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Johnny "Guitar" Watson
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Johnny “Guitar” Watson (February 3, 1935 - May 17, 1996) was an American musician whose long career influenced the development of blues, soul music, rhythm & blues, funk, rock music, and rap music.
John Watson, Jr. was born February 3, 1935 in Houston, Texas. His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. But young Watson was immediately attracted to the sound of the guitar, in particular the electric guitar as practiced by the “axe men” of Texas: T-Bone Walker and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.
His grandfather, a preacher, was also musical. “My grandfather used to sing while he’d play guitar in church, man,” Watson reflected many years later. When Johnny was 11, his grandfather offered to give him a guitar if, and only if, the boy didn’t play any of the “devil’s music”—blues. Watson agreed, but “that was the first thing I did.” A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.
His parents separated in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, and took Johnny with her.
In his new city, Watson won several local talent shows. This led to his employment, while still a teenager, with Jump blues style bands such as Chuck Higgins’ Mellotones and Amos Milburn. He worked as a vocalist, 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 1954. That year, he saw the Sterling Hayden film “Johnny Guitar,” and a new handle was born.
John Watson, Jr. was born February 3, 1935 in Houston, Texas. His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. But young Watson was immediately attracted to the sound of the guitar, in particular the electric guitar as practiced by the “axe men” of Texas: T-Bone Walker and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.
His grandfather, a preacher, was also musical. “My grandfather used to sing while he’d play guitar in church, man,” Watson reflected many years later. When Johnny was 11, his grandfather offered to give him a guitar if, and only if, the boy didn’t play any of the “devil’s music”—blues. Watson agreed, but “that was the first thing I did.” A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.
His parents separated in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, and took Johnny with her.
In his new city, Watson won several local talent shows. This led to his employment, while still a teenager, with Jump blues style bands such as Chuck Higgins’ Mellotones and Amos Milburn. He worked as a vocalist, 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 1954. That year, he saw the Sterling Hayden film “Johnny Guitar,” and a new handle was born.
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Ain't That A Bitch
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A Real Mother for Ya
Johnny "Guitar" Watson Buy- Download Album
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Superman Lover
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A Real Mother for Ya
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Gangster of Love
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I Need It
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I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby
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Love Jones
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Telephone Bill
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Shoutbox
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luckystoned wrote:
very very sexy
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Funkadelicer wrote:
I'm stronger than a locomotive! Yeahhh!
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smichaelgbg wrote:
Merge. Merge. Merge.
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mdlollypop wrote:
I saw him and his group play at Reading, Top Rank in 1975, and would love to know what happened to the band.?
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PloKoon13 wrote:
:D I made it onto Mr Guitar Watson's top listeners...
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electrolutz wrote:
a real father for ya
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sergeeo wrote:
I think The Real Deal is the sexiest song EVER!!
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pbsandwich wrote:
I live by the image of Johnny Watson.
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Ryz wrote:
R.I.P
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Recent Activity
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LEG87, garabetes, the2nafish and 4 other people added Johnny "Guitar" Watson to their libraries. yesterday evening
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SOULMATE666 tagged Johnny "Guitar" Watson with blues rock and blues. last month
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Parisblues tagged Johnny "Guitar" Watson with ‘j-guitar-watson’. October 2009
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fietjeblue, DreamACH, FlipsideJukebox and 5 other people added Johnny "Guitar" Watson to their libraries. October 2009
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luckystoned tagged Johnny "Guitar" Watson with ‘funk’. October 2009
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OldDonuts added Johnny "Guitar" Watson to OldDonuts’s library. October 2009
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teesdale updated the wiki page for Johnny "Guitar" Watson. (diff) September 2009
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janellelouise and andthemgs added Johnny "Guitar" Watson to their libraries. September 2009
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Funkadelicer linked Johnny "Guitar" Watson to jgw. September 2009
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Funkadelicer uploaded jgw to Johnny "Guitar" Watson’s images. September 2009
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