Shirley Watts, widow of Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts, dead at 84

Shirley Ann Shepherd Watts, the wife of late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, died on Friday, Dec. 16. She was 84.

“Shirley died peacefully on Friday 16th December in Devon after a short illness surrounded by her family,” her family announced on Monday.

Charlie and Shirley met before he joined the legendary band and were together for more than 50 years before his death in 2021.

Ronnie Wood shared a tribute to Shirley on Facebook, and wrote, “Sally and I are very sad to hear about the death of our friend Shirley Watts. We will miss you so much, but take comfort that you are reunited with your beloved Charlie.”

He added, “Our thoughts and prayers are with their daughter Seraphina, granddaughter Charlotte, and son-in-law Barry, much love to you all at this very sad time.”

Shirley and Charlie, who died in August 2021, were married for 57 years. Keith Richards revealed in March 2022 that his late bandmate died after a long battle with cancer.

Watts is said to have harbored one regret about his life in the limelight.

“The one regret I have of this life is that I was never home enough,” Watts once said about his wife of nearly 60 years, Shirley Shepherd, according to Vulture. “But she always says when I come off tour that I am a nightmare and tells me to go back out.”

Watts also wrote in “According to the Rolling Stones” that his wife was an even bigger fan of his band than he ever was.

“My wife and daughter may come out on tour, but Shirley’s always had other things outside of this band,” he wrote. “She’s a great fan of the Stones, though. I’m not; it’s what I do. Mick and Keith and Ronnie are my friends and the band is a very good one, but that’s it. But Shirley actually plays our records. I don’t.”

Charlie was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Modern Drummer Hall of Fame and was widely regarded to be one of the greatest rock drummers of all time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.