Johnny "Guitar" Watson was born February 3, 1935 in Houston, Texas. His father was a pianist who taught his son how to play piano at a young age. Young Johnny was given a guitar at the age of 11. The guitar was given to him by his grandfather who told Johnny not to play the blues. The first first thing he played was the blues. He and his family moved to the L.A. area in the early 1950's where Johnny played in various bands as a sideman playing piano and guitar. One of his earliest recorded hit songs was a song named "Space Jam" which defined his style of play. The song utilized reverb and feedback guitar effects which were not common in that day and age. He acquired his nickname in 1954 after seeing the film Johnny Guitar. Before 1954 he was known as Young John Watson.
Throughout the 1960's he toured with the likes of Little Richard and Larry Williams. During the 1970's Johnny signed with a couple of labels and had many successful works. He was coined as a blues player but during the 70's he created his own style using his knowledge of blues and merging it with new found funk. He signed to a British label and released
Ain't That a Bitch (1976) and
A Real Mother For Ya (1977). He continued to make music all the way into the 1990's. He died of a heart attack while on tour in Japan in 1996. He was 61 years old.
Some of his most popular works are "Mercy Mercy Mercy" with Larry Williams and
"Gangster of Love" which was covered by the Steve Miller Band. Some of my personal favorite songs are "Superman Lover", "Booty Ooty", and
"I Want To Ta-Ta You Baby". Check him out.
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