Founding bassist Bill Wyman, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Rolling Stones in 1989, has not been a member of the group since his departure in the early nineties -- but it looks like he'll be making a return to pay his respects to late drummer Charlie Watts.
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According to reports, Wyman reportedly reunited with The Rolling Stones this year in Los Angeles, providing parts for one track to be included on an upcoming Charlie Watts tribute album.
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Wyman, now 86-years-old, reportedly joined the Stones' recording sessions this year after being invited by frontman Mick Jagger. An unnamed source revealed, "Bill hasn't seen the band together for years, but always loved Charlie... This record's really a tribute to Charlie, so he couldn't say no."
Wyman’s final album as a Rolling Stone was 1989's Steel Wheels, leaving the band in 1992, explaining to the Telegraph years later he had, ”30 years with them, then a really nice divorce and as corny as it sounds, we are still family." Over the years Bill had released eight solo offerings, his latest being 2015's Back To Basics.
Fans will be happy to hear that Charlie Watts' legendary drumming will be heard on the new release as well. "It was really nice for Mick, Keith [Richards], and Ronnie Wood to be back in the studio remembering Charlie, and playing and singing to drum tracks that are being repurposed and woven into the album," the source added.
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Former Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are also reportedly a part of this new Stones record, with the latter already laying down bass parts for the as-yet-untitled release being led by 2021 GRAMMY Producer of the Year Andrew Watt during the same recording sessions in Los Angeles.
Back in 2021, Jagger told the L.A. Times that the band had been working on "a lot of tracks," and that new music was "on its way." The Stones' 2016 covers album, Blue & Lonesome, is the group's latest release, and a new record will mark the first bit of newly collected material since 2005's A Bigger Bang.
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