screw bingo: miss watkins would rather tour
23 Feb
Ever imagine what you’ll be doing at 70? I always pictured myself in a snazzy track suit doing backbends in yoga class. My grandma is big into bingo, but my attention span is not so good for games. I have an uncle who plays pedal steel guitar and sings in nursing homes in Virginia. That’s right, he plays the old folks home circuit. Not a bad idea. His shows have got to be better than the visits from elementary school kids. But, now that I’ve discovered Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, I think I may do something else in my 70s, like tour the U.S. Of course, I would probably be one of those old rocker ladies rather than a blues guitarist, but either way, I’m wearing leather pants. Beverly does.
Beverly “Guitar” Watkins is an Atlanta-based blues singer and musician, who is still touring at 70 years old. She got her first guitar at nine and hasn’t put it down since. Early in her career, she toured nationally with Piano Red and the Houserockers. The band was known for the singles Dr. Feelgood and Right String but the Wrong Yo-Yo (is that not the best song name ever?). After the band broke up in 1965, she played with Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots, Joseph Smith and the Fendales, and Leroy Redding and the Houserockers until the 1980s. Since her 1999 debut album Back in Business, she’s been playing shows under her own name.
“Sounds so good, I gotta play it one more time.” Beverly “Guitar” Watkins
Ms. Watkins was always well-known in the blues community, working alongside James Brown, BB King, and Ray Charles, but she started gaining mainstream recognition when the Music Maker Relief Foundation started booking her on their blues festival tours.
There are a bunch of videos of Beverly Watkins online, but this one of her playing for the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is my favorite.
Download Beverly “Guitar” Watkins at iTunes
Have you guys gone to see her play?
Not yet. She just played a show in NC. I’m thinking she’ll play some festivals here in Atlanta this summer. She is badass!