Wah Wah Watson

A highly regarded session guitarist who earned admiration from fellow players while remaining largely unfamiliar to everyday audiences, Melvin Ragin—better known by his alias Wah Wah Watson—lent his talents to an enormous number of recording dates. Ragin/Watson entered the world in Richmond, Virginia during December 1950, later relocating to Detroit where he joined the Motown label’s celebrated house ensemble, the Funk Brothers. Among the many artists whose sessions he supported or for whom he supplied material were the Temptations, the Jackson 5, the Supremes, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Michael Jackson, Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, Herbie Hancock, Billy Preston, and Evelyn King, along with numerous additional performers. His passing occurred in Santa Monica, California in October 2018 when he was 67 years old.