Jeff Watson (guitarist)

Last updated

Jeff Watson
Jeff Watson 1993.jpg
Watson in 1993
Background information
Birth nameJeffrey Victor Watson
Born (1956-11-05) November 5, 1956 (age 68)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Genres Rock, hard rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1982–present
Website jeffwatson.com

Jeffrey Victor Watson (born November 5, 1956) is an American guitarist originally known as one of the founding members and lead guitarist of the hard rock band Night Ranger, in which he has played as co-guitarist with guitarist Brad Gillis. Watson developed his signature eight-fingered tapping technique during his time in the band. [1] [2]

Contents

Watson appeared as a special guest on Douglas Docker's Docker's Guild project. He has also released solo albums. In 2007, he was fired by the three other members of Night Ranger through a letter from their attorney. During 2009, he was part of Dennis DeYoung's travelling band.

Discography

Solo albums

Night Ranger

Mother's Army

Guest appearances

YearArtistAlbum
1987 Tony MacAlpine Maximum Security
1989Guitar's Practicing MusiciansCompilation
1991 Steve Morse Southern Steel
1993 Chris Isaak San Francisco Days
1995Chris Isaak Forever Blue
2002Steve WolvertonGuitar Farm
2003 Michael Schenker Group Arachnophobiac
2004 Eric Martin Destroy All Monsters
2012Docker's GuildThe Mystic Technocracy – Season 1: The Age of Ignorance
2016 D-Metal Stars Metal Disney – track "I See the Light"

Instructional

In 1986, Watson released an instructional guitar video titled Jeff Watson: Star Licks Master Series for Star Licks Productions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dokken</span> American rock band

Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1976. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as "Alone Again", "In My Dreams", and "Burning Like a Flame", and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. The live album Beast from the East was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Unseen (band)</span> American street punk band

The Unseen is an American punk rock band that was formed in 1993 in Hingham, Massachusetts. One of the more prominent bands to revive street punk, The Unseen was originally called The Extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lemonheads</span> American alternative rock band

The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an independent/college rock band in the late 1980s, the Lemonheads' popularity with a mass audience grew in 1992 with the major label album It's a Shame about Ray, which was produced, engineered, and mixed by The Robb Brothers. This was followed by a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", which eventually became one of the band's most successful singles. The Lemonheads were active until 1997 before going on hiatus, but reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released The Lemonheads the following year. The band released its latest album, Varshons 2, in February 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Gilbert</span> American guitarist and founding member of Mr. Big

Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which he has released numerous solo albums, and featured in numerous collaborations and guest appearances on other musicians' albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Lukather</span> American musician (born 1957)

Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, Bridges, was released in June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slaughter (band)</span> American glam metal band

Slaughter is an American hard rock band that formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1988. The group was founded by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum, who previously played together in the band Vinnie Vincent Invasion. The addition of guitarist Tim Kelly and drummer Blas Elias allowed Slaughter to quickly gain attention for their lively performances, catchy hooks, and melodic guitar solos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night Ranger</span> American hard rock band

Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco, California. The band formed in 1979, and experienced a surge of popularity during the 1980s with the release of several successful albums and hit singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, though bassist Jack Blades performed on all but one of their albums. Other current members of the band include guitarist Keri Kelli and keyboardist Eric Levy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Morse</span> American guitarist

Steve J. Morse is an American guitarist and songwriter. A seven-time Grammy nominee, he is best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the longest serving guitarist for Deep Purple. Morse also enjoyed a successful solo career and was a member of the group Kansas in the mid-1980s. Most recently, Morse became a member of the supergroup Flying Colors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Daisley</span> Australian bassist

Robert John Daisley is an Australian musician and songwriter. A bass guitarist, he is perhaps best known for his intermittent relationship with vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, co-production and songwriting throughout the 1980s. Daisley has also worked with prominent rock acts including Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Gary Moore, Chicken Shack and Uriah Heep, among others. In 2013, he published his autobiography entitled For Facts Sake which has received outstanding reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reb Beach</span> American guitarist (born 1963)

Richard Earl "Reb" Beach Jr. is an American rock guitarist. He is a member of the bands Winger and Whitesnake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Blades</span> American musician

Jack Martin Blades is an American rock musician. He has worked in the bands Rubicon, Night Ranger, and Damn Yankees. He has also recorded with Tommy Shaw under the name Shaw Blades and has done work alongside the Tak Matsumoto Group. Blades' most recent efforts include a second solo album and three albums with Revolution Saints, which he was a member of until 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Scott Soto</span> American rock singer

Jeff Scott Soto is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is perhaps best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–07.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Batten</span> American musician (born 1957)

Jennifer Batten is an American guitarist who has worked as a session musician and solo artist. From 1987 to 1997, she played on all three of Michael Jackson's world tours, and from 1999 to 2001, she toured and recorded with Jeff Beck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ritchie Blackmore</span> British guitarist (born 1945)

Richard Hugh Blackmore is an English guitarist. He was a founding member and the lead guitarist of Deep Purple, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Gillis</span> Musical artist

Bradley Frank Gillis is a guitarist most famous for playing with the band Night Ranger. He grew up in Alameda, California. He was in the band Rubicon during the 1970s before Night Ranger. Since forming in 1979, Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy are the only members to have appeared in every incarnation of the band and all studio releases. However, Keagy missed several shows for the first time in 2017. On Saturday, 8 May 2021, Gillis was absent from a Night Ranger show for the first time in the band's history. He has also played for Ozzy Osbourne and Fiona, and has released solo albums. Gillis' musical side projects include placing over 300 songs for ESPN's Sports Center, The X Games, Fox Sports, Tiger Woods Sony PlayStation Games, EA Sports, The Fuse Channel and many others. He has appeared in over a dozen music videos, with TV performances on American Bandstand, Solid Gold, Rock & Roll Tonight and thousands of live concerts. He also participated in the one-time collaboration, Hear 'n Aid, for the promotional single, "We're Stars," which helped raise $1 million for famine relief in Africa. He was one of several lead guitarists to contribute guitar solos for the cause, including Vivian Campbell, Buck Dharma, and Neal Schon. His first solo album Gilrock Ranch produced a top twenty single, "Honest to God", which was co-written and sung by Gregg Allman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Keagy</span> American drummer

Kelly Dean Keagy is an American drummer and vocalist, best known for his work with the hard rock band Night Ranger. Keagy sang lead vocals on several of their hits, such as "Sister Christian", "Sing Me Away", and "Sentimental Street".

The Lick It Up World Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Kiss, in support of their eleventh studio album Lick It Up. It was the last tour to feature lead guitarist Vinnie Vincent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Hoekstra</span> American guitarist (born 1970)

Joel Hoekstra is an American guitarist currently in the hard rock band Whitesnake. He also tours as a guitarist for Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The son of classical musicians, he started out playing cello and piano at a young age, but it was hearing Angus Young of AC/DC that inspired him to start playing the guitar. He was raised in the suburbs of Chicago, in Orland Park, but has lived in New York City since 2001.

<i>Man in Motion</i> (Night Ranger album) 1988 studio album by Night Ranger

Man in Motion is the fifth studio album by Night Ranger, released in 1988. This album was the first studio album recorded by Night Ranger after the departure of keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald, who was replaced by Jesse Bradman.

References

  1. Roberts, Dave (June 26, 2013). "Ax Facts & Stats – Jeff Watson". Guitarsite. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019.
  2. Wardlaw, Matt (March 28, 2015). "Former Night Ranger Guitarist Jeff Watson Talks New Music + Upcoming 'Randy Rhoads Remembered' Tour". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  3. "Jeff Watson "Lone Ranger"". Guitar Nine. Retrieved April 29, 2021.

Further reading