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Johnny 'Guitar' Watson was a seminal electric blues and rhythm & blues guitarist born on February 3, 1935, in Houston, Texas, USA. He passed away on May 17, 1996, in Yokohama, Japan. Watson gained fame in the mid-1950s with hits like "Gangster Of Love" and performed with notable artists such as Little Richard. In the 1960s, he also ventured into synthesizer productions. Throughout his career, Watson's work became a source for sampling by future artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. He was influential to many musicians, with one stating that Watson's 1956 song, "Three Hours Past Midnight," inspired him to become a guitarist. Watson learned music as a child on the piano and took up the guitar under the condition from his preacher grandfather that he would not use it to "play the blues." His family relocated to Los Angeles in the 1950s, where he honed his skills playing guitar, piano, and singing in local jump bands. Tragically, Watson collapsed and died on stage from a cardiac infarction while performing in Japan.

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