In addition to sharing a docu-series for their 60th anniversary as a band, The Rolling Stones have authorized a biography about their late drummer Charlie Watts. The “official” biography will arrive this fall, according to Rolling Stone, and has also received support from the Watts family.
Videos by American Songwriter
Charlie’s Good Tonight: The Authorised Biography of Charlie Watts reportedly includes forwards from both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as well as a prelude from the band’s former manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
The book was written by author and broadcaster Paul Sexton who has been in the Stones’ inner circle for over 30 years. Elsewhere in the book are new interviews with Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Wood alongside “countless” family members, friends and collaborators. Compiled together they will unveil the life story of the very private drummer. Watts passed away last year on August 24, at the age of 80.
“Our dear friend Charlie Watts was not just a fantastic drummer but a wonderful person,” the band shared in a statement. “He was funny and generous and a man of great taste and we miss him terribly. It’s great that his family have authorized this official biography by Paul Sexton, who’s been writing and broadcasting about Charlie and the band for many years.”
Sexton also added: “One of Charlie’s good friends said to me that he was a very easy man to love. Having had the pleasure of his company on so many occasions over the course of more than a quarter of a century, that’s a sentiment I echo wholeheartedly. To be able, with the help and encouragement of those who knew him best, to draw on my time with this unique man and his fellow Rolling Stones to write his authorized biography, is a thrill and an honor.”
The book will hit shelves on October 11 in the U.S. via Harper Collins Publishers. Along with the story are previously unseen photographs of Watts, provided by close family and friends.
Photo: Rolling Stones / Instagram
