For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.
Today's CoronaVinyl category is "W," and I have a couple albums by "Johnny Guitar" Watson, so I'm going with his 1978 album Giant, which was his 13th solo studio album, not counting collaborations with other musicians.
Watson started playing guitar and making music at a young age, recording his first singles in the mid '50s and his first album in the late '50s. He started out as a blues musician, but also dabbled in R&B and jazz. In the '70s, he changed both his music and his look. His music went from the blues to funk and soul, and he started wearing gold teeth, a pimp hat, and garish suits, sunglasses, and jewelry. Watson was a highly influential guitarist, both for his playing and showmanship, influencing the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, and Frank Zappa, among others.
Giant features songs that fall within a variety of genres, including funk, blues, disco, and jazz. It's weird, but it generally works. The more disco-ish songs are a little cheesy, but the bluesier ones show his true talent. The album didn't chart, but Watson's remake of his own "Gangster of Love" -- which is kind of considered his signature song -- was a minor hit, reaching #32 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.
Watson's music has been sampled by various hip hop artists, and he even played guitar on the remix of my favorite Dr. Dre song, "Let Me Ride." Sadly, in 1996, Watson had a heart attack and died while on stage in Japan.
The version of the album on Spotify features two bonus tracks.
This one is another bluesier song with elements of funk.
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