Johnny 'Guitar' Watson

An influence on everyone from Frank Zappa (who helped revive his career) to Jimi Hendrix, Johnny "Guitar" Watson was one of the most distinctive West Coast blues guitarists. He marked himself as a unique stylist early on with his reverb-laced 1953 single "Space Guitar," and is widely known for his hit "Gangster of Love." In the '70s, Watson reinvented himself as an R&B/funk artist, shockingly scoring more hits than he had in the previous decades as a bluesman. Later on, Watson's songs were a sample source for West Coast gangsta rappers. The relentlessly active performer died in 1996 while on tour in Japan.