The Rolling Stones are preparing to unleash their highly anticipated 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues, and the legendary rock icons are opening up about the enduring, spiritual presence of their late, irreplaceable drummer, Charlie Watts.
Watts, who peacefully passed away in 2021 at the age of 80, left a monumental void in the heart of rock history. Yet, his brothers-in-arms—Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood—have ensured that his signature groove lives on. In a deeply candid interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the trio pulled back the curtain on the spontaneous recording sessions for Foreign Tongues, highlighting a poignant posthumous studio appearance by Watts on the new track “Hit Me In The Head.” The drum track was captured during one of Watts’ final studio sessions with the band he initially anchored back in 1963.
For Keith Richards, the experience of tracking the new material alongside producer Andrew Watt felt incredibly unified and natural.
“The only thing you’re fighting is the room and the song, you’re okay as long as you’re not fighting each other,” Richards shared. “It was fun to make. Everybody was right on it, [including] Steve Jordan and Darryl Jones, the ‘new’ rhythm section. I’m sure Charlie Watts was beaming down on us, so I feel good about that.”
Transitioning to a new drummer after nearly six decades is an unimaginable task for any legacy band, but Richards revealed that the addition of Steve Jordan actually came with Watts’ explicit blessing before his passing.
“It felt good to me to get this generation of The Stones on record, you know, it was kind of special,” Richards added. “They were playing so good I felt working with Steve [Jordan] that I was working with family. It was Charlie Watts that did suggest to me that if ever I was gonna work with another drummer, it should be Steve Jordan.”
Guitarist Ronnie Wood echoed the sentiment that the legendary drummer is still watching over his old friends, providing them with the fire needed to keep pushing boundaries.
“The albums are getting more and more energetic, punchy, and we’re still raising the bar,” Wood noted. “That’s the evolution of the band. You know, it’s got that new youth and the new kick in it. Maybe Charlie is overlooking us and giving us some more inspiration.”
Wood additionally dropped a massive piece of news for long-time fans, revealing that “Hit Me In The Head” won’t be the final time the world hears Watts play. The band still has “a few beats of his in the bag,” which were captured during past sessions in Paris and saved for future use.
Frontman Mick Jagger took a moment to reflect on the jazz-infused magic that made Watts’ style completely unique, contrasting it with the modern, booming power of Steve Jordan.
“Whatever style he played always had swing,” Jagger explained. “It wasn’t like a loud powerful drummer, he was a more subtle, he was a jazz drummer really, that played rock very well. Steve’s very loud in the room compared to Charlie.”
Beyond honoring Watts, Foreign Tongues marks a bold creative step for the Stones, featuring massive guest contributors like Paul McCartney, Robert Smith, and Chad Smith. The record also contains deep, socio-political commentary on the modern state of America, most notably on the bittersweet track “Ringing Hollow.”
“It’s about America. It’s a love song to America,” Jagger revealed of the track. “It’s a bit of your child cheating the audience by making them think it’s about a woman and then you realize by line four… that it’s not about women.”
Richards praised the song’s biting honesty, adding: “Oh, ‘Ringing Hollow’ is in a way a very tender sort of love song to America. And what the f went wrong… there’s a few cracks in the bell and they might as well write about that too.”*
Ultimately, Foreign Tongues proves that even as generations shift and time marches on, the soul of The Rolling Stones remains completely intact—anchored forever by the eternal swing of Charlie Watts.
