If the Rolling Stones can move on from the passing of the great Charlie_Watts, then surely the James Bond franchise will figure out how to move on from Daniel Craig. Spoiler Alert: if you have not seen the latest Bond movie, No Time to Die, please stop reading now since this article discusses the ending of the movie and its impact. If you have seen the movie, okay to proceed.

Charlie Watts was the backbone and drummer for the Rolling Stones until his death August 24, 2021 at age 80 from an unspecified illness. Steve Jordan is a highly respected drummer whom Charlie Watts advised Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to hire to continue the Rolling Stones tour while he was in hospital. Jordan is now the Stones drummer as they continue their 2022 concert tour. Whether he stays on as the permanent drummer is not only up to Jagger and Richards. It is also up to Steve Jordan. He has quite the music pedigree and might not want to remain locked into a full time gig with the World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band. Because after all, he was already a member of the World’s Most Dangerous Band.

That’s right, Steve Jordan was hired by Paul Shaffer as the original drummer for Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band, the house band for Late Night with David Letterman during the 1980s. Before that, he met and worked with Shaffer on Saturday Night Live where Shaffer was musical director way back in the early days and Jordan was the drummer. When the Blues Brothers with John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd began performing, Steve Jordan was their drummer. He went on to later work with Keith Richards when he formed the X-Pensive Winos. He is also a member of the John Mayer Trio (a solid blues band) and has recorded with artists including Don Henley, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, Sonny Rollins, BB King, Neil Young, Kelly Clarkson, just to show some of his variety. He also has quite a resume as Producer of many artists (Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, John Mayer among others). He was the drummer for what many consider one of Eric Clapton’s finest live albums, Live in San Diego featuring JJ Cale and other guest artists.

So the Rolling Stones appear to be in great hands as long as Jordan has his freedom to pick and choose other artists to work with his prodigious talents.

As for Daniel Craig, I’ve been a big fan of the James Bond films and like most people, considered Sean Connery as the best version. His combination of suave, sophistication and just the right touch of mischief enabled him to create an icon and a template for all subsequent Bond films to try to beat. Roger Moore never had a chance as he took the character into an era of camp and ridiculousness (Octopussy anyone?). Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan came close to restoring Connery’s mystique. Go ahead, go back and watch the Bond films featuring these guys – they have held up much better over time: The Living Daylights (1987), License to Kill (1989) both starring Timothy Dalton and Golden Eye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002) starring Pierce Brosnan. And yes, George Lazenby does a creditable job as Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

Then Casino Royale broke open the mold after a four year layoff from 2002 to 2006. Daniel Craig was now grittier, rougher and sophisticated the way a bulldog might be considered sophisticated. But he added his stamp and a deeper, more wounded dimension to the character. Again Spoiler Alert, stop unless you have already seen No Time to Die. Daniel Craig wanted out and he agreed to play Bond one last time. His caveat: Bond must die! It was a shock to watch the ending of the movie. It was my first time back at a real movie theater after Covid, no way was I going to watch a Bond film on DVD or streaming. The entire theater is necessary. And interestingly, during the entire showing, not one cell phone rang, not one person in the audience sat chatting, not one kid cried out. This was serious cinema and everyone got the memo.

Now it’s over. It will be fascinating to see where the franchise goes from here. Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson are the co-owners of the copyright to the Bond franchise along with copyright co-owner MGM Studios. What do Broccoli, Wilson and MGM do now for an encore?

Charlie Watts dies, he gives his blessing for the new drummer, Steve Jordan. But Daniel Craig was consulted in his own screen death. Which means he doesn’t get to pick and choose his successor since he insisted on killing Bond off. And you know this franchise is not over, not when it generates hundreds of millions in revenues every time a new Bond movie is released.

Expect a James Bond film in 2025 or 2026. As the ending credits rolled by at the end of No Time to Die, these words filled the screen: “James Bond will return.” WTF?

So here’s how the next Bond film should begin:

• Q sends a fortified submarine to the island and has Bond rescued just before the missiles explode around him;
• M and the other agents assume Bond has died as the new movie opens;
• Therefore all the espionage agents of the world believe 007 is gone;
• We see a new agent, under cover at first;
• A foreign rogue element is preparing to try out his or her new secret weapon designed to take control of the minds of everyone on Earth;
• Now we hear the familiar James Bond theme that appears in every Bond movie;
• The newest James Bond appears, the new agent who was under cover. (Idris Elba? Tom Hardy? Or someone new?) He leaps into action and the opening credits roll;
• Rihanna begins singing the newest Bond theme;
• On the screen, the title appears: Tomorrow was Yesterday.

And so it continues. James Bond the icon will never die. Perhaps, the Rolling Stones go on for another decade with Mick and Keith and Ronnie Wood, but Steve Jordan will fill in for them as needed but also continue on his own arc of musical rediscovery.

And Daniel Craig? He is already signed to reprise his role in Knives Out 2. And he will be starring on Broadway in Shakespeare’s Macbeth with Ruth Negga. Going from the role of a lifetime to taking the stage in one of literature’s classics? Not a bad gig.

As for Charlie Watts, he was Mr. Cool. Sure, Jagger is the face of the Rolling Stones and Keith is always outrageous. But before the Stones were even formed, Charlie was already a great jazz drummer who brought a unique drumming style to what would become one of the icons of a rock & roll band. Speaking of style, he always was impeccably dressed with his own sense of fashion and panache. Great taste in clothing and music and the arts. And he married his wife in the wild 60s when the band was just beginning to take off – and he stayed with her right to the end.

Sometimes it’s difficult to name your Top 10 rock songs of all time. Forget that, it would take me a long time to name just my Top 10 Rolling Stones songs. Gimme Shelter, easy. You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Satisfaction. Sympathy for the Devil. What, I only have six choices left? Too difficult. And Charlie Watts was a crucial part of all that history.

Beyond the music, there are so many stories about him. The one I kept seeing while researching this piece is back in the 1980s, when they were on tour and Jagger was drunk at 5 in the morning, he called Charlie’s hotel room and in a nasty voice said, “Where’s my drummer?” Furious, Watts quickly got dressed, walked down to Jagger’s room and punched him in the face when he opened the door, saying, “Don’t ever call me your drummer again, you’re my fucking singer!” And he left Jagger bruised and stunned.

I’ll end with an excerpt from an interview from Rolling Stone, Charlie Watts Is a Jazz Drummer: The Lost Rolling Stone Interview by Mikal Gilmore:

Mikal Gilmore: Are the Rolling Stones the best at being the Rolling Stones when they’re on tour or onstage?

Charlie Watts: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we are a live band. We always have been, even in the early days. The Beatles were fabulous in a studio, getting their songs together, but we were much better at entertaining — we were more raucous. I think we’re a better live band than a lot. For your ego, there’s nothing nicer than driving down Santa Monica and hearing yourself on the radio, especially if it’s a new record. But the real fun is on the stage.

Chris Ebel
3/23/22

Image credit: @BWPanda