Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter (* 23. February 1944 as John Dawson Winter III in Beaumont , Texas ; † 16th July 2014 in the district of Bülach , Canton of Zurich , Switzerland ) was an American blues - guitarist , singer and producer . His musical role models were Muddy Waters , BB King and Bobby Bland .
Life
Johnny Winter was born with albinism . He was the older brother of the musician and composer Edgar Winter . When Johnny Winter was fifteen years old, he formed the band Johnny and the Jammers with his brother Edgar . They later recorded the School Day Blues record in Houston . In 1968 Johnny Winter played in a trio with bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Uncle John Turner. The group became known nationwide through an article in Rolling Stone and was then signed by the Liberty label .
After Winter and his band performed at a festival in Fillmore East in early 1968 , the musicians' popularity rose rapidly. Both the RCA and Columbia management tried to get Winter under contract. Winter later agreed to work with Columbia and received an advance of $ 600,000, which was very high for the time. In May 1969, Winter released the album Johnny Winter .
In August 1969, Winter performed at the Woodstock Festival . His appearance later did not appear on the official film because his manager had fallen out with the film crew.
1969 Winter recorded a double album entitled Second Winter . Only three instead of four pages were used. As a reason, Johnny Winter wrote: “[…] We also really liked everything we'd done and didn't want to leave any of the songs out. We couldn't honestly give you more, and we didn't want to give you less, so here is exactly what we did in Nashville — no more and no less. "
In 1970 he recorded the song Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo with a band that included guitarist Rick Derringer and bassist Randy Jo Hobbs of The McCoys . After having massive drug problems until 1973, he returned with Still Alive and Well (with the assistance of flautist Jeremy Steig ).
In 1977 he produced Hard Again with Muddy Waters . The partnership between the two spawned a number of albums that won Grammy Awards . That same year, Winter recorded Nothing but the Blues with members of Waters' band.
In the early morning of April 22, 1979, Johnny Winter performed as the top act of the 4th Rockpalast Night in the Grugahalle in Essen . This appearance made him known across Europe in one fell swoop. In 1988 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame .
On May 12, 2007, there was a Rockpalast concert on Museumsplatz in Bonn , in which Johnny Winter appeared as the third band after Rick Derringer and his brother Edgar Winter . Previously, the three artists had successfully completed a number of appearances in the USA in this constellation.
In autumn 2008 Johnny Winter played with his band (as well as with Eric Sardinas & Big Motor as opening act) several concerts in Europe, also in 2010 - for example at the Leverkusen Jazz Days . In 2012 Winter toured Germany after releasing his 18th studio album with Roots in 2011, on which many other blues musicians participate.
For a long time Johnny Winter played a Gibson Firebird with mini humbuckers, and since the mid-80s increasingly a headless Lazer.
Johnny Winter died two days after his last appearance at the Cahors Blues Festival on July 16, 2014 at the age of 70 in a hotel in the Bülach district (Canton of Zurich, Switzerland). Nothing was officially announced about the cause of death, but Winter's friend and producer Paul Nelson mentioned in an interview in 2015 that he had died of emphysema in combination with pneumonia .
His album Step Back was posthumously awarded a Grammy for best blues album in early 2015 .
In the winter of 2011, Rolling Stone listed 63rd place among the 100 best guitarists of all time . In a list from 2003 he was ranked 74th. He was married to Susan Warford Winter for 42 years.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1969 | The Progressive Blues Experiment | - | - | - | - |
US40 (20 weeks) US |
|
| Johnny Winter | - | - | - | - |
US24 (23 weeks) US |
||
| Second winter | - | - | - |
UK59 (2 weeks) UK |
US55 (17 weeks) US |
||
| 1970 | Johnny Winter And | - | - | - |
UK20 (10 weeks) UK |
US154 (4 weeks) US |
|
| 1973 | Still Alive and Well | - | - | - | - |
US22 (24 weeks) US |
|
| 1974 | Saints & Sinners | - | - | - | - |
US42 (16 weeks) US |
|
| John Dawson Winter III | - | - | - | - |
US78 (12 weeks) US |
||
| 1977 | Notin 'but the blues | - | - | - | - |
US146 (8 weeks) US |
|
| 1978 | White, Hot & Blue | - | - | - | - |
US141 (4 weeks) US |
|
| 1984 | Guitar slinger | - | - | - | - |
US183 (4 weeks) US |
|
| 1985 | Serious business | - | - | - | - |
US156 (10 weeks) US |
|
| 2011 | Roots | - | - | - | - |
US163 (1 week) US |
|
| 2014 | Step Back |
DE20 (2 weeks) DE |
AT22 (2 weeks) AT |
CH13 (4 weeks) CH |
UK41 (1 week) UK |
US17 (5 weeks) US |
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More studio albums
- Raisin 'Cain (1980)
- Third Degree (1986)
- The Winter of '88 (1988)
- Let Me In (1991)
- Hey, Where's Your Brother? (1992)
- I'm a Bluesman (2004)
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1971 | Live - Johnny Winter And | - | - | - | - |
US40  (27 weeks)US |
|
| 1976 | Captured Live! | - | - | - | - |
US93 (12 weeks) US |
|
| Together | - | - | - | - |
US89 (9 weeks) US |
with Edgar Winter
|
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More live albums
- Live in NYC '97 (1998)
- Breakin 'It Up, Breakin' It Down (2007) with James Cotton and Muddy Waters (recorded in 1977)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.1 (2007)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.2 (2008)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.3 (2008)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.4 (2009)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.5 (2009)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.6 (2010)
- Rockpalast: Blues Rock Legends Vol. 3 (2011)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.7 (2011)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.8 (2012)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.9 (2013)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.10 (2013)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.11 (2014)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.12 (2016)
- Live Bootleg Series, Vol.13 (2016)
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1969 | The Johnny Winter Story | - | - | - | - |
US111 (6 weeks) US |
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More compilations
- The Johnny Winter Story (1969)
- About Blues (1970)
- Early Times (1970)
- Before The Storm (1970)
- Scorchin 'Blues (1992)
- A Rock 'n' Roll Collection (1994)
- White Hot Blues (1997)
- Winter Blues (1997)
- Deluxe Edition (Alligator) (2001)
- The Best of Johnny Winter (Sony) (2002)
- The Johnny Winter Anthology (Shout! Factory) (2009)
- The Woodstock Experience (Sony) (2009)
- True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story (Sony) (2014)
Guest contributions on Edgar Winter albums
- Entrance (1969)
- Edgar Winter's White Trash (1971)
- Roadwork (1972)
- Jasmine Nightdreams (1975)
- Real Deal (1996)
- Winter Blues (1999)
- Harlem Nocturne (1990)
- Winter Blues (2000)
Session / guest musicians (selection)
- Al Kooper, Michael Bloomfield: The Lost Concert Tapes (1968)
- Jerry LaCroix: Second Coming (Mean Ole World) (1974)
- Rick Derringer: Spring Fever (1975)
- Tornader: Hit It Again (1977)
- Muddy Waters: Hard Again (1977)
- Muddy Waters: I'm Ready (1978)
- Muddy Waters: Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live (1979)
- Muddy Waters: King Bee (1981)
- Uncle John Turner: Uncle John (1981)
- Sonny Terry: Whoopin ' (1984)
- Lonnie Brooks: Wound Up Tight (1987)
- Bugs Henderson : American Music (1988)
- Rocky Hill: Texas Shuffle (1989)
- John Lee Hooker: Mr. Lucky (1991)
- Robert Palmer: Ridin 'High (1992)
- Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (1993)
- Bugs Henderson: Legendary Jams 1976–1980 (1997)
- Eric Sardinas: Treat Me Right (1999)
- John Lee Hooker: Face to Face (2003)
Bootlegs (selection)
- Jimi Hendrix: Super Session (1968/1995)
- Austin, TX = The Progressive Blues Experiment (1972)
- Whole Lotta Love (1978)
- Ready for Winter (1981)
- It's only Blues Live in Offenbach 1986 (1986)
- Still Blues After All These Years / Live In Chicago (1990)
- A Lone Star Kind of Day (Relix- Roy C. Ames production) (1991)
- Jack Daniels Kind of Day (1992)
- White Lightning (1996)
- Back in Beaumont (2000)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
US
|
|||
| 1970 | Johnny B. Goode Second Winter |
US92 (3 weeks) US |
|
| 1971 | Jumpin 'Jack Flash (live) Live - Johnny Winter And |
US89 (2 weeks) US |
Video albums
- Most Famous Hits - Live (2003)
- Live in Times Square (2004)
- The Hoochie Coochie Man (2005)
- Pieces & Bits (2006)
- Live Through the 70’s (2007)
- Live Through the 80’s (2010)
- Rockpalast: Blues Rock Legends Vol. 3 (2011)
- Live from Japan (2012)
literature
- Mary Lou Sullivan: Raisin 'Cain. The Wild And Raucous Story Of Johnny Winter . Backbeat Books, Milwaukee 2010, ISBN 978-0-87930-973-2 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Johnny Winter in the catalog of the German National Library
- Johnny Winter in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Official Johnny Winter website
- The Johnny Winter Story (very detailed fansite)
- The Johnny Winter Story (Blog)
- Photos by Johnny Winter (2008)
- Interview with Johnny Winter - May 2014 (English)
- WDR Rockpalast: Johnny Winter Band live on May 12, 2007
- WDR Rockpalast: Johnny Winter Band live on November 8, 2010
swell
- ^ Mary Lou Sullivan: Raisin 'Cain. The Wild And Raucous Story Of Johnny Winter . Backbeat Books, Milwaukee 2010, ISBN 978-0-87930-973-2 .
- ↑ Information on the inside cover of Second Winter at Discogs
- ^ Jean-Martin Büttner: The white blues man . Basler Zeitung Online, July 17, 2014.
- ↑ Lisa Torem: Paul Nelson - Interview Part 1. In: pennyblackmusic.co.uk. February 9, 2015, accessed November 19, 2017 .
- ↑ 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 18, 2015, accessed August 8, 2017 .
- ↑ 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time - David Fricke's Picks. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 .
- ↑ Winter's wife has blues listening to his new album , inquirer.net , October 31, 2014
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Winter, Johnny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Winter, John Dawson III |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 23, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Beaumont , Texas, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 2014 |
| Place of death | District of Bülach , Canton of Zurich, Switzerland |