Johnny Guitar Watson – (1978) Master Funk
John Watson Jr. was born in Houston, Texas. His father, John Sr., was a pianist and taught his son to play it. But young Watson immediately fell in love with the sound of the guitar—specifically, the electric guitar used by the Texas "axe men" T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. His grandfather, a priest, was also very musical. "My grandfather sang while he played the guitar in church, man," Watson mused many years later. When Jonny was 11, his grandfather bought him a guitar under the promise that he wouldn't play "devil's music"—blues. Watson accepted the condition, but "it was the first thing I did." A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.
His parents divorced in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, taking Johnny with her. In this new city, Watson won several talent contests. This led to an engagement with jump blues-style bands like Chuck Higgins's Mellotones and Amos Milburn while still a teenager. He worked as a singer, pianist, and guitarist. He quickly made a name for himself in the African-American juke joints of the West Coast, where he was billed as "Young John Watson" until about 1954. That year, he saw the Sterling Hayden film "Johnny Guitar," and a new stage name was born.
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