“She was just an unsung hero of the blues.”

Beverly Watkins, a rare woman among blues guitarists, who cleaned homes when music did not pay her enough and did not record her first solo album until she was 60, died on Oct. 1 in Atlanta. She was 80. Ms. Watkins called her music lowdown, stomping blues and complemented it with crowd-pleasing antics into her 70s — playing her electric guitar on her back and behind her head, sliding across the stage. When she sang, it was often with a growl. Beverly “Guitar” Watkins followed in the footsteps of women like Sister Rosetta Tharpe,  and Memphis Minnie.

Continue reading the post Beverly Watkins, Fiery Blues Guitarist, Is Dead at 80  on The New York Times.