Beverly Guitar Watkins

Biography

Beverly 'Guitar' Watkins (April 6, 1939 – October 1, 2019) was an American blues guitarist born in Atlanta, Georgia, who was raised by her sharecropping grandparents in Commerce, Georgia, after her mother died when she was three months old. Surrounded by music from her grandfather's banjo and harmonica playing, her father's harmonica, and her aunts' gospel group the Hayes Sisters, she began playing guitar at age eight by ear, influenced by recordings of Rosetta Tharpe, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Memphis Minnie, Charlie Byrd, and Freddie Green. In high school, she played trumpet in the school band, bass with Billy West Stone and the Down Beats, and participated in talent shows, with her band master expanding her jazz and blues knowledge.

Watkins launched her professional career around 1959 as rhythm guitarist for Piano Red (Willie Perryman) and the Meter-Tones on his WAOK radio show, becoming the only woman in the band as they toured the Southeast, renamed to Dr. Feelgood & The Interns, and scored hits like 'Dr. Feelgood' and 'Right String but the Wrong Yo-Yo.' After the band's 1965 breakup, she gigged with Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots, Joseph Smith and the Fendales, Leroy Redding and the Houserockers, and opened for James Brown, Ray Charles, and others, while working odd jobs like cleaning houses. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s by Music Maker Relief Foundation's Tim Duffy via Danny 'Mudcat' Dudeck, she debuted solo at age 60 with Back in Business (1999, produced by Mike Vernon), earning a W.C. Handy nomination, touring internationally (e.g., Ottawa Blues Fest 2004), and releasing more albums blending blues, R&B, gospel, soul, funk, and jazz on her red 1962 Fender Mustang named Red Mama.

Despite health setbacks including cancer, a heart attack, and a brain aneurysm, Watkins performed into her 70s and monthly at her Commerce church until her death from a heart attack at age 80. A pioneering female blues guitarist, she overcame obscurity to gain late-career acclaim for her fiery, pyrotechnic style that rocked harder than many male peers.

Fun Facts

• Named her guitars affectionately like 'Red Mama' and 'Sugar Baby,' playing them with mission-like intensity even for low-paying gigs.
• Played behind her head as a flashy trademark, drawing crowds at Underground Atlanta in the 1990s where she was rediscovered.
• As a tomboy, she cut her debut solo record at 60 after decades supporting others, declaring, 'I put in so much hard work... It’s my time now.'
• Performed monthly gospel sets at the Commerce, Georgia church into her final years, on roads she walked as a girl, despite health battles.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Rosetta Tharpe - early stylistic influence via grandmother's records (recordings played on family Gramophone) [childhood, 1940s]
• Memphis Minnie - key early guitar influence (recordings) [childhood]
• Charlie Byrd - modeled her playing after him (records of touring bands) [pre-1959]
• Freddie Green - modeled rhythm guitar style after Basie's guitarist (Count Basie records) [pre-1959]
• High school band master - broadened knowledge of jazz, blues guitar, and piano (school band) [high school, 1950s]

Key Collaborators

• Piano Red (Willie Perryman) - rhythm guitarist in his band (Meter-Tones, Dr. Feelgood & The Interns) ('Dr. Feelgood', 'Right String but the Wrong Yo-Yo') [1959-1965]
• Roy Lee Johnson - bandmate in Piano Red's group (group recordings) [early 1960s]
• Albert White - bandmate in Piano Red's group (group recordings) [early 1960s]
• Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots - guitarist post-Piano Red (gigs) [1960s]
• Joseph Smith and the Fendales - guitarist (gigs) [1960s-1970s]
• Leroy Redding and the Houserockers - guitarist until late 1980s (gigs) [1970s-1980s]
• Tim Duffy - Music Maker Relief Foundation founder who rediscovered and booked her (tours, Back in Business (1999)) [1995-2019]
• Danny 'Mudcat' Dudeck - introduced her to Tim Duffy (Underground Atlanta gigs leading to rediscovery) [mid-1990s]
• Mike Vernon - producer of debut album (Back in Business (1999))
• Koko Taylor - tour mate (Women of the Blues 'Hot Mamas' tour)
• Rory Block - tour mate (Women of the Blues 'Hot Mamas' tour)
• Taj Mahal - tour mate via Music Maker (package shows) [late 1990s]

External Links

• Spotify