Johnny "Guitar" Watson

John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), often known professionally as Johnny “Guitar” Watson, was an American musician. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording career spanned 40 years, and encompassed rhythm and blues, funk and soul music. Watson recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s with some success. His 1954 instrumental single “Space Guitar” was the first of his recordings to showcase his electric guitar playing. His creative self-reinvention in the 1970s, with funk overtones, saw Watson have hits with “Ain’t That a Bitch” and “Superman Lover”. His highest-charting single was 1977’s “A Real Mother for Ya”. Early life Watson was born in Houston, Texas. His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. Early career 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’s Mellotones and Amos Milburn. Watson affected a swaggering, yet humorous personality, indulging a taste for flashy clothes and wild showmanship on stage. According to music historian Larry Birnbaum, for “Space Guitar” he “came into