VOA慢速英语2021--滚石乐队鼓手查理·瓦茨去世

（单词翻译）

Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts¹ Dies

Charlie Watts of the British music group The Rolling Stones died Tuesday at a hospital in London.

Watts played drums for the very successful band for almost sixty years. His publicist, Bernard Doherty, said the musician "passed away peacefully" surrounded by his family.

Watts had announced he would not travel with the Stones in 2021 because of an undefined health issue.

Watts was respected worldwide for his muscular² style of drumming, which he combined with elements of jazz, a favorite music of the artist. He joined the band early in 1963, just a few months following its first public performance.

Many of the most famous Stones songs, like Brown Sugar and Start Me Up, begin with a short guitar riff that is quickly joined by Watts' beats on the drums. Bill Wyman, the group's bass³ player often described Watts' skill as "fattening⁵ the sound."

The Stones began, Watts said, "as white blokes from England playing Black American music," but quickly developed an identifiable sound all their own. Watts also did many independent musical projects throughout his years with the band.

To the world, he was a rock star. But Watts often said that the experience was tiring, unpleasant, and even frightening. "Girls chasing⁶ you down the street, screaming...horrible!... I hated it," he told The Guardian⁷ newspaper. In another media report, he described the drumming life as a "cross between being an athlete and a total nervous wreck⁸."

Charles Robert Watts was born in London on June 2, 1941. From childhood, he was passionate⁹ about music — jazz, especially. He fell in love with the drums after hearing the music of Chico Hamilton. Watts taught himself to play by listening to records by Johnny Dodds, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and other jazz greats.

Watts was not a rock music fan at first. He shared a home with the Stones' leaders Mick Jagger and Keith Richards because he did not have to pay for the housing¹⁰.

"Keith Richards taught me rock and roll," Watts said. "We'd have nothing to do all day, and we'd play these records over and over again."

The Stones had searched for months to find a permanent drummer. Richards has spoken about how much the band wanted Watts to join. The guitar player said the band members cut down on expenses so they could pay Watts a good wage. Watts said he believed at first the band would be lucky to last a year.

"Every band I'd ever been in had lasted a week," he said. "I always thought the Stones would last a week, then a fortnight, and then suddenly, it's 30 years."

Words in This Story

cherished¹¹ – adj. greatly loved

riff – n. a short and usually repeated pattern of notes in a song

fatten⁴ – v. to make more substantial¹²

bloke – n. (chiefly British) a man; a guy

athlete – n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

passionate – adv. having, showing, or expressing strong emotions or beliefs