$80,000: Rare Brian Jones Letter to Charlie Watts Up for Auction

The 1962 Brian Jones Letter Seeking a Rolling Stones Drummer Hits the Auction Block

A handwritten 1962 letter from Brian Jones attempting to recruit Charlie Watts into the fledgling band that would become the Rolling Stones is heading to auction later this year, with an estimated price tag between $70,000 and $80,000.

The document comes directly from the drummer’s sister and has stayed within the family for more than six decades. It will be publicly revealed for the first time by Sotheby’s, offering a raw look at the group’s formation before they secured the rhythm section that defined their sound for nearly six decades.

Inside the Pitch to Charlie Watts

When the letter arrived at Watts’s childhood home in Wembley, addressed simply to “Mr. C. Watts,” Watts was still working in advertising while playing with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated. Jones opened the correspondence with notable deference, writing: “Dear Charlie, if you consider this letter rather impertinent, please excuse me.”

Both Charlie Watts and Brian Jones played their crucial parts in The Rolling Stones. Nothing can change, how they were the bosses in the group. And the two, always dressed dapper. Photos by DMR/ShutterstockGreen Park, London, 1967. pic.twitter.com/2OkwNIA9XV

— https://x.com/brianjonesera/status/2061823461215842457

Jones quickly pivoted to business, inquiring about Watts’s commitments to Blues Incorporated before laying out his own group’s advantages. “We are looking for a good drummer. Already we consider our band far better than Alex’s – we are getting a very tightly-knit sound.”

The postscript delivered a particularly blunt assessment of the band’s current percussionist. Jones outlined their lineup of two guitars, harmonica, piano, and drums, noting plans to eventually add a bass guitar, before declaring: “Our present drummer is atrocious!”

Struggling for the Right Rhythm Section

Despite the direct pitch, the transition took months. Watts remained hesitant, and it was another seven months before he officially joined the Rolling Stones in January 1963. Bassist Bill Wyman arrived around the same time, anchoring the lineup that debuted on February 2, 1963, alongside Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and pianist Ian Stewart.

The financial strain of securing Watts is documented in band lore. In his autobiography Life, Richards recalled that the musicians were forced to cut back heavily on food to afford the drummer, writing, “We starved ourselves to pay for him!”

Sotheby's Exhibits Letter Before December 15 Auction

Craig Inciardi, Sotheby’s music and pop culture specialist, noted the historical weight of the document. “Few documents bring us as close to the formation of a legendary band as this letter,” Inciardi said.

The letter, complete with its original envelope, will be exhibited publicly at Sotheby’s New York from December 2 to December 8. Online bidding opens on December 2 and runs until the Rock & Pop sale on December 15, where it is expected to fetch between £52,000 and £60,000.