Keith Richards is one of the best to ever do it and wants to keep the stone rolling after the very heartbreaking passing of his drummer, and great friend, Charlie Watts. Charlie left a huge hole, so who could fill the void?
Enter Rolling Stones mega fan turned drummer for the band, Steve Jordan. Steve met with Charlie Watts many years ago and the two became friends at a Yankees game where Steve was kind enough to explain baseball to Charlie Watts. This then started their friendship which saw Steve Jordan taking on some shows and Stones work.
When Charlie started to succumb to his illness, Steve Jordan was asked to fill in for him. Steve agreed and the band all felt this would be temporary. Sadly, it wasn’t as Charlie passed.
Speaking on this, Steve Jordan stated: “I was almost the last to know that I was going to be asked to do this. I spoke to Keith and then I spoke to Mick. It was laid out that this was a work in progress. Charlie was going to come back and they would be rocking again. So, I thought, Okay, yeah, I’ll do it. I’m just filling in for my friend. Purely that.”
Steve continued: “I wrote Charlie a short letter to say that “Meegan [Steve Jordan’s wife, singer Meegan Voss, who plays with Jordan in the Verbs] and I wish you a speedy recovery and I’ll keep your seat warm until your glorious return. All the best, your friend, Steve.” Mick was gracious enough to get it to him. So I would say, Okay, well, I’ll do these few shows and it’s kind of like rock ‘n’ roll fantasy camp. It was like, Let’s all just have fun playing the music until Charlie returns. That was the attitude. And then things turned. I was crushed. The world was crushed. It was very, very difficult. It’s still difficult.”
This all lined up with what the message boards were saying at the time before Watts’ death where they felt that Steve would step in.
Special thanks to Vanity Fair.
