Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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WATSON, Johnny 'Guitar'

(b 3 Feb. '35, Houston TX; d 17 May '96, Yokohama, Japan) Guitarist, vocalist; also plays piano: influenced (like everyone else) by T-Bone Walker, he infl. Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and others in turn. To West Coast '50, worked with Big Jay McNeely, Bumps Blackwell, Amos Milburn, others; first recorded as Young John Watson '53--4 on Federal, for small local labels, then King '61; had top ten R&B hit 'Cuttin' In' '62. Toured with Larry Williams (Watson/Williams hit 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' made Hot 100 '67 on OKeh); made LPs Bad '66, Two For The Price Of One '67, In The Fats Bag '68 on OKeh; Gangster Of Love '73 on Fantasy (later on Power), 'I Don't Want To Be A Lone Ranger' made Hot 100 '75, album I Don't Want To Be Alone, Stranger '76; more success with funk on DJM: albums Ain't That A Bitch '76, A Real Mother For Ya (title track almost made top 40) and Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty '77, Giant '78, What The Hell Is This '79, Love Jones '80, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson And The Family Clone '81 (played all instruments himself): almost all reached top 200 LPs; later work on A&M (e.g. That's What Time It Is '82) did not. Strike On Computers '86 from Sound Service in Switzerland (Polygram in UK) incl. Percy Mayfield's 'Please Send Me Someone To Love'. Compilations of later stuff on MCA, Fantasy; The Gangster Is Back on UK's Red Lightnin' had '50s--60s tracks; I Heard That! on Charly had Federal-King tracks prod. by Johnny Otis. Hit The Highway on Ace had tracks from Modern, RPM mid-'50s incl. two vocals by Cordella De Milo, and CD-only Three Hours Past Midnight adds two tracks from Class ('The Bear' and 'Just One Kiss') and 'Motorhead Baby' from Combo (by Chuck Higgins band with Watson). His last album was Bow Wow '93. He had taken on funk, disco and everything else, and in his sequinned Lone Ranger outfit even his album covers were good value.