Rolling Stones Honor Drummer Charlie Watts

Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood remembered drummer Charlie Watts on social media after he died on Tuesday. He was 80.

Jagger, the band’s frontman, posted a picture of Watts smiling while sitting behind a drum set.

Richards posted a photo of a drum set with a “closed please call again” sign hanging from it.

Wood posted a picture of himself with Watts, along with the caption “I love you my fellow Gemini ~ I will dearly miss you ~ you are the best.”

Other musicians also posted tributes to the late drummer. Paul McCartney posted a video giving his condolences to the Stones.

“He’s a lovely guy and I knew he was ill but I didn’t know he was this ill,” McCartney said. “Lots of love to his family, his wife and kids and his extended family, and condolences to the Stones. A huge blow to them because Charlie was a rock, a fantastic drummer. Steady as a rock.”

Fellow drummer Ringo Starr posted a picture of the two together, writing “God bless Charlie Watts we’re going to miss you man.”

“Charlie Watts was a colossus in the world of rock ‘n’ roll drumming,” tweeted former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. “His hands and feet danced like Nureyev, so elegant, so graceful…the bedrock of The @RollingStones. Don’t worry Charlie, I’m told there’s rock ‘n’ roll in heaven.”

“Sad to hear of Charlie Watts passing,” said Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. The Rolling Stones have always been my favorite band, and Charlie was the engine of subtle and heavy grooves. I’ll put on “Sway” which is my favorite song of all time. Any of us in a rock band wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for Charlie.”

Watts’ publicist Bernard Doherty said the drummer “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.”

Earlier this month, Watts was forced to back out of the band’s No Filter tour after undergoing an undisclosed medical procedure. At the time, his publicist said the procedure was “completely successful,” though the drummer needed time to rest and recuperate. Watts had given an okay for the tour to go on without him, and Steve Jordan was set to take his place on the road. The tour is scheduled to kick off on September 26.

“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also, as a member of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation,” Doherty said Tuesday.