Weeks after the passing of Watts, Wood admits that session drummer Steve Jordan has impressed him and his bandmates, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, in rehearsals.
- Sep 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - Charlie Watts would have been impressed with his The Rolling Stones replacement, according to guitarist star Ronnie Wood.
The band drafted in legendary session drummer Steve Jordan to initially fill in for Charlie on the group's upcoming U.S. tour, but he might become a permanent replacement following Watts' death last month (August 2021). And Wood insists his late bandmate would have been fine with that.
"Charlie would have loved it," Wood tells Rolling Stone magazine. "There's an energy that Charlie projected through his sticks, but Steve projects it physically as well. Whereas Charlie sat dead still, Steve is moving, and so is the whole drum podium."
Ronnie admits he and his bandmates, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, were a little worried about how certain songs would sound without Watts, but Jordan has impressed everyone in rehearsals.
" 'Street Fighting Man' has a new energy," he adds. " 'Midnight Rambler' has a new approach. We thought, 'Oh dear, how are we going to do 'Midnight Rambler'? Because there's another language of its own in that song. It takes its own course now, and Steve, if anything, is leading the charge... You can see the satisfaction on Keith's face, on Mick's face."
Watts passed away on August 24, nearly three weeks after pulling out of the Stones' U.S. tour over health issue linked to a recent emergency surgery. His publicist, Bernard Doherty, noted that he died "peacefully" surrounded by his family in a London hospital.
Weeks later, the Stones took a moment from their private gig at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts to remember their late drummer. "We all miss Charlie so much. We miss him as a band, we miss him as friends on and off the stage," frontman Mick Jagger said.
"We've got so many memories of Charlie and I'm sure some of you who have seen us before have memories of Charlie as well. I hope you will remember him like we do. We'd like to dedicate this show to Charlie," he continued before raising a toast, "Let's have a drink to Charlie."
