How Charlie Watts' Death Forced the Rolling Stones to Reinvent Their Live Machine

When Charlie Watts died in August 2021 at 80, the Rolling Stones lost the engine room that had kept their rhythm section airtight for nearly six decades. But the band had already planned a U.S. tour, and instead of canceling, they brought in Steve Jordan—a drummer Watts himself had approved years earlier as his potential stand-in. Jordan had played with Keith Richards in the X-Pensive Winos since the late ’80s, so the musical chemistry was already there.

The 2021 “No Filter” tour resumed in September, and Jordan’s heavier, more syncopated feel pushed the band into a slightly different pocket—still unmistakably the Stones, but with a new punch. Fans and critics noted how seamlessly Jordan slipped in, partly because Richards and Jordan had spent decades locking into each other’s grooves. The band didn’t just soldier on; they proved that the Rolling Stones’ live identity wasn’t tied to one man’s beat, but to a collective refusal to quit. Watts himself had once said, “I’ll be drumming until I drop.” In a way, Jordan ensured that promise outlived him.