Released 1957 (1957) Recorded 1957 Length 2:45 | Format 7-inch 45 rpm record Genre Blues | |
B-side "One Room Country Shack" | ||
"Gangster of Love" is a blues song recorded by Johnny "Guitar" Watson in 1957. When Watson re-recorded the song in 1978, it became a hit. Author David Ritz has identified it as "his most famous song" and several artists have recorded interpretations.
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Original song
Johnny "Guitar" Watson first recorded a demo version of "Gangster of Love" while he was with RPM Records in the mid-1950s. In 1957, a version of the song, a mid-tempo blues shuffle featuring a stop-time arrangement, was released by Keen Records. The single did not appear in the record charts. However, with Johnny Otis producing, Watson re-recorded the song in 1963 for King Records (5774). The newer recording gained wider exposure, but again did not reach the charts.
1970s version
In 1978, during his "flamboyant funkster" phase, Watson's recorded an updated "Gangster of Love" for DJM Records. It became a hit, reaching number 32 during a stay of thirteen weeks on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart. The song was a feature of his live shows, with some performances playing up the gangster theme with a simulated siren and a mock police bulletin. Most versions open with
Recordings by other artists
Early in his career, Johnny Winter recorded "Gangster of Love", which was released as a single in 1964 (Frolic 45-1016). The song appears on the 1965 Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs album Wooly Bully. The Steve Miller Band included a version on their 1968 Sailor album (though this is not to be confused with the band's song The Joker, which contains the lyric "some call me the Gangster of Love"). Miller also referenced the song in some of his other songs and it became part of his concert repertoire. In 1971, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs recorded a 24:35 version for their album The Hoax Is Over.
In 2013, Tommy Z's second album, Sometimes, included his cover of "Gangster of Love".