Jim Johnson is Pencil Storm’s foremost authority on all things drum-related, his credentials being DECADES anchoring Willie Phoenix-led bands (The Shadowlords, The True Soul Rockers) and his years behind the kit with Colin’s band, The League Bowlers. Here are his thoughts on Charlie Watts.
My hero, Charlie Watts, passed away yesterday. I’ve been thinking how to put my feelings into words, but I’m finding it hard to write with a million different thoughts going through my brain.
I’m thinking back to the winter of ‘67, shopping with my mom in downtown Youngstown, Ohio. She liked to shop in the big department stores, like McKelvey’s, while I wandered around the side streets, where New York Music was located. In their window, they had a sky blue pearl Ludwig drum set. It was just like the one I had seen Charlie play on the Ed Sullivan show when the Rolling Stones played “Satisfaction.” Like a lot of kids in the 60’s, I had seen the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and the world went from black & white to technicolor. I loved the Beatles, but the Stones were another animal. They weren’t all smiles, singing about holding hands. The Stones were different. They were, well, kinda dirty. They were gonna do more than hold hands. There was Charlie, on that sky-blue Ludwig kit, playing fours on the snare, pushing the beat, making it pop, but at the same time making it swing like a Jazz Big Band. I wondered how he could play something so simple, but make it sound so powerful, and simultaneously smooth as ice cream. I ended up getting that sky-blue pearl Ludwig set for Christmas, and I was in my first band by January. My life changed, and drums and Rock & Roll would dominate the rest of my life.
THE SKY-BLUE LUDWIG SET IN QUESTION
I listened to a lot of bands, but my drumming style was always based on what Charlie did. He never got too fancy with his kick drum, and how he would rest the hi-hat on 2 & 4 (second & fourth beats), letting his snare beat dominate the groove, coming in at the tail end of the backbeat, was what I tried to do.
I first saw the Stones live in 1972 at the Akron Rubber Bowl. Jagger was all over the stage, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Charlie. I’ve seen them every tour since then, and Mick & Keith were always the focus for the audience, but I was there to watch Charlie. Every time.
Over time, Charlie’s style never changed much. He did switch to Gretsch drums, when he found his dream kit (he played the same kit from the 70’s to the present), but I stuck with Ludwig for a long time. Seeing him pop the groove on “Satisfaction” on that Ludwig kit has never left my memory.
Charlie was never interested in the spotlight. He came to play. He was the driving force in the Stones, and I can’t imagine what Keith is going through right now. Keith has always said, “It’s Charlie’s band.” Keith and Charlie, locking into the groove, making it drive, and making it swing. It’s the whole key to Rock & Roll; guitars and drums.
I’m gonna miss Charlie Watts. I’ll say it again; he was the driving force in The Rolling Stones. He changed my life. The good thing is, he left the textbook on how Rock & Roll drums should be played. Just listen, it’s all there in the music. - Jim Johnson, 8/25/2021
THREE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FROM THE PENCIL STORM EDITORIAL BOARD FOR JIM JOHNSON
1) Q. Before Charlie’s untimely death, Colin had previously weighed-in on Steve Jordan filling in for Watts on The Rolling Stones’ projected autumn American stadium tour. As a drummer - rather than a guitarist - what is your opinion on the Steve Jordan/Charlie Watts replacement question/situation?
A. I’m ok with Steve Jordan filling the seat. Keith loves him (not as much as Charlie) and that’s good enough for me. I can’t think of anyone that could fill the spot better.
2) Q. How do you feel about Mick & Keith touring as "The Rolling Stones" with only two original members still in the band?
A. I’m ok with the tour. Mick & Keith wrote the songs. It’s their band.
3) Q. Did you ever think in 1965 - watching that "Satisfaction" video - that you would still be playing drums professionally in the 21st century, 56 years later?
A. In all honesty, I didn’t think I’d live past 40, so playing drums that long, I look at it as if I was given a gift.
TV PARTY TONIGHT! / JIM’S PICKS OF HIS FAVORITE CHARLIE WATTS VIDEOS
BONUS VIDEOS CHOSEN BY THE PENCIL STORM EDITORIAL BOARD
BLOG AUTHOR JIM JOHNSON IN ACTION WITH WILLIE PHOENIX & THE SOUL UNDERGROUND, 2015