Johnny guitar watson wiki fandom

As a child he learned piano from his father, John Sr. However, like so many young Black kids coming of age in the mid-to-late s, it was the mighty T-Bone Walker , best known for his iconic composition Stormy Monday , that grabbed his ears and made him want to be a guitarist. He also took time to check out the jazz clubs, too, and heard giants such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Johnny guitar'' watson blues

Later in life, Johnny mused that, at that time, jazz and blues were akin to two sides of the same coin. Musicians in those days embraced both equally and it was, effectively, recording studio contracts that determined whether an artist would grow to specialise in one or the other. Within a few years, however, the piano would be replaced by the guitar as the main instrument driving the rhythm along — and Watson would be right there at the heart of it.

All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox! Then, out of the blue, came a track that can only be described as out of this world. Johnny was still only 19 years old when he recorded Space Guitar in Even today, it sounds extraordinary with the guitar tone changing from bone dry to reverb laden on a lick to lick basis.

Space Guitar really has to be heard to be believed. If one track could carve a path up to and beyond Hendrix, this is it. The next few years had Johnny churning out a series of recordings built around his vocals and guitar. Watson played without a pick , choosing a combination of thumb and forefinger instead. Listen carefully and you can hear the strings snapping against the neck as he plucked by pulling the string away from the fingerboard.