Johnny Winter

When Johnny Winter first gained widespread attention in 1969, industry insiders anticipated he might rise to the level of Jimi Hendrix, the blues-rooted rock guitarist and vocalist who had arrived a few years earlier. The anticipated breakthrough never fully materialized, yet Winter outlasted those initial pressures and evolved into a seasoned, admired blues artist grounded in tradition.

Born John Dawson Winter III on February 23, 1944, in Beaumont, Texas, he shared that hometown with his brother Edgar Winter, who entered the world on December 28, 1946; both siblings were born with albinism. Music drew them in at an early age, with Johnny taking up guitar and Edgar focusing on keyboards and saxophone. They soon turned professional and began cutting singles for modest regional labels. The pair belonged to Johnny & the Jammers, whose 1959 Dart Records 45 paired “School Day Blues” with “You Know I Love You.” Additional singles, issued either under Winter’s name or various group aliases, followed throughout the early 1960s, among them “Gangster of Love” backed with “Eternally,” first put out by Frolic Records in 1963 and later handled nationally by Atlantic Records in 1964, plus “Gone for Bad” coupled with “I Won’t Believe It,” another 1963 Frolic release that MGM Records picked up in 1965. Winter tasted chart action for the first time when the Traits’ recording of “Harlem Shuffle” appeared on Universal Records, moved to Scepter Records, and spent two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1966.

By 1968 Winter had resolved to devote himself solely to blues-rock, assembling a trio that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer John “Red” Turner. He joined the Austin-based Sonobeat Records roster and recorded The Progressive Blues Experiment that August for local release. Everything changed after the December 7, 1968, edition of Rolling Stone, which featured an article by Larry Sepulvado and John Burks on the Texas music landscape. They described Winter as “the hottest item outside of Janis Joplin” still based in Texas, adding, “If you can imagine a hundred and thirty-pound cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest fluid blues guitar you have ever heard, then enter Johnny Winter.” New York club owner Steve Paul read the piece, flew to Texas, and persuaded Winter to let him manage. Paul orchestrated a bidding contest among major labels that CBS Records won in February 1969, securing Winter with a $600,000 advance—the largest amount the company had ever offered an unproven solo performer.

Winter promptly entered the studio with his group to record his Columbia debut, yet other companies soon realized he had stockpiled earlier material and began acquiring or leasing those tapes. Imperial Records purchased The Progressive Blues Experiment from Sonobeat and reissued it in March 1969; it charted and climbed to number 40. Johnny Winter, the Columbia album, arrived on April 15 and reached number 23. In August, GRT Records issued The Johnny Winter Story, drawn from early-’60s sessions, and it peaked at number 111. Buddah followed with First Winter in October, while Janus brought out About Blues in November. Similar repackagings of his youthful recordings continued to appear throughout his later catalog.

Winter performed at Woodstock in August 1969; The Woodstock Experience, documenting that set, surfaced in 2009. His second Columbia LP, Second Winter, came out in November 1969 and reached number 55. In spring 1970 he dissolved the trio and recruited former McCoys members Rick Derringer on guitar, Randy Jo Hobbs on bass, and Randy Z. on drums. The unit was billed as Johnny Winter And. Their self-titled album appeared in September and stalled at number 154, but the live set Live Johnny Winter And, released in February 1971, climbed to number 40 and earned gold certification in 1974. Collectors’ Choice Music later issued another concert document, Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70, in 2010.

Winter could not sustain the momentum created by Live Johnny Winter And. Heroin addiction and suicidal depression forced him to halt his career and return to Beaumont. He received hospital treatment, first locally and then for nine months at River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans. His next recorded appearance came as a guest on Roadwork, Edgar Winter’s White Trash live album released in March 1972, introduced by Edgar’s onstage remark that fans kept inquiring, “Where’s your brother?” Johnny Winter resumed full-time work only with the March 1973 release of his comeback album Still Alive and Well, which included “Silver Train,” a song Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote specifically for him; the record rose to number 22.

Winter resumed touring. Saints & Sinners followed in February 1974 and peaked at number 42. Before year’s end he completed another set, John Dawson Winter III, featuring “Rock & Roll People,” a song John Lennon wrote for him; it appeared in November and reached number 78. Captured Live! marked Winter’s move to Blue Sky Records, the custom CBS imprint created by Steve Paul. The album arrived in February 1976 and charted at number 93. Edgar Winter also recorded for Blue Sky, and the brothers issued the live album Together in June, which peaked at number 89.

Muddy Waters joined the Blue Sky roster, and Winter produced his comeback effort Hard Again, released in February 1977; it won the Grammy for Best Blues Album. Winter toured with Waters’s band and then brought those musicians into the studio for his own Nothin’ But the Blues, issued in July 1977 and peaking at number 146. Another Winter-produced Waters album, I’m Ready, appeared in February 1978 and also captured a Grammy. Winter returned to his regular band for White, Hot & Blue, released in July 1978 and reaching number 141. Raisin’ Cain, recorded in a more rock-oriented style, came out in March 1980, failed to chart, and ended his CBS tenure.

Winter moved to the independent Alligator Records and recorded Guitar Slinger, released in May 1984; it returned him to the charts. Its follow-up, Serious Business (September 1985), also charted. He finished his Alligator commitment with 3rd Degree in November 1986. Voyager Records, distributed by MCA, released The Winter of ’88 in October 1988, an attempt to steer him toward the synthesized blues-boogie sound of ZZ Top that ultimately did not chart. Winter reverted to a straight-ahead blues approach after signing with Virgin’s Point Blank/Charisma imprint for Let Me In, issued July 1, 1991, and followed it with Hey, Where’s Your Brother? on November 3, 1992.

After the early ’90s Winter emphasized live performance over new studio work. For Live in NYC 1997 (March 10, 1998) he let fans select the tracks. Six years elapsed before I’m a Bluesman appeared on June 15, 2004. He began a series of archival concert releases on Friday Music with Live Bootleg Series, Vol. 1 (October 9, 2007), followed by Vol. 2 (March 4, 2008), Vol. 3 (July 29, 2008), Vol. 4 (February 10, 2009), and Vol. 5 (June 30, 2009). A festival performance yielded Live at the 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, issued by Munck Mix on December 15, 2009. Live Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 arrived on January 12, 2010. In September 2010 Winter announced a deal with Megaforce Records; its first release, Roots, came out in 2011. True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story, a multi-disc retrospective covering his six decades as a working musician, marked his 70th birthday in early 2014, yet Winter died on July 16 while touring in Switzerland that summer. His final album, the guest-filled Step Back, appeared a little over a month later and confirmed that his guitar skills remained undiminished to the end.