{"id":669167,"date":"2026-10-29T19:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/669167\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T19:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:54:08","slug":"brian-jones-invitation-letter-to-charlie-watts-up-for-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/669167\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Jones\u2019 Invitation Letter to Charlie Watts Up for Auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 1962 letter written by Rolling Stones<\/a> leader Brian Jones<\/a>, inviting Charlie Watts<\/a> to join the band, is to be auctioned in December with an expected value of $70-80,000.<\/p>\n

The handwritten note has been kept by the late drummer\u2019s family since he received it at his childhood home, while he worked in the advertising industry and played in Alexis Korner<\/a>\u2019s band Blues Incorporated.<\/p>\n

When Jones posted it, the Stones hadn\u2019t yet taken on the name they\u2019d make famous, they were using a series of temporary drummers and hadn\u2019t hired bassist Bill Wyman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: 15 Musicians Who Almost Joined the Rolling Stones<\/a><\/p>\n

It took seven months for Watts to accept the invitation, and the definitive lineup \u2013 also featuring Mick Jagger<\/a>, Keith Richards<\/a> and Ian Stewart<\/a> \u2013 first played together on Feb. 2, 1963, at London\u2019s Ealing Jazz Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Charlie, if you consider this letter rather impertinent, please excuse me,\u201d it begins. \u201cI don\u2019t know at the moment what your relationship with Korner\u2019s band is. \u2026 If you are not going to work with Alex in the future, and still want to play R&B, we are looking for a good drummer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlready we consider our band far better than Alex\u2019s \u2013 we are getting a very tightly-knit sound. We are rehearsing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. \u2026 [I]f you have time, let me know what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where to See Brian Jones\u2019 Letter to Charlie Watts<\/p>\n

Jones signs off with the postscript: \u201cIf you are interested, our present line-up is 2 guitars, harp [harmonica], piano and drums. We are going to use a bass guitar eventually. Our present drummer is atrocious!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sotheby\u2019s pop culture expert Craig Inciardi told the Guardian<\/a>: \u201cFew documents bring us as close to the formation of a legendary band as this letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWritten just weeks before the Rolling Stones\u2019 first performance and months before Charlie Watts officially joined the group, it captures the excitement and ambition of a band on the cusp of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

The note will be on display in Sotheby\u2019s New York from Dec. 2 until Dec. 8, with online bidding opening on the first day. The auction takes place on Dec. 15.<\/p>\n

Rolling Stones Albums Ranked <\/p>\n

Ready to journey through the past (darkly)? Check out Rolling Stones Albums Ranked Worst to Best.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Bryan Wawzenek<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 1962 letter written by Rolling Stones leader Brian Jones, inviting Charlie Watts to join the band, is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278,43],"class_list":["post-669167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}