“I asked Paul McCartney to play bass on a Rolling Stones song: silence for 10 seconds, then ‘Yeah, I’d love to’”: Super-producer Andrew Watt reveals his secret to convincing music legends to collaborate

By now, Andrew Watt is best-known for working alongside some of the biggest artists in the world. From recently scoring a global hit with Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' Die With A Smile to collaborating with an enviable list of talent from rock’s heyday – The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Pearl Jam, and yes, even Paul McCartney. So what’s truly setting him apart as a producer? Pushing even established artists out of their comfort zones.

“You lose your shit privately,” he tells Variety. “Because Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, Eddie Vedder – they’re fully capable of producing an album by themselves. They understand song structure, mix, a good snare-drum sound, they’ve done this forever. So none of them needs a producer – but they are choosing to hire a producer.”

While Watt cut his teeth producing contemporary pop artists like Post Malone, Lana Del Rey, and Miley Cyrus, his rise into the upper echelons of producer stardom happened in true Hollywood fashion. While recording with Malone, the the pair went to Sunset Boulevard's legendary rock nightclub, The Rainbow, where the Sunflower hitmaker spontaneously decided to buy a photo of Ozzy Osbourne right off the wall.

Chad Smith, Paul McCartney And Andrew Watt! (New York) (August 20, 2024) - YouTube

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“I [then] said, ‘We should do a song with Ozzy!’” Watt recalls. Next thing you know, Osbourne and Malone duetted on 2019's Take What You Want, which led to the Prince of Darkness commissioning him to produce his 2020 album, Ordinary Man.

Another dream collaboration was working with the Stones – a gig that not only saw him produce their 24th studio album Hackney Diamonds, but also co-write two songs and enlist McCartney and Elton John to play bass and piano.

“I just tried to produce from the front row [of a concert] and think, ‘What do I want to hear?’” he asserts.

“I came with no baggage, so asking Mick or Keith to do something that they wouldn’t normally do – anyone around them would say, ‘They’re never going to do that.’ But I just asked. That’s how songs like Rolling Stone Blues happened [the Muddy Waters classic that inspired the band’s name, which they had never recorded until Watt got involved].”

The Rolling Stones - Bite My Head Off (Official Lyric Video) ft. Paul McCartney - YouTube

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And as for recruiting The Beatles' bassist? It all came down to a simple question. “It was the same thing when I asked Paul McCartney to play bass on a Rolling Stones song: silence for 10 seconds, then ‘Yeah, I’d love to.’” He adds, “Just ask the question! The worst that can happen is no.”

In other Andrew Watt news, the super-producer will be performing alongside Zakk Wylde, Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens and Wolfgang Van Halen in a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.