John Watson, Jr. was born February 3, 1935 in Houston, Texas. His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. But young Watson was immediately attracted to the sound of the guitar, in particular the electric guitar as practiced by the "axe men" of Texas: T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.
His grandfather, a preacher, was also musical. "My grandfather used to sing while he'd play guitar in church, man," Watson reflected many years later. When Johnny was 11, his grandfather offered to give him a guitar if, and only if, the boy didn't play any of the "devil's music"--blues. Watson agreed, but "that was the first thing I did." A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.
His parents separated in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, and took Johnny with her.
In his new city, Watson won several local talent shows. This led to his employment, while still a teenager, with Jump blues style bands such as Chuck Higgins's Mellotones and Amos Milburn. He worked as a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist.
He quickly made a name for himself in the African-American juke joints of the West Coast, where he was billed as "Young John Watson" until 1954. That year, he saw the Sterling Hayden film "Johnny Guitar," and a new handle was born.
He affected a swaggering, yet humorous personality, indulging a taste for flashy clothes and wild showmanship on stage. His attack resulted in him often needing to change the strings on his guitar once or twice a show, because he "stressified on them" so much, as he put it.
His seminal blues album "Gangster of Love" was recorded in 1953 or 54, and first released on Sam Cooke's Keen Records in 1957. It was not especially heralded at the time--the title song in particular was too fast, too raw, and too witty, especially compared to the likes of the then-kingpins of blues Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Watson's ferocious "Space Guitar" of 1954 pioneered guitar feedback and reverb. (He played it without a pick.) Watson would later influence a subsequent generation of white pop musicians, especially guitarists, who struggled to master the Hendrix-like complexity of Watson's technique.
He toured and recorded with good friend Larry Williams, as well as Little Richard, Don & Dewey, The Olympics, and Johnny Otis. He also played with Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert and George Duke. But as the fortunes of blues declined and the era of soul music ascended in the 1960s, Watson in his inimicable style transformed himself from a southern blues singer with a pompadour into an urban soul singer with a pimp hat. He went all out--gold teeth, broad-brimmed hats, fly suits, designer shades, and bling made him one of the most colorful figures in the West Coast funk circle.
He modified his music accordingly. LPs like "Ain't That a Bitch" and "Real Mother For Ya" were landmark recordings in 70's funk. (Watson appeared on the cover of "Real Mother For Ya" sitting in a soapbox Rolls-Royce pushed by his mother.) "Telephone Bill" (on "Love Jones," 1980) featured complex, rapid-fire lyrics that foreshadowed rap music. His subsequent LPs employed "the computer sound," and popularized it.
In his exhaustively researched book "Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke" (2005), Peter Guralnick claims that Watson was an actual pimp, as well as a performer! However, Watson felt "ambivalent" about macking girls, even though it paid better than music.
The shooting death of his friend Larry Williams in 1980 and other personal setbacks led to Watson briefly withdrawing from the spotlight in the Eighties. "I got caught up with the wrong people doing the wrong things," he was quoted as saying by the New York Times. Nevertheless, a series of summer appearances in France resulted in his becoming known there as the "Godfather of Funk."
The release of his album "Bow Wow" in 1994 brought Watson more visibility and chart success than he had ever known. The album received a Grammy nomination, and retrospective releases of his work showered him with critical acclaim.
In a 1994 interview with David Ritz for liner notes to "The Funk Anthology," Watson was asked if his 1980 song "Telephone Bill" anticipated rap music. "Anticipated?" Watson replied. "I damn well invented it!... And I wasn't the only one. Talking rhyming lyrics to a groove is something you'd hear in the clubs everywhere from Macon to Memphis. Man, talking has always been the name of the game. When I sing, I'm talking in melody. When I play, I'm talking with my guitar. I may be talking trash, baby, but I'm talking."
In 1995, he was given a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in a presentation and performance ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium.
His international bookings soared. Back home, his music was sampled by Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige. He sometimes would enter the studio with rappers, at their request. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre borrowed P-Funk's adaptation of Watson's catchphrase "Bow Wow Wow yippi-yo yippi-yay" for Snoop's hit "What's My Name."
"Johnny was always aware of what was going on around him," recalled Susan Maier Watson (later to become the musician's wife) in an interview printed in the liner notes to the Collectables album "The Very Best of Johnny 'Guitar' Watson." "He was proud that he could change with the times and not get stuck in the past."
Watson died on stage May 17, 1996, while on tour in Yokohama, Japan. His remains were brought home for internment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Three Hours Past Midnight
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And my baby's nowhere around
Yes three hours past midnight
And my baby's nowhere around
Well, I listen so hard to hear her footsteps
I ain't even heard a sound
Well, I toss and tumble on my pillow
Oh, I toss and tumble on my pillow
But I just can't close my eyes
If my baby don't come back pretty soon
Yes, I just can't be satisfied now
Look out
Look out
Keep right on
Well, I tried so hard to take
But my baby's drivin' me insane
Well, I tried so hard to take
Oh yeah
But my baby's drivin' me insane
Well if she's don't come back pretty soon
Yeah, gonna catch that midnight train
Yeah
"Three Hours Past Midnight" is a blues song originally recorded by Johnny "Guitar" Watson in 1956. The song entails the story of a man who is anxious and restless because his lover is nowhere to be found three hours past midnight. The first verse establishes the time of the night and the absence of the singer's significant other. The second verse reveals that the singer has been listening intently for any sound of footsteps, but he hasn't heard anything. The third verse describes the singer's inability to fall asleep and his growing dissatisfaction with the situation. He says that he cannot be content until his lover returns.
The blues genre arose from African-American communities, and its songs often talk about pain, sadness, and trouble. "Three Hours Past Midnight" is no exception. Through Watson's lyrics, we can feel the anxiety of the singer and hear the desperation in his singing. He captures the emotions that we can all relate to when we are worried that something terrible might happen. The song's up-tempo instrumental and guitar riffs add a sense of urgency and tension to the atmosphere, putting the listener in the singer's shoes.
Line by Line Meaning
It is three hours past midnight
The time is 3:00 AM.
And my baby's nowhere around
My girlfriend is not here with me.
Well, I listen so hard to hear her footsteps
I am trying to hear if my girlfriend is coming back by listening intently for her footsteps.
I ain't even heard a sound
I have not heard anything yet.
Well, I toss and tumble on my pillow
I am restless and can't sleep.
But I just can't close my eyes
I am unable to fall asleep.
If my baby don't come back pretty soon
If my girlfriend doesn't return soon.
Yes, I just can't be satisfied now
I am unhappy and dissatisfied with the current situation.
Well, I tried so hard to take
I have made a significant effort.
But my baby's drivin' me insane
My girlfriend's absence is causing me to go crazy.
Yeah, gonna catch that midnight train
I am planning to leave on the next train if my girlfriend doesn't return soon.
Contributed by Ava N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
johnny zell
Well it's three hours past midnight
And my baby is nowhere around
Well It's three hours past midnight
And my baby's no where around
I listen hard to hear her footstep
Yeah and I ain't even heard a sound
Well I toss and tumble on my pillow
And I just can't close my eyes
Yes I tossed and tumbled on my pillow
And I Just can't close my eyes
And if she don't come back her pretty quick
I swear I'm gonna lose my mind
Yeah I want my baby
And I want her by my side
Yes I want my baby
And I want her by my side
And if she don't come back her pretty soon
Yeah, I can't be satisfied
Zolar Czakl
The music world is great for this reason:
15 year old Frank Zappa listened to this and it inspired him to learn to play guitar. And that he did! Fast forward 20 years later and Zappa, being a major force in music, brought Johnny into the studio to sing on his own record, and maintained that friendship and musical relationship for the rest of his life. Zappa brought Watson's name to a wider audience through association. That's something special.
bburkie55
I had never heard of Johnny "Guitar" Watson before hearing San Berdino and Andy on One Size Fits All.
Lothar Roberts
Zappa called this a "Stinky solo". I searched for this tune ever since.
a_missippian
@bburkie55 same here, 2 of my all-time favorite recordings made even more perfect by this guy's vocals - what a maroon
knife lyfe
Checkout JGW on Zappa's "Thingfish" record.Also Ike Willis, Dale and Terry Bozzio are on it also.
Fredo
You can tell Zappa was influenced by this guy. He totally adopted Johnny’s aggressive, percussive attack. Hard shit
jtcheezus
100% love it.
JD Nicoll
Amazing, I can definitely hear how this influenced Frank’s playing. There’s nothing under the sun that isn’t born of something else…
timmy841212
Too many guitar legends learned how to play guitar from him, Etta James credited JGW for how she sang. If you heard her sing, you can hear Johnny.
Mitch Mabee
Such beautiful sentiments. This video is hallowed ground to a criticizing cynical troll like myself.