VG caught up with Johnny between sessions at The Carriagehouse, a Connecticut studio where he recently began recording tracks for his upcoming release, his fourth on PointBlank, and tentatively scheduled for release next Spring. He has made a full recovery and recently returned from a summer tour of Sweden. In late 2000, Johnny was sidelined with a broken hip after a fall at his home. Also recently released is the Pieces and Bits video (VG, June ’01), a compilation of video clips throughout the years. Live In NYC captures the grit and fire that made Winter a living legend. 1998 saw the release the critically acclaimed Live in NYC, a bold testament to his enduring feel for raw blues which contained tributes to Freddie King and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. In the ’80s, Winter was inducted into the Blue’s Foundation’s Hall of Fame and recorded three albums for Alligator, including the excellent Guitar Slinger, before settling in at his current home of PointBlank records. The team of Muddy and Johnny stayed together long enough to win two more Grammys, for 1978’s I’m Ready and 1979’s Muddy Mississippi Waters Live. In addition to being a world-class guitarist, Winter won a Grammy in 1977 for producing Muddy Waters’ landmark comeback album, Hard Again. Throughout the ’70s, Winter released a slew of successful albums, often with collaborator Rick Derringer, including the now classic Johnny Winter AND Live, and Still Alive and Well, his comeback following a debilitating substance abuse problem. The trio soon built a following in Austin and Houston, which resulted in a Rolling Stone magazine writer calling Winter “…the hottest item outside of Janis Joplin.” The subsequent buzz culminated in a major-label bidding war, concluding with Winter signing with Columbia Records in ’69 and recording his highly regarded self-titled debut album shortly after. In 1968, after deciding to concentrate solely on blues, Johnny assembled a trio with bassist Tommy Shannon (today with Double Trouble) and drummer Uncle John Turner. Unfortunately, he was unable to break into the Chicago blues scene and soon moved back to Texas, where he played in various blues and rock and roll outfits for the next few years. In the early ’60s, Johnny cut singles for several regional labels before moving to Chicago to immerse himself in the blues scene, jamming with local blues legends and a young Mike Bloomfield, among others. A true original in the Texas guitar slinger tradition of T-Bone Walker, Freddie King, and Albert Collins, Winter’s instantly recognizable guitar style and gravely roar have gained him a worldwide following and reverence in the rock and blues communities.īorn in Beaumont, Texas, in 1944, Winter and his younger brother, Edgar, played in a variety of local rock and roll bands before they made their recording debut for Dart Records in ’59. John Dawson Winter has been a troubadour for the blues for over 40 years, plying his razor sharp licks from the Texas roadhouses where he first cut his teeth in the early ’60s through the massive audiences of rock festivals like Woodstock, to his world tours of the present day.
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