Inside the head of a rock drummer

Charlie Watts, in a 1989 picture.Paul Natkin / Getty Images

Keith Richards tells in his memoir,

Life,

that the consequence of signing Charlie Watts was that they starved to be able to pay him.

"Literal!

We had to steal food from stores to get Charlie.

We were so desperate for him to play with us… ”.

Fifty-nine years later the Rolling Stones are preparing to start a tour without that object of desire that they had so hard to convince to join them.

Watts was already playing in

rhythm & blues

bands

before the Stones were formed and, above all, he showed a Cartesian detachment from the rock and roll scene and partying that was hooked by Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

He put in his price and the Stones took it at the cost of their guts bellowing with hunger.

More information

• Charlie Watts was in the Rolling Stones but he wasn't a 'rollingstone'

On Sunday, September 26, they will take the stage in St. Louis without him, in the continuation of the American tour that was stopped by the pandemic.

Some fans say that perhaps with the disappearance of the silent but charismatic drummer it would be a good time to quit.

Can a rock group throw in the towel if their drummer is gone?

The most paradigmatic case is that of Led Zeppelin.

The impetuous John Bonham drowned in his fluids after a day of alcohol on September 25, 1980. "We can't go on without Bonham," said Robert Plant, the singer, in a meeting with the band and the all-powerful

manager.

Peter Grant.

Everyone agreed.

A few hours later they issued a statement: “We want to make it known that the loss of our dear friend, as well as the indivisible feeling of harmony of our group, has led us to make the decision not to continue, because we could not continue as what we were. ”.

John Bonham at a Led Zeppelin concert in Los Angeles in the 1970s.

Jeffrey Mayer / WireImage

A gesture of utmost fidelity?

The reality is that Led Zeppelin were before Bonham's death in an untenable situation: creative crisis, internal fights and exhaustion of a rock star life lived at full speed.

It was Bonham who fell, but it could have been any of the other three.

The drum set is perhaps the most unknown element in a band. Within the rock group typology, they are traditionally considered the craziest. Eric Jiménez (Granada, 53 years old), drummer of Los Planetas and Lagartija Nick, clarifies in this regard: “We are the most visible madmen. The madness of a drummer, who shows it, is much healthier than the madness that guitarists and singers carry, who shut it up. I distrust more of the madness that is silent than of the one that is shown ”.

We're talking about clubbers who spend years watching the backs of their bandmates.

They can hear the screams of the public, but they hardly see them.

They are people in his world who hardly participate in the creative process, a task that usually falls on the vocalist and guitarist.

He is also the member that changes the most in the groups.

Bad seat asses.

“It is the most expensive, heaviest and loudest instrument.

In other words, the worst choice.

Indeed, there is something crazy, ”says Alejandro Jordá (Valencia, 37 years old), drummer for Izal from Madrid.

It is also the instrument that most attracts children, as it is visually striking, can be manipulated without musical knowledge and consists of hitting and causing mayhem!

Almost more fun than watching a superhero movie.

Keith Moon with The Who in Paris in 1972. © Michael Putland / Getty Images

José Bruno (Valladolid, 55 years old) is one of the great Spanish rock drummers: he has gone on tour with Fito & Fitipaldis, Andrés Calamaro, La Cabra Mecánica, Sex Museum, Def Con Dos ... Now he has been with Leiva for 10 years. Bruno traces the psychological profile of his profession: “There are many funny jokes about it, such as that the drummer is the musician's best friend. If we consider that the melody affects us emotionally and the rhythm has to do with something more visceral and primitive, it would make sense that the drummer has a more brutal personality. Calamaro used to present me at concerts as the only drummer who has written books [laughs] ”. Bruno has indeed published books like

Drums and Songs. The 25 most influential albums in the history of drums

.

Perhaps it should be noted that the drums are the backbone of the pop or rock song, the support of the rhythm (along with the bass), the heart pumping blood to the rest of the group. However, rarely does a photo of the drummer appear in the chronicles of a concert. Too far from the target, too surrounded by junk. Taking on that secondary role is not easy to manage. “It is essential to have your ego crouched down. It's about keeping the song, sustaining it. And to build trust in the rest of the band. If

you want to be noticed

it's going to go against the song, ”explains Izal's drummer. Be careful with its power: it is the one that marks the revolutions at which the piece travels. Keith Richards has explained that when he got lost live in a song he would always look to Watts to get back on the lane. And his responsibility: if a drummer fails, it is noticeable much more than if a guitarist or bassist does.

The sixties and, above all, the seventies were the time for drum solos, to demonstrate expertise with this instrument. These percussionists skipped the condition of discretion that is requested in this position. Few people put their ego on top of the kick drum and didn't wreck the songs. Those considered greatest: John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Keith Moon (The Who), Jeff Porcaro (this yes, leader of his group: Toto), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Neil Peart (Rush), Stewart Copeland (The Police)… And, of course, the bravest and most eccentric, Ginger Baker, a musician who took the sound of drums to another dimension, capable of behaving as a relentless hard rock thumper, as a jazz stylist or as an experimenter attacking complex structures. A sample of his spirit can be seen in this anecdote.Bonham complimented him in his own way: "There are only two drummers in rock and roll: Ginger and I"; and Baker responded to his: "There is no way that Bonham can come close to who I am."

Ginger Baker in 1974 in the recording studio with the group she formed with the Gurvitz brothers, Baker Gurvitz Army.Matt Green / Getty Images

None of those mentioned wanted to assume their secondary condition and some had them stiff with singers and guitarists. But generally disciplined drummers are valued, capable of contributing their personality but always respecting the song, such as Watts, Ringo Starr or Levon Helm (The Band). In recent times, Instagram has been a vehicle of brilliance for professional drummers and amateurs (even children), people who play at full speed. The faster, the more it seems to be valued. “I have always had the impression that for a drummer to stand out he has to make watermarks. That is not like that. The clear examples are Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts: they carry the weight of the song from their simplicity and personality ”, says Julia Martín-Maestro (Aranjuez, 35 years old), from the Spanish group Rufus T.Firefly and representative of the increasingly large band of female drummers. “In all the years I've been playing I've only seen a couple of drummers that are big and strong. Because it doesn't have to do with strength, it has to do with endurance. It is important to be in shape, of course, but it is more a question of resistance and technique, as happens to a dancer ”, he affirms.

Can Steve Jordan, on the other hand an excellent instrumentalist, stand in for Charlie Watts?

Here the fan is divided.

Of the cover of the first Rolling Stones album, only two remain, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Watts and Brian Jones died and Bill Wyman, the eldest (now 84 years old), left in 1993 tired of touring.

Neither Jagger nor Richards attended Watts' funeral last August.

The two leaders also did not attend Brian Jones's in 1969. Watts, however, was there.

Data to better understand the greatest rock and roll band.