Results 1 to 13 of 13
-
07-17-2014, 03:43 AM #1spook 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.
-
07-17-2014, 04:20 AM #2
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 JohnnyScrew the net, Surf the backcountry!
-
07-17-2014, 07:00 AM #3
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.
-
07-17-2014, 07:52 AM #4
ironical
white on white
can't read that spook
-
07-17-2014, 09:21 AM #5
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
-
07-17-2014, 09:33 AM #6
-
07-17-2014, 10:05 AM #7Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2003
- Location
- none
- Posts
- 8,334
-
07-17-2014, 11:56 AM #8spook 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?
-
07-17-2014, 01:43 PM #9
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.
-
07-18-2014, 09:14 AM #10
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.
-
07-18-2014, 11:28 AM #11Funky But Chic
- 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.
-
07-26-2014, 08:01 PM #12
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
-
07-27-2014, 07:22 PM #13
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.
RIP Johnny and thanks for the licks.
Bookmarks