JOHNNY WINTER, FIVE DECADES OF
RIVETING BLUES GUITAR

By Rob Nagy
For five decades blues guitarist Johnny Winter has been capturing the hearts of fans and piers alike. Playing his signature firebird guitar, which still dangles around his neck, Winter’s became a legend in his adopted hometown of Beaumont, Texas from early on. Earning much deserved praise and attention from Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Bobby “Blue” Bland, all of whom he would later perform with, it was only a matter of time before Winter’s landed a record deal and carried his distinct style to audiences all over the U.S. and beyond. By the late 1960’s Winter’s guitar magic caught the attention of Rolling Stone Magazine when they paid homage and spotlighted Winter’s quoted as saying “Johnny Winter is the hottest item outside Janis Joplin. Imagine a 130 pound cross eyed albino blues man with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest blues guitar you ever heard.” This brief mention, took Winter’s from the ranks of being a local guitar god to international fame landing him a long awaited major record deal. An appearance at the infamous Woodstock concert in 1969 only furthered his exposure, career and legend. For Winter’s there would be no looking back.

Winter’s career started when he was just a teenager forming his first band “Johnny and the Jammers” along with his brother Edgar on keyboards. Johnny and the Jammers became local celebrities in no time winning talent competitions and packing clubs ultimately landing a record deal, on the Dart label, when he was only fifteen earning Winter’s his first singles “School Day Blues” and “You Know I Love You”. Winter’s soon became a fixture in the burgeoning Beaumont, Texas music scene working on his own recordings and as a sideman with a variety of artists. Winter’s musical reputation continued to spread as a result of jamming with many of the acts that passed through town. It wasn’t uncommon to find Winter’s on stage with a whose who of Blues. By the late 60’s, in spite of his notoriety, Winter was finding it difficult to find work for his new trio with many clubs blaming the fact that it would be hard to generate a following for what some called “A hard blues band”. Winter’s eventually landed some stable work in an Austin club where they drew respectable crowds but still searched for a big time recording contract. That chance soon came when a local businessman recorded the band on portable equipment eventually being released on the Imperial Record label as “The Progressive Blues Experiment”. Winter recalls a hasty decision that he made out of frustration that would soon change his destiny forever. “ I went to England with the idea of moving my band there” recalls Winter. “When I came back the Rolling Stone article on me came out and than every major record label was calling.” Signing with Columbia Records, in what was reported to be a highly lucrative deal, Winter’s became America’s guitar god to be heralded among Britain’s own Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page who were, by now, dominating the music press. Winter’s released four albums while with Columbia which included his best selling album “Johnny Winter and Live”. By the mid seventies Winter signed with the CBS Records distributed label Blue Sky yielding another four solo albums. He was given the rare opportunity to produce several albums for his idle Muddy Waters. “Hard Again” and the follow-up album I’m Ready” both earned a Grammy award. “Working with Muddy was very impressionable”, Winter’s fondly recalls. “ He was always one of my biggest influences and working with him made me feel that people were really starting to take me seriously and that I could really play the blues. It was one of the high points of my career and still is.” Winter’s took a four year break from recording before signing with Alligator Records in 1984 which proved to be a great move for Winter’s and the label when he released “Guitar Slinger” charting in Cashbox and Billboard magazines earning a Grammy nomination. Many considered this to be Winter’s finest album to date. His sophomore release on Alligator, “Serious Business” earned yet another Grammy nomination continuing the momentum of a man that by now had earned the rare distinction of being considered a legend in his own time by the general public and within the industry. By now there wasn’t a fellow artist that didn’t acknowledge the skills of Winter’s playing.

Winter’s most recent release, “I’m A Bluesman”, on the Virgin label, is his 37th record to date and is every bit as raw and exciting as anything he has done to this point. Of the thirteen new songs there isn’t a single track that doesn’t capture the power and energy of raw blues as only Winter’s could play them. “I’m A Bluesman” hasn’t gone unnoticed yielding yet another Grammy nomination proving that an artist’s of Winter’s abilities only gets better with time. Currently on tour through-out the U.S., with plans to hit Europe and Japan later in the year, Winter’s has already started to prepare for his next album which is nameless at this time. “I am starting to make plans for my next record”, says Winter’s, which will be a collection of some of my favorite songs that have inspired me with guest appearances by some of these artists. We haven’t started recording yet but I hope to have it done later this year.” While Winter’s understands the importance of continuing to record he has not lost his gratitude and appreciation for a fan base that has never turned their back on him. “I really love playing on stage in front of a live audience”, says Winter’s. “The audiences are always great to me and I try to make myself accessible after most every show to meet people and show them how much there loyalty has meant.” With all the changes in the industry over the past twenty years Winter’s is a realist when it comes to the current state of things. “There’s not as much blues now as there was in the sixties”, says Winter’s. “It used to be really big but now it isn’t so much anymore but you can still find it if you want it. I just keep touring and showing up wherever I am supposed to play.” Also in the works is a “Tell All” book on the life and career of Johnny Winter, which should be out by next year. For more info on Johnny Winter see www.johnnywinter.net