RIP Charlie Watts

Growing up, as now, my taste in music was all over the map. I loved the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Chicago, the Knack (who? go look them up), Meat Loaf, Carole King, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr....the list is virtually endless.

But at the top of that list was the Rolling Stones.

That wasn't always the case. For the longest time, the Beatles were tops on my charts. Then I met a guy in my freshman class at Lane Technical High School who turned my tastes around.

His name was Tood Gemskie, and he loved the Rolling Stones.

We'd argue back and forth as to which band was better--the Beatles had more number one hits, but the Stones had carried on longer than nearly every other pop/rock band in existence, except for the Beach Boys--another of my favorites, if only for Pet Sounds.

Eventually, though, my tastes turned. Still loved the Fab Four--always have, always will--but the grit, the swagger, the raunchiness of the Stones finally won me over. That, and the fact that they were still extant, putting out a new album every couple of years and giving me a whole new set of tunes to play over and over again.

Mick Jagger was their swaggering lead singer; Keith Richards their lead guitarist; Bill Wyman the bass player and Brian Jones their rhythm guitarist, until he died of a heroin overdose and Ron Wood took on that role.

And the drummer? Charlie Watts.

Watts wasn't a show, spectacular drummer--no solos a la Ringo Starr on the Beatles "The End"; nor totally annihilating his kit like Keith Moon on the Who's "My Generation." No. Charlie was a smooth, steady background presence--you only noticed his playing if you actually listened for it.

Watts remained the Stones' drummer until the last few years, when the rigours of touring and recording added to his own health challenges (including a bout with throat cancer) lead him to relinquish his role to another veteran drummer, Steve Jordan (probably best known for his role in the Blue Brothers backing band), though Watts was slated to join the Stones' current tour.

Today, Charlie Watts passed on. He was 80 years old.