I remember walking down the hall in a dormitory hearing this blazing guitar riff and a dirty white boy growl behind it with the crowd roaring behind, and I met my first guitar hero, Johnny Winter. If an albino cannot have the blues, then who can? ‘It’s My Own Fault’ is easily one of the two best blues tunes ever, and this version is LIVE! ‘Still Alive and Well’ later, I went on to play it in every cover band I was in. It was written by Rick Derringer (originally Zehringer) not long after his first band, The McCoys, joined Johnny and became ‘Johnny Winter And’. Derringer shared ‘Rock-n-Roll Hoochie Coo’ with him also. Derringer went on to play with Johnny’s brother Edgar Winter, as well.
‘Be Careful with a Fool’ is easily my favorite blues tune of all time. This lineup includes Tommy Shannon (later of Stevie Ray’s Double Trouble) and Uncle John Turner on drums. Johnny smokes that guitar and sings with that down home Texas dirt I love soooo much. You can tell that he grew up listening to Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. I loved ‘Divin’ Duck’ and the Bob Dylan song he covered ‘Highway 61 Revisited’.
Too bad, the Johnny Walker and killer heroin became a part of his daily regimen and poisoned his musical career. Eventually he overcame it, several times, only to lapse again and again. Sad, because this man was an icon AND a guitar player that only comes along once in a generation, and in the blues genre, he stands alone until Stevie Ray and Kenny Wayne Shepherd followed his lead.
Winter came out with the album so aptly named ‘Still Alive and Well’. The title cut by the same name was written by Rick Derringer (originally Zehringer), not long after his first band, The McCoys, joined Johnny and became ‘Johnny Winter And’. Randy Jo Hobbs played a mean bass guitar in that band. Derringer shared ‘Rock-n-Roll Hoochie Coo’ with him also. Derringer went on to play with Johnny’s brother Edgar Winter, as well. ‘Still Alive and Well’ is a personal favorite (I went on to play it in every cover band I was in) and a tune called ‘Ain’t Nothin’ To Me’ , which tapped his Texas country roots. He went folksy-country for ‘Cheap Tequila’ and you hear a whole new Johnny Winter.
Johnny Winter died recently at 70 years old. It was amazing he lived that long, because the substances usually take them much earlier. He played out consistently for many years, often forced to sit because he was a mess physically. Hell, I saw him at The Paradise in Boston MA and he was so drunk, his guitar strap kept coming undone, and he had to be led to the stage. I choose to measure him by his strengths NOT his flaws.
Johnny Winter was my guitar hero. I believe I can credit him as a major influence and every time I do my dirty white boy rockin’ soulful blues thing, I know exactly where it came from. He’s played with Jimi Hendrix, Dr. John, Janis Joplin, Rick Derringer, Derek Trucks, and the list goes on.
R.I.P. Johnny, I will never forget.
