ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605200098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: TOKYO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
Johnny ``Guitar'' Watson, one of rhythm and blues' most influential musicians, suffered a fatal heart attack Friday night while performing in a Japanese blues club, police said. He was 61.
Watson was in Yokohama, 18 miles south of Tokyo, when he collapsed during a performance, a Yokohama police spokesman said.
Watson was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead of a heart attack.
Some of popular music's most famous guitarists - including Eric Clapton and the late Jimi Hendrix - said they were influenced by Watson's playing. The late Frank Zappa said hearing Watson's 1957 recording ``Three Hours Past Midnight'' launched his interest in playing guitar.
Watson's guitar riffs have been used in songs by rap musicians Snoop Doggy Dogg and Ice Cube.
Watson's often sexually oriented recordings included ``The Gangster of Love,'' which became his nickname, ``Those Lonely, Lonely Nights'' and ``Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.''
The guitarist's comeback album ``Bow Wow'' in 1993, his first album in 13 years, earned a Grammy nomination for contemporary blues album. Near the end of his career, he toured with the O'Jays.
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB