Beverly "Guitar" Watkins (nacida en 1940, en Atlanta, Georgia) es una guitarrista americana de blues. Sandra Pointer-Jones escribe: "Beverly Watkins es un experta en la guitarra pirotécnica, su manera de tocar la guitarra se ha convertido en cuentos alegóricos dentro de la comunidad blues". George Varga, escuchando de su CD debut, señaló que "canta y toca con aplomo y entusiasmo suficiente como para que los músicos no tengan en cuenta la edad que tiene y se empleen con toda su energía”.
Cuando tenía aproximadamente 12 años, su familia se mudó a Commerce, Georgia. Comenzó a tocar música en el colegio, y luego en la escuela secundaria tocaba el bajo en una banda llamada Billy West Stone and the Down Beats. Aproximadamente en 1959, su primer año de escuela secundaria, fue presentada a Piano Red, que tenía un programa de radio diario en la WAOK, y posteriormente se unió a Piano Red and the Houserockers, con quienes actuó en varias ciudades del área de Atlanta y a continuación, en clubes de Atlanta como el salón Magnolia y el Casino, antes de comenzar la gira por el sureste, principalmente en las universidades. Con el tiempo, el grupo cambió su nombre por Piano Red and the Houserockers y entonces comenzó a viajar a nivel nacional.
El grupo tuvo dos singles de gran éxito: "Dr. Feelgood" y " Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo ". Después de la grabación "Dr. Feelgood", el grupo fue conocido también como Piano Red & The Interns, Dr. Feelgood & The Interns, y Dr. Feelgood, The Interns and The Nurse. En el grupo también estaba Roy Lee Johnson (autor de "Mr. Moonlight", más tarde grabada por The Beatles).
Después de la desintegración de la banda, aproximadamente el 1965, Watkins tocó con Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots, Joseph Smith and the Fendales, y luego con Redding and the Houserockers hasta finales de 1980. Posteriormente se fue a Atlanta, deambulando en el Underground Atlanta.
Watkins, no sólo tiene una carrera musical larga y continua, sino que también ha trabajado con artistas como James Brown, BB King y Ray Charles, y ha sido bien conocida dentro de la comunidad de blues durante muchos años. Sin embargo, al igual que le ocurrió a muchos artistas de música con raíces, tanto blancos como negros, le resultó difícil ser reconocida en la radio y alcanzó renombre al final de su carrera, después de que la llegada de Internet hiciera posible que los músicos que no están respaldados por los principales sellos discográficos lleguen a ser escuchados por un público más amplio. Así que Watkins fue re-descubierta por Music Maker Relief Foundation, de Tim Duffy, quien la incluyó en sus shows, y en 1998 fue parte del Tour de la Banda AllStars "Women of the Blues 'Hot Mamas'" junto a Koko Taylor y Rory Block. Su Cd debut de 1999 Back in Business, la devolvió a la escena musical y obtuvo una nominación al premio WC Handy en 2000.
Watkins ha estado actuando a nivel internacional (por ejemplo, el escenario principal en el Festival de blues de Ottawa en 2004) y también en su ciudad natal de Atlanta. Quedó un tiempo apartada de los escenarios por una cirugía en 2005, de la que se recuperó. Realizó una actuación en el “2008 Cognac Blue Festival”.
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins (born c. 1939, Atlanta, Georgia) is an American black female blues guitarist. Sandra Pointer-Jones writes, "Beverly Watkins is a pyrotechnic guitar maven whose searing, ballistic attacks on the guitar have become allegorical tales within the blues community." George Varga, reviewing her debut CD, observed that Watkins “sings and plays with enough poise and verve to make musicians half her age or younger consider alternative means of employment.”
When Watkins was approximately 12 years old, her family moved to Commerce, Georgia. She began playing music as a schoolchild, and then in high-school played bass for a band called Billy West Stone and the Down Beats. In approximately 1959, her junior year of high school, she was introduced to Piano Red, who had a daily radio show on WAOK, and she subsequently joined Piano Red and the Meter-tones, who played in a number of towns in the Atlanta area, and then Atlanta clubs such as the Magnolia Ballroom and the Casino, before starting to tour throughout the southeast, primarily at colleges. About the time the group renamed itself Piano Red and the Houserockers, they started touring nationally.
The group had two successful singles: "Dr. Feelgood" and "Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo". After recording "Dr. Feelgood" the group was known variously as Piano Red & The Interns, Dr. Feelgood & The Interns, and Dr. Feelgood, The Interns, and The Nurse. The group also included Roy Lee Johnson (composer of "Mr. Moonlight", later recorded by The Beatles).
After the breakup of the band in approximately 1965, Watkins played with Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots, Joseph Smith and the Fendales, and then with Leroy Redding and the Houserockers until the late 1980s. Subsequently she has been based in Atlanta, a well-known fixture at the Underground Atlanta.
Watkins, who not only had a long and continuous musical career, but worked with artists like James Brown, B.B. King and Ray Charles, was well known for years within the blues community. However, like many roots musicians, she found it difficult to crack the airwaves and would achieve recognition much later in her career, after the advent of the Internet made it possible for musicians not backed by major labels to be heard by a wider audience. She was re-discovered by Music Maker Relief Foundation founder Tim Duffy, who started booking her in package shows, and in 1998, with Koko Taylor and Rory Block, was part of the all-star Women of the Blues “Hot Mamas” tour. Her 1999 CD debut, Back in Business, earned a W. C. Handy Award nomination in 2000.
Watkins was playing internationally (for example, the Main Stage at the Ottawa Blues Fest in 2004) as well as in her hometown Atlanta until temporarily sidelined by surgery in 2005, but is recovered and taking bookings. She performed a set at the 2008 Cognac Blue Festival.
Tracklist:
01. Miz Dr. Feelgood (4:21)
02. I’m Gonna Rock Some More (2:55)
03. Tell Me Daddy (3:46)
04. My Baby Left Town (3:22)
05. The Right String But the Wrong Yo-Yo (2:30)
06. Impeach Me Baby (4:09)
07. Red Mama Blues (6:31)
08. You Make Me Feel So Good (3:51)
09. Too Many Times (3:37)
10. Blue in the Night (4:13)
11. What About Me (3:36)
12. Back in Business (4:49)
Beverly “Guitar” Watkins- Guitar & Vocals
Carl Sonny Leyland- Piano
Danny Dudeck- Guitar
Eddie Boyd- Tenor Sax
Jon Schwenke- Bass
Ardie Dean- Drums
and
Curtis Smith- Guitar & Vocals
Albert White- Guitar & Vocals
Sammy Blue- Guitar
Doug Jones- Guitar
Sam Anderson- Tenor Sax
Jason Reichert- Drums
Chris Uhler- Percussion
Mike Vernon- Percussion
MORE Electric Blues ...
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