"Reinvention" might readily have served as Johnny "Guitar" Watson's middle name. The versatile artist leveraged his remarkable command of the guitar to establish himself among the premier blues guitarists active on the West Coast throughout the 1950s. After releasing the forward-looking 1954 instrumental "Space Guitar," he notched Top Ten R&B successes including "Those Lonely, Lonely Nights," 1962's "Cuttin' In," and 1967's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." By the 1970s, however, Watson had adopted an entirely new persona as a magnetic funk performer, achieving even greater commercial success through gritty R&B hits such as "A Real Mother for Ya," "Superman Lover," and his 1978 rendition of "Gangster of Love," which became his signature piece. With 1980's "Telephone Bill" he anticipated the emergence of rap, and shortly before his death two years later he received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album for the 1994 release Bow Wow.
Watson entered the world in 1935 and grew up immersed in Houston's vibrant blues community. During his teenage years he performed alongside future Texas luminaries Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland, yet at fifteen he relocated to Los Angeles. Piano remained his primary instrument at that stage, as evidenced by his work with Chuck Higgins' band on the 1952 Combo single "Motorhead Baby," where he also supplied the vocals.
Upon signing with Federal in 1953, he appeared as Young John Watson. His initial recordings for the King subsidiary still featured him at the piano, but by 1954 he had switched to guitar for the remarkable instrumental "Space Guitar." That track stands among the era's landmark achievements, its blistering, rapid-fire attack delivered without a pick and foreshadowing futuristic sonic textures that rock guitarists would not fully explore for another fifteen years.
In 1955 Watson joined the Bihari Brothers' RPM label, where under saxophonist Maxwell Davis' guidance he produced some of the period's most ferocious upbeat blues. "Hot Little Mama," "Too Tired," and "Oh Baby" delivered searing string work, while "Someone Cares for Me" offered a gospel-inflected, Ray Charles-style slow blues and "Three Hours Past Midnight" revealed profound emotional depth through its extraordinary guitar lines and relaxed vocal delivery; Watson's understated phrasing as a singer proved nearly as singular as his playing. His first chart entry arrived in 1955 on RPM via a faithful reading of New Orleanian Earl King's two-chord swamp ballad "Those Lonely Lonely Nights."
Although he recorded a demo of "Gangster of Love" during his RPM tenure, the initial released version appeared in 1957 on Keen. Subsequent singles on Class ("One Kiss"), Goth, Arvee (the energetic opener "Johnny Guitar"), and Escort led to a collaboration with Johnny Otis at King in the early 1960s. He revisited "Gangster" for that label, gaining wider exposure, and returned to the R&B charts in 1962 with the expressive, violin-enriched blues ballad "Cuttin' In."
Refusing to confine himself to any single style, Watson spent a brief period at Chess that yielded a 1964 jazz album showcasing him once more at the piano. Alongside longtime associate Larry Williams, he electrified English audiences in 1965, their lively interplay preserved by British Decca. The partnership continued in the United States with several singles and an OKeh album, one highlight being their 1967 vocal version of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," which preceded the Buckinghams' hit by several months.
Little was heard from this stylistic shapeshifter until he reemerged in funk attire during the mid-1970s. He scored with "I Don't Want to Be a Lone Ranger" on Fantasy before embarking on a remarkable string of releases for DJM Records highlighted by 1977's "A Real Mother for Ya" and the following year's updated "Gangster of Love."
After 1984's characteristically witty "Strike on Computers" grazed the R&B charts, Watson again appeared to vanish from view. Yet underestimating the resourceful musician proved unwise. The 1994 album Bow Wow, issued on Al Bell's Bellmark imprint, restored his visibility and earned a Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album, its material consisting entirely of classic funk. Tragically, during an uplifting resurgence, Watson died while performing in Japan in 1996.
