Johnny 'Guitar' Watson

Vinyl Discography:

Biography:

“Reinvention” might as well have been Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s middle name. The multi-talented artist parlayed his stunning guitar playing into an illustrious reputation as one of the most popular blues saxophonists on the West Coast in the 1950s. But that admirable trait didn’t pay the bills as the 1970s rolled around. So he completely changed his image to that of a pimp-like funkster, enjoying greater popularity than ever before for his down-and-dirty R&B hits “A Real Mother for Ya” and “Superman Lover.”

Watson's roots lay in Houston's fertile blues scene. As a teenager, he played with future Texas greats Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland. But he left Houston for Los Angeles when he was just 15. At the time, Watson's primary instrument was piano; he played it with Chuck Higgins' band when the saxophonist cut Combo's "Motorhead Baby" in 1952 (Watson also handled vocal duties).

He was listed as Young John Watson when he signed with Federal in 1953. His first records for the King affiliate still featured him strumming ivories, but by 1954, when he conceived the utterly astonishing instrumental “Space Guitar,” the youngster had switched to guitar. “Space Guitar” ranks among the greatest achievements of its time — Watson’s lightning-fast attack, executed without the aid of a pick, foreshadows futuristic effects that rock guitarists had yet to master 15 years later.

Watson moved to the Bihari Brothers' RPM label in 1955 and played some of the era's hardest-hitting upbeat blues (mostly under the tutelage of saxophonist Maxwell Davis). "Hot Little Mama," "Too Tired" and "Oh Baby" scorched the strings with their fiery attack; "Someone Cares for Me" was a churchy, Ray Charles-style slow-dragger; and "Three Hours Past Midnight" cut to the bone with its off-kilter guitar work and laid-back vocals (Watson's cool phrasing as a singer was hardly less distinctive than his playing). His first hit came in 1955 for RPM with a pitch-perfect cover of New Orleanian Earl King's two-chord swamp ballad "Those Lonely Lonely Nights."

Although he had made a demo version of the song while at RPM, Watson's first released version of "Gangster of Love" appeared in 1957 on Keen. Singles for Class ("One Kiss"), Goth, Arvee (the rocking introduction "Johnny Guitar"), and Escort preceded a collaboration with Johnny Otis on King in the early '60s. He cut a new version of "Gangster" for King, which reached a somewhat wider audience, and in 1962 he made another dent on the R&B charts with the passionate, fiddle-laced blues ballad "Cuttin' In."

Never content to remain in one stylistic pocket for long, Watson ended up with Chess just long enough to make a jazz album in 1964 that put him back behind the 88s. With his old friend Larry Williams, Watson rocked England in 1965 (their dynamic repartee was captured for posterity by Britain's Decca). Their partnership lasted for a couple of singles in the States and an LP for OKeh; one of their successes as a duo was the first vocal hit on “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” in 1967 (a few months ahead of the Buckinghams).

Little was heard from this musical chameleon before he returned in a funk suit in the mid-'70s. He had a hit with "I Don't Want to Be a Lone Ranger" for Fantasy before enjoying an incredible run at DJM Records highlighted by "A Real Mother for Ya" in 1977 and an updated "Gangster of Love" the following year.

After a typically clever “Strike on Computers” topped the R&B charts in 1984, Watson seemed to fall off the face of the earth again. But ignoring this remarkable artist was always a mistake. Bow Wow, his 1994 album for Al Bell’s Bellmark logo, brought him back to prominence and earned him a Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album, even though its content was pure old-school funk. Sadly, in the midst of a truly heartwarming comeback campaign, Watson died while touring Japan in 1996.