JOHNNY ‘Guitar’ WATSON
Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson was a flamboyant Blues guitarist with a distinctive style, who was a major influence on West Coast Blues and beyond. Always a showman, Johnny moved seamlessly from early jump-blues to 60s Blues-rock, soul, funk and even rap, and his work is often sampled in hip-hop tunes. What was constant in this ever-changing spectrum of styles was Johnny’s aggressive, distorted finger-style Blues guitar playing.
Born in Houston in 1935, John Watson Jr. grew up in the same district as his friends Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland, and as kids they all revered local men Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown and especially T-Bone Walker who was making a big noise on the West Coast in the 40s.
Space Guitar sounds like it was recorded on a distant planet!
Dressed in flashy suits, with a long guitar lead on his Stratocaster and a bag full of stage tricks, Johnny adopted the persona of ‘The Gangster of Love’. When he released a single of that name, it did not make the charts at the time, but it was a hit later when it became Johnny’s signature tune. ‘Those Lonely, Lonely Nights’ did make the Billboard R&B Top Ten in 1955, and ‘ Cuttin’ It’ did even better in 1962. Johnny was a big influence on players like Guitar Slim, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Miller (who referenced The Space Cowboy and The Gangster of Love) and Frank Zappa, whose ‘mangle-it, strangle-it’ style owes a lot to Johnny, and who had his idol as a guest on four Zappa albums. Johnny toured with Little Richard, Johnny Otis and his friend Larry Williams and appeared on many other people’s albums.
Johnny takes lead vocals and unmistakable guitar break with Frank Zappa’s band;
