Happy Birthday Charlie Watts (Chawlie)!
by greggp
Tue Jun 02, 2009 at 06:55:02 AM PDT
This is the second in my series of diaries about some of the influential drummers of the modern jazz and rock 'n' roll era, which will appear on the anniversary of their births. You may have seen my diary on John Bonham from last Sunday. If not, here it is: Happy Birthday Bonzo I also did a diary on the last year's anniversary of his death, but I decided I would rather focus on the positive.
Today it's Charlie Watts, drummer for the Rolling Stones, born on June 2, 1941. And, don't worry, there will be a cooking tip later.
greggp's diary :: ::
If you're a fan of the movie Pulp Fiction, you probably remember the scene where Mia Wallace asks Vinnie Vega whether he's a Beatles or an Elvis man (she declares him an Elvis man). I would have to say that I guess I'm an Elvis man by default, because I'm of the age when it really wasn't the choice: to me, you were either a Beatles man or a Stones man.
Elvis was o.k., but I really became aware of him after he was in the Army, and when he got out, his music had gone in a generally less rockin' direction (with the notable exception of my very favorite Elvis song, "Little Sister". I was much more into the jazz of Dave Brubeck and John Coltrane, and I really liked Buddy Rich's work with the small combo on "Super Rich." So when the Beatles hit the U.S., it sort of passed me by; I really didn't "get" them. But then, my sister, who was at U.C. Riverside, told me about another band she had recently seen at a concert in San Bernardino called the Rolling Stones (which I have subsequently learned was their first U.S. appearance anywhere - how lucky was she?). She even bought me their first U.S. release, "England's Newest Hit Makers."
Quite suddenly, I "got" rock 'n' roll, and a lot of what I "got" was the groove of the drummer, Charlie Watts. That guy didn't do a lot of flashy stuff, but that beat he laid down was just different. I liked every moment of the record, but I would say there are two particular songs that really spoke to me: "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and "Walkin the Dog."
It isn't like I hadn't heard those songs before. I was a Nat King Cole junkie from the first moment my mom played the old Trio 78s, and I thought Rufus Thomas was kinda cool too. But the Stones version of Route 66 was not the song I knew, and Walkin' the Dog suddenly lost that "cute, funny" factor when the Stones played it.
Those songs have pretty much the same basic "boogie" 4-beat that you can trace back to Gene Krupa's "Drum Boogie" (it's too late to do Gene this year, and he just happens to share the day with MLK Jr., so he may get lost on the diary list), and Don Raye's "Down the Road Apiece (incidentally another song the Stones covered). That beat was still just a little syncopated when Gene played it, and throughout the 50s, that beat slowly lost that syncopation. For example, you can still hear a little of it on Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," Chuck is playing very straight, while the drummer has still got that "hitch" in the beat. Then a little later, Eddie Cochran's "Something Else" has almost lost the hitch completely, and it's pretty much gone from "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors.
By the time the Beatles played a 4 beat, the rock beat had lost that syncopation, perhaps helped along by MORE COWBELL - just listen to "You Can't Do That"; that song is driven by a relentless cowbell pounding on 1 and 3.
The difference in beats really began to come down to the bass drum pattern. In the big band dance music, the rule was "4 on the floor," but the bass was never really out front unless there was a drum solo. In fact, there's an old Ozzie and Harriet episode where Ozzie is coaching Ricky about playing with a big band, and he says "now don't play the bass drum too loud or the beat will be mushy," and for that kind of music, Ozzie was right.
The be-bop era got away from the bass drum, and focused more on the hi-hat as timekeeper. Rock and roll drumming brought the bass drum back, but in a different way ("I'll give it an 80 Dick; you can dance to it".
The plain vanilla 4-beat rock pattern is bass on 1 and 3, closed hi-hat cymbals playing straight eighth notes, and the snare on 2 and 4. In the early 60s, the "discotheque" beat became popular, where the bass plays 1, and then an accent note on the and of 2 (BOOM, CRACK, boom-BOOM, CRACK), think "Rag Doll" by the 4 Seasons, for example.
Ringo changed that beat to an accent after the bass on 3 (BOOM, CRACK, BOOM-boom, CRACK), such as on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Charlie Watts combined those beats into a discotheque-style accented 1, and a Ringo 3, such as on "Honky Tonk Women." And, he did it in such a calm, understated way, that you hardly noticed.
I noticed, though. Charlie put down a groove on Route 66 that just drove the band from that first ruff on the snare drum to that last cymbal crash. And then, there's Walkin the Dog. That was the song that really did it for me. The beat just glides along, and when Charlie moves from the hi-hat to the ride cymbal on the guitar solo, it hovers, and just when you think it can't get any better, he slips right back to the hi-hat, as Mick Jagger comes in on that last verse. I know it seems like nothing now, but compared to that sloshy, half-open hi-hat pounding Ringo was doing, it was night and day to me.
I'll admit it wasn't all that smooth; I'd say "Honest I Do" was not his best work (although to be fair, it's hard to play a slow, Jimmy Reed style, country-blues shuffle without rushing or dragging) and I've never been that crazy about "Start Me Up," but overall, Charlie has just improved on that beat, even in spite of those awful 70s recording techniques that made everyone's drums (except Bonzo's) sound like phone books falling into a giant vat of oatmeal. Just when I thought he was done, Charlie put down that infectious beat on "Slave."
Like Bonzo, Charlie plays THE rock and roll snare drum. That's the good old Ludwig Supra-Phonic model 402, with the seamless spun aluminum 6-1/2"x14" shell, and the chrome plating that should never have been put on in the first place. Those of you who know something about metal probably know that it's a terrible idea to chrome plate aluminum, and even if it's done perfectly, the chrome will probably "pit" and flake off. It doesn't matter: no one can see it behind the other drums anyway, and it's the sound that matters. I have one, and I just decided to have the chrome stripped off. I don't miss it.
And then there are rest of the drums, from the beautiful Sky Blue Pearl Ludwigs in the early years (I understand he stripped off the finish in about 1968), to the black Gretsches, to the natural finish 57 Gretsch drums with the rather poor natural refinish, it's nice to see someone who knows what he wants, and sticks with it. Charlie could have any brand of drum or cymbal he wants, yet he just keeps on playing 50-year-old drums he bought.
I think it's in character with another notable thing about Charlie - he's loyal to his drums, and he's been married for 45 years, to the same woman. Which other internationally famous rock and roll star can say that? Charlie would never make it as a Republican political candidate.
Now for a cooking tip. Here's an INSANE way to broil a steak without a broiler.
Heat your oven to its highest setting (550) for about 30 minutes, until the oven is blazing.
Put a cast iron skillet on the stove at the highest setting, until the seasoning in the skillet begins to smoke.
Throw a nice ribeye or New York steak, seasoned as you like it (don't waste your money on sirloin) on for about 1 minute a side.
Immediately move the whole skillet onto the top rack of the oven and close it quickly.
Cook for 4-5 minutes, then quickly open the oven, flip the steak, close the oven and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
Eat.
This process will likely fill your kitchen with a heavy steak-scented fog that will drive every pootie and woozle in the area crazy. I also suggest you use a splatter screen on the skillet for the whole process (take it along from the stove top to the oven) or your whole kitchen will be a grease-splattered mess (but it makes selling your spouse ont the idea of a big gas grill for the backyard much easier). Did I mention this is INSANE? Well, this IS a diary about a drummer by a drummer.
Happy Birthday Charlie Watts. "Chawlie's doin' all right tonight, innhe?"
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/2/737884/-Happy-Birthday-Charlie-Watts-...
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Happy Birthday Charlie! (Read 3,964 times)
