Charlie Watts was a great guitarist but also a quiet man and a quiet strength.
The iconic member of the Rolling Stones died on Tuesday in London at the age of 80.
The announcement of his death caused a real shock wave in the world of music and a shower of tributes.
Read also Charlie Watts, historic drummer of the Rolling Stones, is dead
His agent Bernard Doherty announced the sad news in a press release last night.
“
Charlie was a beloved husband, father and grandfather and also, as a member of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation,
” he said.
The "
rock
" of the Stones
Charlie Watts joined the legendary band in 1963, the year the band was truly born, alongside Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
The leader of the group and the guitarist paid a sober tribute to their longtime comrade, simple memories filled with nostalgia: an image of ecstatic Charlie Watts behind his drums and a photo of his favorite instrument, on which hangs a "
closed
"
sign.
.
Other rock legends hailed the memory of the musician like Paul McCartney.
“
My condolences to the Stones, it will be a blow to them because Charlie was a rock, and a fantastic drummer, stable as a rock,
” the Beatles frontman said in a short video posted on his social media.
"
God bless Charlie Watts, we will miss you,
" wrote Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, endowing the deceased's family with "
peace and love
."
Elton John was moved on this "
very sad day
" and greeted "
the most elegant man and in such brilliant company
".
He had a thought for his wife Shirley Sheperd, their daughter Seraphina and his granddaughter Charlotte with whom he had exiled himself to a stud farm in Devon, in the south of England.
“
My sincere condolences to Shirley, Seraphina and Charlotte.
And of course the Rolling Stones
. ”
The group Kiss, Liam Gallagher, or Tom Morello, guitarist of the group Rage Against the Machine, are among the many other artists to have greeted the departure of Charlie Watts, this "
incredible musician
" and "
one of the greatest architects of the music
”that rock'n'roll knew.
A stadium god
Self-taught, the one who held his drumsticks upside down offered on stage a counterpoint to the frantic swaying of Mick Jagger and the electric surges of guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.
The Orange Vélodrome de Marseille, which hosts
Unzipped
, a traveling exhibition devoted to the history of the English group, sent "
its most sincere condolences to the family, friends and family and all fans of Charlie Watts
", described as "
legend of the rock
”.
Read alsoThe Rolling Stones, gods of the Stadium
The Château de Chambord, which in 2008 hosted a landscaped work designed by two young artists from Tours and called
The Rolling Stones concert will not take place
, also paid tribute to the drummer.
Dubbed as the twelfth best drummer of all time by
Rolling Stones
magazine
, Charlie Watts announced this month that he could not participate in the group's next US tour, scheduled for next fall for medical reasons. A news that had already aroused the emotion of the fans.