Mourning the passing of the 'Paint It Black' rocker, the British musician admits in a new interview that he personally reached out to Ronnie Wood upon hearing the sad news.
- Aug 26, 2021
AceShowbiz - Faces drummer Kenney Jones has paid tribute to the late Charlie Watts, saying, The Rolling Stones have lost their "heartbeat."
The British musician praised the "Paint It Black" rocker for his enormous contribution to the legendary rockers' sound.
"Charlie's playing with The Stones, he put a swing in their beat, just like I put a swing in our beat. It's the secret ingredient he had, which was to provide those swing beats," Jones told BANG. "He was the heartbeat of the band, their backbone."
Jones, who toured with Watts in 1983 for ARMS Charity Concerts to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis research, said Charlie was "a gentleman all the way through."
"He wasn't outrageous, he wasn't a Keith Moon!" Kenney added, referring to the eccentric Who drummer, who passed away in 1978.
"Charlie was a nice guy. I knew him in the days when he was drinking and I knew him in the days when he gave up drinking, he was a gentleman all the way through. We would talk to each other about old times."
On hearing the news of Watts' passing on Tuesday, August 24, Jones called his Faces bandmate, and Rolling Stones guitarist, Ronnie Wood.
"I called him immediately after I found out, he answered straight away, I said, 'I'm sorry.' We both knew it was going to happen, but Ronnie said, 'We knew it was going to happen but it doesn't matter how much you prepare for it, you're never prepared.' "
Ronnie, Kenney, and former Faces frontman Rod Stewart reunited recently to record the first new tracks for the band since 1973.
