![The Rolling Stones Charlie Watts 2 - Rupp Arena, Lexington Kentucky [December 11, 1981]" by michael conen is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0](https://media.mynewstoday.ca/i/Kk1Bjje0/355)
The drummer for one of the best known rock bands of all time has died.
The publicist for Charlie Watts announced Tuesday that the Rolling Stones drummer had died at the age of 80.
"It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts," Bernard Doherty said in a statement released to the media. "He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family."
Watts had been set to tour with the Stones later in 2021, but announced earlier in August that he would skip the tour as he recovered from a medical procedure.
Born in London, England in 1941, Watts was originally trained as a graphic artist. But his passion for music led him to the blues and rock clubs of London in the early 1960s. It was in these clubs that he met Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones and accepted an offer to join their band, the Rolling Stones. A total of 30 studio albums, 33 live albums, 29 compilation albums, and 121 singles followed, each of them featuring Watts on drums. He, along with Jagger and Richards, is the only member of the Stones to appear on every album made by the band.
Watts is survived by his wife, Shirley Ann Shepherd, their daughter Seraphina, and granddaughter Charlotte.
