Johnny Guitar Watson

Johnny Guitar Watson was a seminal electric blues and rhythm & blues guitarist from Houston, Texas. He rose to fame in the mid-1950s with hits like "Gangster Of Love" and collaborated with artists such as *Little Richard*. In the 1960s, he ventured into synthesizer productions. His work became a source for sampling by renowned artists like Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. Notably, Watson's 1956 song, 'Three Hours Past Midnight', inspired [a92623] to become a guitarist.

Born on February 3rd, 1935, in Houston, Texas, Watson initially learned music on the piano as a child. However, his preacher grandfather prohibited him from playing the blues on guitar. Despite this restriction, Watson took up the guitar when his family moved to Los Angeles in the '50s. As a teenager there, he honed his skills by playing guitar, piano, and singing in local LA 'jump bands'.

Tragically, Johnny Guitar Watson passed away on May 17th, 1996 while performing onstage in Yokohama Japan due to cardiac infarction.