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On January 9th, 1963, The Rolling Stones would change forever. It was the day that Charlie Watts would join the band and continue playing with them until his death in 2021 at the age of 80.

The Rolling Stones had formed a year earlier in 1962 with vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, keyboardist Ian Stewart, and drummer Tony Chapman. Bill Wyman joined shortly after as the band’s bassist.

Charlie Watts was a jazz drummer before The Stones so it was uncertain how he would sound with a full rock ‘n’ roll band. However, when he replaced Tony Chapman, the band officially found their classic sound with Watts’ pocket drumming style. The new lineup performed their first gig at London’s Ealing Blues Club on January 12th, 1963 and the rest is history.

Watch Charlie Watts perform live with The Rolling Stones on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 here: