Remembering Charlie Watts' iconic 'Together At Home' benefit performance

Publish Date
Wednesday, 25 August 2021, 10:23AM

During the brunt of the pandemic last summer, The Rolling Stones were among an all-star cast of artists joining forces with Global Citizen to raise money to support healthcare workers on the frontlines and to increase access to COVID-19 testing and treatment.

The 'One World: Together At Home' concert featured many highlights, but it was Stones drummer Charlie Watts who stole the show with his painfully earnest performance of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" from quarantine.

With each of his fellow Stones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood set up in their respective homes, Watts filmed his parts from his living room, in front of his record collection. But with no drum kit on hand, the 79-year-old simply parked himself on a box and mimed his parts using some spare roadcases as drums and a recliner as a cymbal.

The drummer committed to the bit for the entire tune, with the occasional 50-watt smile breaking across his face.

"We're very sad to hear about the passing of The Rolling Stones' drummer, Charlie Watts," Global Citizen remarked in a statement. "We'll always be grateful that he joined us for One World: #TogetherAtHome to ensure everyone, everywhere could access life-saving testing and treatments against COVID-19."

Rewatch the performance via the player above!

The Rolling Stones confirmed Tuesday (August 24) that Watts passed away earlier in the day at age 80. Watts' cause of death was unclear, though he recently withdrew from the Stones' planned U.S. tour this September to recover from heart surgery.

According to a statement from the band, the rock legend was surrounded by family when he "passed away peacefully in a London hospital."

This article was first published on iheart.com and is republished here with permission

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