Johnny Winter (Official Thread)

[Sox]

Blues/rock guitar slinger extraodinaire and probably my favourite American musician. He began recording at the age of 15 and got to see many of the great blues artists that would help shape his career including his hero Muddy Waters. His big break came in December 1968 on the Super Sessions with Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper that same year he had released "The Progressive Blues Experiment" a brilliant album IMO.



Johnny Winter Official Website

Studio Albums

The Progressive Blues Experiment (Sonobeat 1968, re-released by UA/Imperial 1969)
Johnny Winter (Columbia 1969)
Second Winter (Columbia 1969)
Johnny Winter And (Columbia 1970)
Still Alive and Well (Columbia 1973)
Saints & Sinners (Columbia 1974)
John Dawson Winter III (Columbia 1974)
Nothin' But the Blues (Blue Sky 1977)
White, Hot and Blue (Blue Sky 1978)
Raisin' Cain (Blue Sky 1980)
Guitar Slinger (Alligator 1984)
Serious Business (Alligator 1985)
Third Degree (Alligator 1986)
The Winter of '88 (MCA/Voyager 1988)
Let Me In (Point Blank 1991)
Hey, Where's Your Brother? (Point Blank 1992)
I'm a Bluesman (Virgin 2004)
Roots (Megaforce 2011)


Live Albums

Live Johnny Winter And (Columbia 1971)
Captured Live! (Blue Sky 1976)
Together with Edgar Winter (Blue Sky 1976)
Live In NYC '97 (Virgin 1998)
Live Bootleg Series, Volumes 1–7 (Friday 2007–11)
The Woodstock Experience (Sony/Legacy 2009)
Johnny Winter Live Fillmore East 10/3/70 (Collectors 2010)
Rockpalast Blues Rock Legend Vol. 3 recorded in Essen April, 1979 (2011)

[Rocker440]

You are spot on with everything you've said, Sox!

I've been a long time follower and admirer of Johnny Winter for many years myself! Although some of his earlier material may not be too widely known, both it and so much more of Johnny's albums are fantastic, imo! Many of his 1970's albums are legendary blues rock! I highly recommend all of his terrific albums for any blues rock music enthusiast!

A great song and performance of Johnny Winter.




Enjoy!

[flipflop]

I'm a big fan and have all the albums (on vinyl). Seen him live too.

Fave albums are Johnny Winter And + Still Alive And Well though I also appreciate his 80's and 90's output such as 3rd Degree, Guitar Slinger, Let Me In...

[Magic]

OOOOoooo! Nice find

I like Johnny Winter's work.


I'm Yours and I'm Hers

Mother-in-Law Blues

Mean Town Blues

[Sox]

I waited a long, long time to see Johnny Winter and finally I went along with Sweaty to Manchester. We came out of that venue speechless, it was a brilliant night.
Here's Johnny nailing a Stones track.



Highway 61 is one of my faves Rocker440 the slide work is amazing.

[Foxhound]

Johnny is a very solid decidedly non-black bluesman. I bought this LP when it first came out:





I've never seen him in concert though.

[Rocker440]

^^^Second Winter was the first Johnny Winter release that I heard as well and a pearler, imo, Fox! Testing my memory once again, I believe Second Winter was originally a double album, with a very cool twist in that there were only three sides of recorded music and "side four" was blank. This was the first time that I remember that being done on a two album set that I had heard myself.

Another excellent Johnny Winter cover of a classic rock song.

[Sunny]

Johnny Winter fan here!!!! Would love to see him live ............. maybe one of these days ...................

[DaKillerWolf]

Johnny Winter is by far my favorite blues rock guitarist .I am also a fan
of his gruff bluesy vocals. He might not have the pipes of a Bruce Dickenson
etc. but his voice is very suited toward his style of playing and I find it quite enjoyable. One the all times best bluemen if not the best IMO.

[Groovy Man]

Love Johnny Winter too. I've have most of his albums (he has put out a lot of albums in 40+ years) and I've seen him 3 times in concert, once with Alvin Lee and once with Mountain.

Johnny Winter is more than just a blues guitarist - he a blues rock guitarist. To me there's a difference. Johnny can play the blues, but he can rock out with the best of 'em.

My favorite Johnny Winter albums...

Live Johnny Winter And (1971)
Johnny Winter (1969)
Johnny Winter And (1970)
Third Degree (1986)
Live In NYC '97 (1998)
John Dawson Winter III (1974)
Captured Live! (1976)
Second Winter (1969)
Let Me In (1991)
White, Hot and Blue (1978)
Hey, Where's Your Brother? (1992)



Mean Town Blues - Live @ Woodstock (1969)



Be Careful With A Fool - Live in Denmark (1970)

[Sweaty]

I love him, have quite a few of his albums and have seen him live with Sox, he sure can play and people should listen to him and have at least 3 of his albums, I have some early stuff by him, " It was a Jack Daniels kind of day" is a fave early track.

[rtbuck]

One of my favorites. In the late 70's I became obsessed with buying records with Chuck Berry cover songs (I even bought 38 Special's debut because they covered "Around & Around"). Anyway, I spotted 'Live Johnny Winter And" because the cover looked cool. I looked at the song titles spotted "Johnny B. Goode" along with "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "The Rock & Roll Medley", & "Good Morning Little School Girl" & bought it right away. That album kicked ass & then I was reading the back cover & found out Rick Derringer was in the band. I was hooked buying everything I could find. I remember by the late 80's I was counting my records & was shocked that I had 17 Johnny Winter albums. I seen him back in 1982 & he was amazing live back then.

I like everything he has put out whether its his blues or hard rock stuff. The version of "Highway 61 Revisited" off of the 'Captured' album is unbelievable (almost 11 minutes long!). I love 'Guitar Slinger', 'Progressive Blues Experiment', & 'Red, Hot, & Blue' but my favorite album is 'Still Alive & Well'(it's more of a hard blues rock). My favorite tune is "Still Alive & Well" which is what I've been using as my theme song.

It was sad seeing the shape he was in on his 'Live from NYC' DVD. After seeing that I came across a wild article on him in a rock magazine(possibly Classic Rock) which was about how his previous manager was screwing him over. I don't remember the details but one of the band members stepped in & took over because the previous manager had Winter believing he was in worst shape than he was & basically kept him addicted to drugs for years while robbing him financially. It was a sad story but it did have kind of a happy ending

[flipflop]

Yup, that article is google-able somewhere - seems his new manager managed to get Johnny back to something close to his former self. When I saw him he was pretty much at his worst, physically. On top of the massive drug habit his former manager had him on he'd also just fallen in his home so... he was a long way away from his guitar-slinging best.

But as I understand it he's back with a vengeance, physically.

[rtbuck]

I ordered "Raisin' Cain: The Wild & Raucous Story of Johnny Winter" last Week & the book got here today. It definitely looks pretty wild.

Here's the product description from Amazon:

"Author Mary Lou Sullivan sat with Johnny Winter for hours of exclusive, no-holds-barred interviews, covering the guitar slinger's entire career. From toughing it out in Texas to his appearance at Woodstock, his affair with Janis Joplin, his stadium-filling tours, and washing out on drugs and the temptations of the road before finally fulfilling his dream of becoming a 100-percent pure bluesman, resurrecting the career of Muddy Waters, and winning a Grammy Award for his effort, this is a raucous roller coaster of story. Rolling Stone magazine has called Johnny Winter one of the greatest guitar players of all time. Ripped off and beaten down by unscrupulous managers, strung out, living the extreme highs and extreme lows of an uncompromising musician, Johnny is a true rock 'n' roll survivor. Signing with Columbia in 1969 for the largest advance ever paid a musician (which led to his appearance at Woodstock, recently reissued in the deluxe Woodstock Experience box set) he has jammed with guitar heavies Hendrix, Clapton, and the Allman Brothers. He is a legend and an icon, paving the way for fellow Texas superstars Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top. Along the way he has gone from boom to bust and back again, but has never lost his lust for his own brand of blues. Still on the road, playing hundreds of gigs a year to his devoted, adoring fans, Johnny, like this book, is the real deal. "

[DaKillerWolf]

I need to get my hands on that book ! Johnny Winter is a guitar GOD !!
I personally do not understand why he is never mentioned by people when they
throw around the old time great guitarist list .