The Rolling Stones: Stray Cat Blues (Drum Cover)

Today we have something a little different. One year ago today, the drumming world said goodbye to one of the greatest of all times, Charlie Watts. Serving as the drummer for The Rolling Stones for nearly 60 years, Watts was never a flashy drummer like John Bonham or Keith Moon, but he, like Ringo, played what was needed in the song. Watts saw himself more as a jazz drummer rather than a rock drummer and in addition to the Stones, he toured with his own jazz group, The Charlie Watts Quintet. Since The Rolling Stones' self titled debut album in 1964 (or the US equivalent England's Newest Hit Makers) to 2016's Blue And Lonesome, Watts, along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the only members to appear on every studio release. Charlie is missed dearly, but his fill in Steve Jordan is doing a great job a keeping his drumming legacy alive.

For today, I have a cover of one of my favorite songs by The Stones, "Stray Cat Blues" from their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. Typical of Stones songs, the song has a rather unclean meaning about a roadie and a 15 year old girl. I'm sure you can figure out the rest. Nonetheless, Charlie drives the song with a steady hi hat beat that utilizes the open hit on the &s of each beat. It has a disco feel to it but predates disco by a few years. Other key parts in this song are Keith Richard's guitar playing, a mellotron part by Brian Jones, a very dissonant piano part by session pianist Nicky Hopkins, conga playing by Rocky Dijon and of course, Mick Jagger's vocals. Usual bassist Bill Wyman does not appear on this song. You gotta mention Bill Wyman when talking about Charlie Watts. They were one of the best rhythm sections out there and when Bill left the Stones in 1993, there was something missing in their music. Darryl Jones is a fantastic bass player and he and Charlie sound great together, but it just had a different feeling.

This song is interesting as the tempo feels like it speeds up a little especially at the end. That kind of defines the Stones’ music. Sloppy (in a good way), steady, rock and roll.

For this song, I set my kit up in a similar way Charlie would set his drums up in the late 60s, early 70s with two cymbals on my right and nothing on the left. Below is a link to a great picture of Charlie Watts behind his kit from 1972. It was around this time that Charlie switched from matched grip to traditional grip. As a jazz drummer, Watts started out playing traditional, but switched to matched grip, only to switch again for the rest of his time with the Stones. He also had a distinct playing style where on beats 2 & 4, he would only play the snare and leave out the hi hat. He started doing this around the mid 70s, which is why I do no play like that in this video, except at the very end.

To say The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were rivals is silly. In reality, they were all friends. Lennon and McCartney even wrote the Stones first hit, "I Wanna Be Your Man" later appearing on The Beatles' own With The Beatles.

Both Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts have influenced my playing greatly. They are my two favorite drummers and both bands are my favorite bands. Charlie Watts is greatly missed, but his legacy lives on with his music.

RIP Charlie, you will never be forgotten.

After this video, I will return to the Revolver covers. The next Revolver cover will be out within the next week so keep your eyes out for that. If you are new to the channel and like what you see/ear, please subscribe so you do not miss out on more covers in the future!

1972 Charlie Watts kit photo:   / 319263061056685161