Watts's punchy drumming and timely fills provided the backbone of the group. He joined the band in early 1963 when he was 21 and remaining in the band until his dying day over 58 years later. As I wrote back in 2013 after I saw the Stones at the United Center, Charlie was the glue. He was the distinguished, debonair British gentleman with a wry smile sitting behind the others and bashing away for six decades. He was just so fucking cool. I said then that I'd probably be the saddest when Charlie died. I certainly didn't expect him to be the first to go of the remaining core of him, Mick, Keith, and Ronnie, and just when any legendary musician dies -- especially someone in inarguably one of the top three rock and roll bands ever -- it makes you take stock and appreciate their contributions to the world.
While he did have some issue with alcohol and drugs, particularly in the mid '80s, he was always the guy in the band who seemed to have it all together. Hell, he was married to the same woman since 1964. He wasn't the partier that Mick, Keith, and Ronnie were. And I'll be damned if you can find a better-dressed rock and roll drummer. One of my favorite stories is from the '80s. One night on tour, Mick was hammered and called Watts's hotel room in the middle of the night. Watts answered the phone, and Mick said, "Where's my drummer?" Rather than telling Mick to fuck off or just hanging up the phone and going back to sleep, Watts got out of bed, shaved, put on a suit and tie, went to Mick's phone, and punched him in the face, saying, "Never call me your drummer again."
I have done a Tuesday Top Ten of my favorite Rolling Stones songs twice, once in 2008 and again in 2015. My list evolved somewhat between 2008 and 2021, and it has evolved again in the six-plus years since the last list. That's the beauty of music. So anyway, here are my current top ten favorite Rolling Stones songs.
Honorable mention: "It's All Over Now" (12 x 5, 1964); "I'm All Right" (Out of Our Heads, 1965); "I'm Moving On" (December's Children (And Everybody's), 1965); "19th Nervous Breakdown" (single, 1966); "Paint It Black" (Aftermath, 1966); "Salt of the Earth" (Beggars Banquet, 1968); "Let It Loose" (Exile on Main St., 1972); "Loving Cup" (Exile on Main St., 1972); "Rocks Off" (Exile on Main St., 1972); "Hand of Fate" (Black and Blue, 1976); "Before They Make Me Run" (Some Girls, 1978); "Little T&A" (Tattoo You, 1981).
10. "The Last Time" (Out of Our Heads, 1965)
This is the first Stones song written by Jagger & Richards to hit #1 in the UK. I love that swirling guitar riff.
9. "Moonlight Mile" (Sticky Fingers, 1971)
This is such a mellow song, but there's something about it that draws me in. The song just kind of washes over you. It reminds me of walking home (probably from a bar) alone in the middle of a street full of snow before the plow has gotten to it, on a quiet winter night when the snow muffles all the ambient noise, and the light from the streetlights illuminates everything as it bounces off the snow. It's not too cold, and I'm probably a little buzzed, but it's a peaceful intoxication because it's one of those rare times that I have completely to myself, even if it's only for a few minutes, so I walk a little slower than I usually would. Anyway, that's what I think of when I hear the song. Stop looking at me like that.
8. "Honky Tonk Women" (single, 1969)
From the cowbell intro to the twangy guitars to the lyrics about banging divorcees in New York during a coke binge, this song as a lot to offer. It's also a pretty solid karaoke choice for you guys out there who want to sing the line "'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind."
7. "Rocks Off" (Exile on Main St., 1972)
My second-favorite Stones album (after Sticky Fingers) starts off with a bang. "Rocks Off" is a just a solid, uptempo rock song.
6. "Get Off of My Cloud" (December's Children (And Everybody's), 1965)
Watts gives us one of the great drum intros of all time on this one. And even though I've never lived on the 99th floor or had a guy fly in dressed up like the Union Jack, the message of this song is something I have always related to.
5. "Some Girls" (Some Girls, 1978)
This is a raunchy, bluesy ditty, with fuzzed-out harmonica intro that oozes lust, which make sense, since the song is about the ins and outs of courting and banging women of different races and national origins. It's obviously the kind of song that would never be allowed to be made today, but hey, Jagger's member didn't discriminate.
4. "Midnight Rambler" (Let It Bleed, 1969)
It should come as no surprise to you that I enjoy a driving blues song with a badass harmonica played by Mick and lyrics allegedly based on quotes from the Boston Strangler's confession.
3. "Waiting on a Friend" (Tattoo You, 1981)
I've loved this video since I first came upon it back in the '90s on an episode of Pop Up Video. That stoop that Mick is sitting on at the beginning of the video is at the same building on St. Mark's Place in New York that formed the image on the cover of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. I love the idea that there was some point where the guys in the band were all living in New York, and they'd just kind of stumble upon each other until they ended up at a dive bar, where Charlie and Bill would be waiting (because they had respect for punctuality), so that they could just jam in front of ten people. In recent years, some friends and I have also played this video a ton when we get drunk. It's a great song about just wanting to hang out with your friends.
2. "Dead Flowers" (Sticky Fingers, 1971)
This one is still my second-favorite Stones song. And it's the best song in rock and roll history about doing heroin in a basement with some chick as a way to get back at your girlfriend while she's at the Kentucky Derby.
1. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" (Sticky Fingers, 1971)
This is still my favorite Stones song. I still think it's the best and ballsiest opening riff in rock and roll history. As I've said before, I have listened to that riff over and over again, just hitting the "back" button after about 25 seconds into the song. What's crazy is that the song was recorded in just one take, and that extended jam that comprises the last four and a half minutes of the song was completely improvised. The band didn't even know the tape was still rolling.
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