Entertainment · Music · 10 hrs ago
Brian Jones’s 1962 Letter Recruiting Charlie Watts to Be Auctioned
A 1962 letter from Brian Jones invited Charlie Watts to join his band, which would become the Rolling Stones.
Jones wrote to Watts in London while Watts was playing with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated and working in advertising.
The band was still finding its lineup, and Jones said they were looking for a good drummer; he bluntly called their current drummer “atrocious.”
Watts initially declined the invitation, but joined the Rolling Stones in January 1963.
He remained the band’s drummer until his death in 2021, helping shape its sound for nearly six decades.
The letter will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York on December 15, with an estimated price of $70,000 to $80,000; it will be on public view from December 2 to 8.
A previously unknown 1962 letter from Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones to Charlie Watts inviting him to join the band is going to auction.
The letter is part of Sotheby’s New York’s Rock & Pop Sale on December 15 and is estimated to sell for $70,000 to $80,000.
Jones wrote that the band was looking for a good drummer and bluntly added, “Our present drummer is atrocious!”
Watts initially declined the offer and joined the Rolling Stones in January 1963.
The letter remained in the Watts family for more than six decades and will be displayed at Sotheby’s in December.
- Who
- Brian Jones wrote to Charlie Watts, who later became the Rolling Stones’ drummer.
- What
- A handwritten letter inviting Watts to join Jones’s band is going to auction.
- When
- Jones wrote the letter in July 1962; it is due to be auctioned on December 15, 2026.
- Where
- Sotheby’s New York; the letter was addressed to Watts at his childhood home in Wembley.
- Why
- Jones was seeking a good drummer for the band.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Jones wrote to Watts inviting him to join the band.
Watts joined the Rolling Stones.
The letter is scheduled to be on public view at Sotheby’s New York.
The letter is scheduled to be auctioned in Sotheby’s Rock & Pop Sale.
- Estimated auction price
- $70,000 to $80,000
- Auction venue
- Sotheby’s New York
- Auction date
- December 15, 2026
- Letter date
- July 1962
- Watts joined the band
- January 1963
- Original envelope address
- Mr. C. Watts, Wembley
3 sources
What people are saying
Our present drummer is atrocious!
There’s something wonderfully personal about this letter
We starved ourselves to pay for him!