Given this state of affairs, it is not surprising that in the deeply stanky depths of the 1970s, Johnny "Guitar" Watson would get his own funk on, between 1976 and 1981 releasing seven albums of R&B-flavored deep funk (plus a funk-back album in 1994) and netting about a dozen top 40 hits on the "black" charts. 1977's A Real Mother For Ya would even crack the Billboard Top 40 chart, peaking at #20.
To a certain degree the funkatization of Johnny Watson amounted to an updating of his signature sound, fusing blues changes and guitar to the deep and spacious grooves and tight horns of Parliament and the Family Stone. But Watson had his own way with the funk, incorporating a genial sense of humor and a looseness to his (skintight) grooves that set him apart from competitors.
Generally working with wah-laden rhythm guitars, thick Fender bass, chewy keyboards, and tight, curvy horn lines, Watson crafted a clean and powerful groove that was a perfect bed for his cutting guitar and slightly nasal baritone vocals. Moreover, Watson played almost every instrument on his albums except the drums. Indeed, the cover art for The Funk Anthology features a painting of Watson in his trademark suit and hat, making like an eight-armed Vishnu, Preserver of the Funk.
The Funk Anthology spans the years Watson spent standing shoulder to shoulder with spiritual children Sly Stone and George Clinton. But as Sly's music descended a hellish ladder from party jam to burned-out universal despair and Clinton's Mothership pursued the universal motorbootyprosifunkification of mankind, Watson brought the down-to-earth feel of the blues to his music and lyrics, and stayed right there. 1976's "Ain't That A Bitch," the opening cut on The Funk Anthology, complains about Carter-era inflation, a theme that would also show up in "It's All About the Dollar Bill," "A Real Mother For Ya" and the 1980 proto-rap cut "Telephone Bill." No money: it's a blues thing. And there was also the sex thing and the women thing and more than a few "damn I'm good" thangs, and a couple-few drug things too which the liner notes hint were solidly in the blues-confessional vein.
Although from time to time various references pop up to say "hi" - Bootsy Collins is a close sonic relative, and there are nods to Earth Wind & Fire, the Ohio Players, the P-Funk mob and and so on - Watson reminds me of nobody more than fellow polymaths Prince and Frank Zappa. It is not so much that Watson ever pulled out something like "Do Me Baby" or "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" as much as there's a feeling - a flavor - to music made by one person, one personality, mainly out of their own head. The Funk Anthology reminds me as much of Prince's Dirty Mind, Zappa's Joe's Garage, Shuggie Otis' Inspiration Information, and Beck's Mellow Gold, as much as it reminds me of Cut the Cake, Uncle Jam Wants You or Honey. These associations actually go a little deeper than my own imagination, too; Watson sang on Zappa's One Size Fits All, and more than a few songs on The Funk Anthology feature Zappa-esque melody lines or lyrics ("You can stay but the noise must go/ I said, oh, no!"). Clearly, this cat had a lot of weird in his life and mojo in his stick if he was hanging with Zappa.
Article comments
1 - godoggo
Clapton said Watson was his favorite guitarist, according to a customer reviewer on Amazon; the album was something like The Very Best of Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
2 - crooked spine
"Space Guitar" was indeed years ahead of its time. The first time I heard it, I thought it was Jeff Beck circa 1966. Hard to believe it was recorded in 1954. Johnny Watson definitely is an underrated guitarist.