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October 2021 – Volume 45 • Number 10

We’re taking this space away from Modern Drummer readers this issue, but we hope no one will mind, because the Kit of the Month for October 2021 belonged to Charlie Watts. (We’ll showcase reader kits again starting next month—you weren’t worried, were you?) This Gretsch kit was used by Watts during the rehearsals in advance of the Rolling Stones’ 50 & Counting tour in 2012. It currently resides at the Frangioni Foundation’s Hit the DEC (Drum Experience Center) at the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in Florida. “During the summer of 2019, I was having a random conversation with Steve Maxwell of Steve Maxwell Vintage and Custom Drums,” says David Frangioni, who, as you likely know, is also CEO and publisher of Modern Drummer. “Steve suddenly mentioned, ‘I’ve got this kit. Charlie played it.’ I said, ‘I’m in.’” As acquired, the rehearsal kit for the 50th-anniverary celebration of the band’s […]
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Articles in October 2021

A family tribute to Charlie Watts ...Or Recollections on the Bakerloo Line

Charlie presenting Dad with the Zildjian Lifetime Achievement Award in London, 2008. I know that my late father, Ginger Baker, would want me to pay tribute to one of his two most-enduring friendships. Here is my personal account of a…

By Nettie Baker
Oct 29, 2021

Ron Tutt

March 12, 1938 - October 16, 2021 Ron Tutt, who backed up the King—Elvis Presley—as part of his TCB band from 1969-1977, passed away on October 16, at 83 years old. Tutt was a founding member of Presley’s “Taking Care…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021

Chad and Charlie

In 2018, Charlie Watts made an appearance on Drum Channel’s The Chad Smith Show. To celebrate Watt’s imprint and impact on drumming, we are currently offering the complete interview for free at drumchannel.com, but here are a few tidbits from…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021

It’s Only Rock and Roll

Welcome to a very special MD tribute to the Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts. I grew up in that era where a question like “Beatles or Stones?” sort of told you about someone. I always thought it was crazy, because although…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021
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Don McAulay Charlie Watts’ Drum Tech

Drums are at the center of many lives, and Don McAulay seems to live in all of them. McAulay is a drummer, a woodworker, drum restorer, studio owner, vintage-drum collector, and technican for bands such as Neil Young, My Morning…

By Clementine Moss
Oct 29, 2021

Snare Drum Independence

Editor’s Note: It’s no secret that Charlie Watts loved jazz, so if you want to put a dollop of “Charlie Vibe” into your playing, consider jumping into some jazz exercises. This book excerpt by Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi is…

By Ron Spagnardi, excerpted from Progressive Independence: Jazz
Oct 29, 2021

Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault

The Charlie Watts Collection Long before I ever met Charlie Watts, I was captivated by him and anything he did, said, or played. Why did this small, grey-haired gentleman sitting quietly behind the massive spectacle of the Rolling Stones command…

By Donn Bennett
Oct 29, 2021

Hardware & Accessories

If percussion gear were rated like cinema fare, drum kits, snares, and cymbals would be the thrill-a-minute, skyscrapers exploding, monsters devouring Manhattan action flicks. Hardware? Probably more like a grainy, black-and-white French film from the ‘60s, where two people sit…

By Michael Molenda
Oct 29, 2021

RTOM

LV Mesh Drumheads I thought I was so smart. With the global pandemic surging, I drove to my rehearsal space to pack up my four-piece Yamaha kit and bring it to my home office just before lockdown. “Now, I can…

By Michael Molenda
Oct 29, 2021

12 MD Cover Artists on Playing for the Song From the Modern Drummer Archives

As we honor Charlie Watts in this special tribute issue, we wanted to take a look back at how some other drummers accomplished what Watts did so brilliantly—which was create parts and arrangements that enhanced the song. A lot of…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021

Charlie Watts

A Personal Remembrance and Tribute Ringo Starr and I waited at the top of his Los Angeles driveway. It was November 2006, and as noon approached, I turned to ask Ringo, “When was the last time you and Charlie saw…

By Rob Shanahan
Oct 29, 2021
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Charlie Watts Quartet

Four Different Collector Covers Honor the Legend The Modern Drummer staff wanted to do something ultra-special to celebrate the life and artistry of Charlie Watts, and we decided that a single cover—however great it might look—simply would not do. We…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021

NEW GEAR

RenziAdvanced Heel Pedestal System Kit Founded by Berklee College of Music alumni John Renzi, the Renzi “Stomp Louder” corporation utilizes science and an “athletic” approach to drum-product research to improve performance sustainability and ergonomics. (“Drummers are athletes, as the physiological…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021

Charlie’s My Darling...

The reluctant rock star.The loving husband to his beautiful wife Shirleyfor over a half a century.The fantastic father to his Seraphina.The brilliant grandfather to his Charlotte.The jazz lover/enthusiast.The Dapper Dan.The dog lover/owner.The Arabian horse owner.The classic car collector.The vintage drum…

By Steve Jordan
Oct 29, 2021

A Distinguished Gentleman

My Photographic Journey with Charlie Watts Charlie Watts was a distinguished man, grounded, considerate of others. In 1981, years after we had worked together, he called me from the road when he heard my father passed away. He brought so…

Words and Photos by Ethan Russell
Oct 29, 2021

Watts Wisdom

Stone Insights from the Pages of Modern Drummer Given his stature in the drum community and his tenure in the world’s greatest rock and roll band, Charlie Watts gave few relatively interviews. For example, throughout MD’s 45 years, he only…

Modern Drummer
Oct 29, 2021

DW Drums

MFG XF Double Pedal I’ve been using a DW 5000 double pedal for years. I really enjoy playing it, and it has been super reliable. I broke a spring just once. That’s the only time it needed a repair. Everything…

By Jon Christ
Oct 29, 2021

“The Adult in the Gang”

Photographing Charlie Watts Charlie was a real English Gentleman who brought class to the Rolling Stones as the adult in the gang. And he gave them a solid foundation to play on! As fast as rock and roll can be,…

Words and Photos by Bob Gruen
Oct 29, 2021
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Buried Treasures

I Unboxed Charlie’s First Drum Kit and Other Stories from The Watts Collection It’s hard to know what to say at a time like this. Most people will mention Charlie Watt’s contribution to the world of rock drumming—which, of course,…

By Steve Maxwell
Oct 29, 2021

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