Unseen Letter From Brian Jones Inviting Charlie Watts to Join The Rolling Stones Up for Auction: ‘Our Current Drummer Is Atrocious!’
The letter, written in June 1962, was sent just weeks before the band's first live performance.
A previously unseen letter penned by the late Rolling Stones guitarist and co-founder Brian Jones to drummer Charlie Watts is up for auction. The handwritten missive, addressed to Mr. C. Watts at the musician's Wembley, England home, was penned in June 1962 and sent before the band had officially adopted their name, just weeks prior to their first performance in July 1962.
According to Sotheby’s music and pop culture specialist Craig Inciardi, "Few documents bring us as close to the formation of a legendary band as this letter." The letter, provided by Watts' sister, has been within the family's possession for over six decades and will make its auction debut at Sotheby’s New York Rock & Pop sale on December 15, with an estimated value of $70,000-$80,000.
The letter, penned by Jones, who was a key creative force in the band until his firing in 1969 due to drug and alcohol issues, begins with the friendly greeting, "Dear Charlie, if you consider this letter rather impertinent, please excuse me..." Jones then inquires about Watts's work with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, a leading R&B act in London at the time.
He then makes his pitch, stating that the band is seeking a skilled drummer and that their current drummer is "atrocious!" Jones's hard sell to Watts, who had a background in jazz, involved the band members cutting back on their food intake to afford him, as Richards recounted in his 2010 autobiography, Life. The letter will be on public view at Sotheby’s New York from December 2, leading up to its auction on December 15.
The Rolling Stones are set to release an expanded edition of their 2021 album, Foreign Tongues, renamed Foreign Tongues, Loose Lips, featuring five new songs and is slated for release on November 27.
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