everyone’s attention, and Richards their respect, Watts held a vaunted position as every Stones’ favorite Stone. Backup singer Bernard Fowler calls him “the equalizer,” a tie-breaker in Jagger and Richards’ forever war for control, adding, “Charlie speaks, they both listen.”

As countless Stones classics play throughout the episode, one is struck by how anchored they are around Watts’ drumming. Some start with them, others pulse thanks to his innate sense of groove. His fills often provide the hook where a melodic instrument normally would. In an era known for workman-like timekeepers and athletic pounders, Watts stood apart with a style that was laid-back yet spry on its feet, like a bantamweight boxer with a surprise hook.  

While his bandmates went wild for American blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll, Watts was a jazz nerd. His fascination started at an early age and remained with him throughout his life. Jazz informed his playing – his light touch and unpredictability – and his personal life – his passion for bespoke tailoring influenced by stylish New York jazzmen of the 1950s. On the Stones’ first visit to the city, he made a beeline to the nearest jazz club, seeing Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. “That was America,” he says with awe. 

Like Richards, Watts loved playing music but felt uncomfortable under the glare of the spotlight. As his bandmates indulged in sex and drugs, Watts retired into himself. When not on stage, he spent his free time sketching the endless hotel rooms. He wouldn’t allow maids to clean them for fear they’d touch his stuff. Long time Stones keyboardist and musical director Chuck Leavell says Watts suffered from periods of OCD disorder and guitarist Ronnie Woods describes him with, “one word: particular.” 

Off the road, Watts found peace in the British countryside, raising horses with his wife Shirley, whom he married in 1964 and was with him until his death. Uncharacteristically, he developed a drug habit in the 1980s, saying, “I took a lot of drugs late in life and didn’t do it very well. I nearly lost my marriage and my life.” Ironically, it was the infamous Richards who set him straight, saying, “It’s just not you Charlie.”  

As in other episodes, Watts’ bandmates and fellow musicians discuss his musical style and legacy. Richard says his loose-wristed approach set him apart from the heavy-handed English drummers of the day. Police drummer Stewart Copeland says the mystery is how he was able to, “rock so hard while being so loose.” Among Watts’ signature moves was a tendency to avoid hitting the snare drum and the hi-hat at the same time, something which sounds like musician-speak but is easy to understand once you hear it and see him play. Watts’ self-appraisal was typically dry. “I play the drums for Keith and Mick. I don’t play them for me.”

One of the challenges of doing a documentary on the Rolling Stones is finding anything new to say about a band that’s been around for 60 years and has been thoroughly covered before. My Life As A Rolling Stone succeeds by focusing on each Stone individually, especially the episodes on Wood and Watts, who have historically been overshadowed by Jagger and Richards. The series could theoretically be extended to feature profiles of the band’s former members but that seems unlikely. Despite their legendary status and epic history, the Stones have always been more committed to their future than their past, though with an average age of 77 years old, what that means is now uncertain.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.