THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

416-Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson-I Need It.

1975-Number 36 single.

Best Bit-At 2.25. He wasn’t christened ‘Guitar,’ but he should have been.

Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson was born John Watson Jr. on February 3rd, 1935, in Houston, Texas, United States, he died on May 17th, 1996. He died from heart attack, collapsing on stage while on tour in Yokohama, Japan, at the age of 61.

At the age of 15 Watson moved with his mother to Los Angeles, California, after his parents divorced. It was there that he first entered talent contests, which led to him performing with local Blues bands, as a pianist, guitarist and vocalist. He recorded his first songs in 1952 as ‘Young John Watson,’ but he changed to Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson after watching the 1954 American Western ‘Johnny Guitar’ starring Joan Crawford. Over the years Watson developed a flamboyant stage act, appearing confident with a humorous personality, and he would often wear outrageous flashy clothing when performing.

Over the course of his career Watson toured and recorded with artists as diverse as Little Richard, Frank Zappa, Herb Alpert, and many more. His recording output altered with the decades changing music tastes, as he moved from the Blues in the 1950’s, to Soul in the 1960’s, through to the 1970’s when he turned to Funk. He released 27 Albums between 1958-1994, with 20 of his 53 singles between 1954-1995 charting on the Billboard R&B chart.

Watson’s 1954 single ‘Space Guitar’ is considered a very early example of the use of ‘feedback’ and ‘reverb,’ which would influence the next generation of guitarists. The American artist Steve Miller covered Watson’s 1957 song ‘Gangster of Love’ in 1968, he also made reference to it in his 1969 song ‘Space Cowboy,’ as well as in his 1973 hit ‘The Joker’ (see also best songs 715.) In a 1994 interview Watson was asked if his 1980 song ‘Telephone Bill’ anticipated Rap Music, to which Watson replied,’I damn well invented it.’

‘I Need It’ is the opening track on Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s 1976 Album ‘Ain’t That a Bitch.’ The Album is a mixture of Soul and Funk, and is Watson’s most successful with sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

‘You’ve got a thang for me, even the blind could see. Something you got, you can’t beat it, no, well, girl I need it.’