Results 1 to 13 of 13
  1. #1
    spook Guest

    Johnny Winter, bluesman, dead at 70

    he tore it up like nobody else...

    Johnny Dawson Winter III has passed away, according to several independent sources close to the blues man. He was 70. Details surrounding his death have not officially come forth, but this article will be updated as they emerge.
    Winter and his brother, Edgar were raised in a musical family, with his roots firmly planted in the Mississippi delta — his father was the mayor of Leland, Mississippi, and Winter was recently honored with a Blues Trail Marker. From before his teens, Winter was playing and recording, even sitting in with the biggest blues legends of the day and in history, including Muddy Waters and BB King. In 1968, he released his first album, The Progressive Blues Experiment, and after a now-famous performance at The Fillmore East, he was signed to Columbia Records with what was reported to be the largest advance ever made to an artist.
    After his mammoth deal, Johnny immediately laid out the blueprint for his fresh take on classic blues, according to his official biography, which was a prime combination for the legions of fans just discovering the blues through the likes of Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton. His first album with Columbia was Johnny Winter, with Willie Dixon playing stand up bass. Winter continued to gain widespread critical acclaim with his innovative blues stylings and in 1970, Winter released his commercially acclaimed ”Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”, before struggling with heroin addiction for several years, seeking treatment, and emerging with a renewed lease on life.
    He made a successful comeback, culminating in what Winter described to American Blues Scene Magazine as the “highlight of my life” when, after the closing of Chess Records, he brought Muddy Waters to the studio to record what would widely become known as the bluesman‘s comeback record, Hard Again. In the album, Winter performed most of the guitar work, while Muddy sang. Winter would go on to produce several Grammy-winning albums for Muddy before the bluesman’s death in 1984.
    Winter earned several Grammy nominations for his searing, scorching slide guitar work, and was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and was one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time. “I’m not a rock n roller,” Winter told American Blues Scene. “I’m a bluesman.” From his earliest childhood in the Mississippi Delta and Beaumont, Texas to his last breath, touring on the road, Winter truly lived up to that statement in every sense of the word.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    12,098
    Shit, that's kind of young... doesn't say cause of death. My wife met him after a show in VA when he was 28 yo and says he seemed about 5' tall. He was headlining at that age, but all the greats were by then.

    RIP Johnny
    Screw the net, Surf the backcountry!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    I'm amazed that he made it so long. I guess being an albino doesn't affect longevity.

    I owned his famous three sided double album. Rolled many a number on the inside of that one.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    inpdx
    Posts
    20,197
    ironical
    white on white
    can't read that spook

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    in the trench
    Posts
    15,690
    Prolonged it as best he could . He's been in rough shape for a long time. Breathing issues seemed to be the most serious as of late. RIP. One of the 2 best shows I've ever seen

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    you see a tie dye disc in there?
    Posts
    4,651

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    none
    Posts
    8,334
    I saw him last year. He actually looked pretty good and killed it on the stage. I think he'd been sober for a long time and it was the smokin that got him.

    Sorry, my pic suck.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	090.jpg 
Views:	60 
Size:	686.8 KB 
ID:	156815

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	089.jpg 
Views:	52 
Size:	646.6 KB 
ID:	156814

    RIP Johnny.

  8. #8
    spook Guest


    last interview i read with him he sounded pretty content for somebody who'd been through as much shit as he has. sobriety definitely helped him. i remember the first time i heard him it was memory pain and i was like what the fuck is that?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    1,857
    RIP. One of the best shows I ever saw was Johnny Winter.
    DNC: The party of gays, gungrabbers, wets, welfare queens, babykillers and ambulance chasers.

    "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    I was just reminded of his performance on the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary album, when he came out and blasted the audience with his version of Highway 61. Hot.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    The Cone of Uncertainty
    Posts
    49,306
    He was booked here locally for January, too bad but at least I got to see him a few times

    This Highway 61 from 1976 is the one I grew up on. Still fucking smokin'. Give it a little time to get going.


  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    WAIDMTBC
    Posts
    461
    Got to see him at the MSU Student Union auditorium in Bozeman (winter of '80, I think) the year after Hard Again was released. Muddy was so old and frail even then, but with JW on guitar, Pine Top on piano (not sure if James Cotton played; can't remember), it was a great show. Glad to hear that JW thought Hard Again was a crowning achievement, because I sure think it was. Still listen to it all the time.
    You have to let other people be right. It consoles them for not being anything else. -- Andre Gide

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Stuck in perpetual Meh
    Posts
    35,247
    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    He was booked here locally for January, too bad but at least I got to see him a few times
    He was set to play at the Birchmere on Sept. 26th. Buddy of mine had scored me a ticket and then only forwarded me the cancellation announcement. That's how I found out.

    Johnny Winter
    Birchmere Music Hall
    Friday, September 26th at 7:30PM

    We’re sorry that your event has been canceled. For your convenience, we’ve automatically refunded your order, including fees, (except UPS and InStore Pick Up, if applicable), which will appear on your credit card within 7 – 10 business days.
    Kinda stone cold not to mention that it's canceled because he's DEAD.

    RIP Johnny and thanks for the licks.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •