Charlie Watts’ Throat Cancer and How Steve Jordan Stepped In on ‘A Bigger Bang’

Charlie Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004, right when the Stones were starting to record A Bigger Bang. The band didn’t want to stop—Watts himself insisted they keep going—so Steve Jordan, a longtime friend and collaborator, filled in on drums for two tracks while Watts underwent treatment. Those songs were “Back of My Hand” and “Infamy,” the only studio recordings without Watts on the entire album.

Watts made it back in time to play on everything else, and the album’s raw, stripped-down sound partly came from the band’s decision to avoid overproduction while he was recovering. Jordan’s