“Charlie’s good tonight,” announced Mick Jagger on Get Yer Ya Yas Out live album documenting the Stones 1969 US tour.

And he was. Every night.

Not a flashy drummer, he kept the time and the groove, followed cues from Keith Richard’s backside and provided the skins work for some of the best rock music ever. The Stones aren’t the place to find elongated drum solos. And quite right too. Charlie was the rock steady heartbeat that propelled the Stones from Crawdaddy residences in Richmond pubs to mega tours around the world. From timid Chuck Berry covers to those classics we all know.

From what I’ve seen, and from what I’ve read, Charlie was a shy and modest man, contented with his wife and his passions. Not a diva at all or a hotel wrecker. To him music was its own reward.

Charlie follows Brian Jones (and Ian Stewart if you want to be a completist) of dead Stones. 80 is not a bad innings though.

So, I’ve selected one of my favourite live cuts to be his requiem. The 69 Hyde Park concert was an out of tune mess. New boy Taylor wasn’t fully up to speed yet and the sound was atrocious. But the version of Jumpin’ Jack Flash is a classic. Listen - and watch - how Watts propels the Stones through the song. He was rarely animated but here, well let’s say he leads the band with an almighty energy. Rock on Charlie.

Charlie Watts. RIP.

More Stones appreciation here