Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - The Best of the Modern Years [CD Re-issue] 2005 Metro Blue Recorded: 1955

Although Johnny "Guitar" Watson had already recorded some sides for Federal (inc luding the astonishing instrumental "Space Guitar"), the majority of those tunes featured the piano-playing Young John Watson. It was when he began recording fo r the Bihari Brothers' RPM subsidiary of Modern Records that he "became" Johnny "Guitar" Watson and his amazing legacy really began. The songs are solid West Co ast blues, but they're brought to the next level by Watson's impassioned vocals and his incredible biting, staccato guitar solos. Watson's tenure at RPM was sho rt-lived (as were most of his label relationships) and all these tracks were rec orded in 1955, but they were wildly influential on a number of great guitarists and still hold their power 50 years down the road. This material has been releas ed umpteen times over the years, but the remastering of this compilation has mor e clarity and warmth than the others. Johnny "Guitar" Watson recorded some great material for a variety of labels, but the real meat of his blues legacy is on t hese RPM sides. Fans of tough '50s blues and great blues guitar owe it to themse lves to check this stuff out. Recommended. --Sean Westergaard, AllMusic TRACK LISTING: 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Hot Little Mama I Love to Love You Don't Touch Me Too Tired Those Lonely, Lonely Nights Someone Cares for Me Oh Baby Give a Little Three Hours Past Midnight Ruben Love Me, Baby She Moves Me Love Bandit (aka Gangster of Love) Lonely Girl Ain't Gonna Hush Hot Little Mama #2 (take 1) I Love to Love You (take 1) Three Hours Past Midnight (take 2)

Personnel: Johnny "Guitar" Watson (Vocals,Guitar) Jewell L. Grant (Sax Baritone), William K. "Billy" Hadnott (Bass), Rene Hall (Guitar), Ralph Hamilton (Bass), Willard McDaniel (Piano), James Parr (Trumpet), Jesse Price (Drums), Jesse Sailes (Drums), Jim Wynn (Sax Baritone), Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis (Arranger), Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis (Sax Tenor), Cordella DeMilo (Vocals) Billy Vera (Liner Notes, Reissue Producer, Compilation) Biography "Reinvention" could just as easily have been Johnny "Guitar" Watson's middle nam e. The multi-talented performer parlayed his stunning guitar skills into a vaunt ed reputation as one of the hottest blues axemen on the West Coast during the 19 50s. But that admirable trait wasn't paying the bills as the 1970s rolled in. So he totally changed his image to that of a pimp-styled funkster, enjoying more p opularity than ever before for his down-and-dirty R&B smashes "A Real Mother for

Ya" and "Superman Lover." Watson's roots resided within the fertile blues scene of Houston. As a teen, he played with fellow Texas future greats Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland. But h e left Houston for Los Angeles when he was only 15 years old. Back then, Watson' s main instrument was piano; that's what he played with Chuck Higgins' band when the saxist cut "Motorhead Baby" for Combo in 1952 (Watson also handled vocal du ties). He was listed as Young John Watson when he signed with Federal in 1953. His firs t sides for the King subsidiary found him still tinkling the ivories, but by 195 4, when he dreamed up the absolutely astonishing instrumental "Space Guitar," th e youth had switched over to guitar. "Space Guitar" ranks with the greatest achi evements of its era -- Watson's blistering rapid-fire attack, done without the a id of a pick, presages futuristic effects that rock guitarists still hadn't mast ered another 15 years down the line. Watson moved over to the Bihari Brothers' RPM label in 1955 and waxed some of th e toughest upbeat blues of their time frame (usually under saxist Maxwell Davis' s supervision). "Hot Little Mama," "Too Tired," and "Oh Baby" scorched the strin gs with their blazing attack; "Someone Cares for Me" was a churchy Ray Charles-s tyled slow-dragger, and "Three Hours Past Midnight" cut bone-deep with its outra geous guitar work and laid-back vocal (Watson's cool phrasing as a singer was sc arcely less distinctive than his playing). He scored his first hit in 1955 for R PM with a note-perfect cover of New Orleanian Earl King's two-chord swamp ballad "Those Lonely Lonely Nights." Though he cut a demo version of the tune while at RPM, Watson's first released v ersion of "Gangster of Love" emerged in 1957 on Keen. Singles for Class ("One Ki ss"), Goth, Arvee (the rocking introduction "Johnny Guitar"), and Escort precede d a hookup with Johnny Otis at King during the early '60s. He recut "Gangster" f or King, reaching a few more listeners this time, and dented the R&B charts agai n in 1962 with his impassioned, violin-enriched blues ballad "Cuttin' In." Never content to remain in one stylistic bag for long, Watson landed at Chess ju st long enough to cut a jazz album in 1964 that placed him back behind the 88s. Along with longtime pal Larry Williams, Watson rocked England in 1965 (their dyn amic repartee was captured for posterity by British Decca). Their partnership la sted stateside through several singles and an LP for OKeh; among their achieveme nts as a duo was the first vocal hit on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" in 1967 (predating the Buckinghams by a few months). Little had been heard of this musical funk threads during the mid-'70s. He " for Fantasy before putting together "A Real Mother for Ya" in 1977 and an chameleon before he returned decked out in hit with "I Don't Want to Be a Lone Ranger an incredible run at DJM Records paced by updated "Gangster of Love" the next year.

After a typically clever "Strike on Computers" nicked the R&B lists in 1984, Wat son again seemed to fall off the planet. But counting this remarkable performer out was always a mistake. Bow Wow, his 1994 album for Al Bell's Bellmark logo, r eturned him to prominence and earned a Grammy nomination for best contemporary b lues album, even though its contents were pure old-school funk. Sadly, in the mi dst of a truly heartwarming comeback campaign, Watson passed away while touring Japan in 1996.