RIP Johnny Winter

Sad to hear. Hope he is finally getting that "Free Ride!".

 

Lost another piece of my youth.
RIP Johnny.

 

Great musician. Thanks Johnny.

 

He had a nice style of play. Sounds like there are some similarities with Joe Bonamassa's licks, so I wonder if he was one of Joe's influences.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Loved his music. RIP

 

*big sigh*

Thanks for the thread Mike.

I'm so glad he was here in Houston recently, he signed a Fender Telecaster for me.
That was his tool in the early days in Beaumont, where he and his brother Edgar played together. as the post above notes Edgar would rise to fame equal or maybe even exceeding brother Johnny in rock music, while Johnny stayed true to the south east Texas blues roots. He later could be seen shredding on all those whiz tech guitars, he stayed at the cutting edge of technology.

He was steeped in the blues music,... entrusted to him the pantheon of greats:

Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Lightning Hopkins, Hubert Sumlin, Freddie King.....Johnny Winter now takes his place in the stars, alongside the greatest names in the blues..

I'm glad I'm alone this morning, in my huge new office, with my thoughts and memories, and tears.

Although he was of an advanced age, at 70, and certainly lived a long, full life.....I guess it's like at the end of any barn shaking show, where the crowd is stomping it's feet, amped up and screaming for more. But it's late, and the band has given it all they got. The lights come on, signaling the crowd "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here"...and everyone shuffles towards the door, as the road crew starts coiling the cords. You know it's over.

Johnny gave it all he had, every time he took the stage.
Texas, and the World, will certainly miss him.

Godspeed, Johnny.
Rest in Peace
We love you, man...

 

He has influenced every modern guitar player since about 1966, IMO.......Freddie King was the giant of Texas, from 1962 -1964, and Johnny as a teen was listening to that blues influence out of Dallas on one AM frequency, and then if he turned the dial just a little bit, the Mississippi Delta greats were beaming across the Sabine River, coming in clearer in cloudy nights.

He also backed up many of the big names as they toured thru the Golden Triangle, the southeast corner of Texas, made up of oil refinery towns Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange.
Lot of pictures "out there" of a clean cut, teenaged Johnny Winter holding his own from the side of the stage

Janis Joplin was also listening to her AM stations, across town.

Joe does show the lightning fast fretwork Johnny became famous for (listen to "Live in New York" where he merges "Hideaway" with "Got my Mojo Workin'")..but then he would slow it down with a Delta blues number, where long sustain, and slow grooves ruled the day.

 

Sorry guys, I may keep this topped up all day, with memories!!!

What are those little guitars, that don't even have a head stock?

It's just a body for the electronics and the neck tapers to a point holding the string bridge at the top?
I guess the tuning pegs are hidden somewhere.

Johnny played at Fitzgeralds two years ago, on one of those. I got some CDs signed that night too, but he was terribly tired after the show, it's not as good as the signature on the Tele, he did a REAL nice one, in silver on the black guitar.

Fitzgeralds, a big two story, old weathered place not far from my apartment in the Heights, is actually the subject of Stevie Ray Vaughan's song "If the house is Rockin"...

It all weaves together, in a big beautiful tapestry of life.
Johnny and Stevie were both golden threads, making their way thru it...

 

Please do. You are capturing his spirit.

 

As the photographer for a south Fl nightclub I got to photograph several acts that came to play including Johnny Winter with Leon Redbone. Very cool to watch and listen to them play in a nightclub setting.

For me it was all about Edgar Winter and " They Only Come Out at Night " was my go to album when I wanted to show off my stereo to my friends. Back in the mid 70s everyone in my town had those all in one stereos with two speakers that sounded like crap. I saved up and ordered a bunch of stuff out of the back of a magazine and put together this system. Everyone wanted to come over and hear " Frankenstein " and " Free Ride "

Sigh, I think right now I'm going to put on my headphones and pull up Frankenstein on the Youtube and relive those memories.

Thank you Edgar and Johnny Winter.

RIP
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Wow, another music great is lost, but certainly not forgotten.
Funny, last week I was in in SF with my wife eating an early dinner (before seeing Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), looked across the street and this older gentlemen all dressed in black, with long white hair and black leather hat walked by. I said to my wife, "that looks like Johnny Winter", I knew it wasn't but the resemblance was uncanny.
There's gonna be one hell of a blues jam on "the other side" tonight.
RIP
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thank you Mr. Winter for the gifts you bestowed upon us, they will shine bright forever.

 

Thanks...but you can't keep their spirit, when it's time to go......the angels are here for them, and they are ready to go home.

It's hard because it reminds me of my father (he was 74, and ill.)

It also bring back the memories of the morning I came in to hear of Stevie's helicopter accident (made even worse, because of his young age)..

Johnny as I write above bridged the generation of Texas (and other) musicians, between Freddie King, Lonnie Mack, and Louisiana great Buddy Guy, and nurtured the candle flame long enough, thru the "rock years" of the mid to late 70's, until artists like Stevie Ray could pick it up and carry it on. (I arrived in Austin just in time, 1976, to hear them all at Antone's blues club)

The reason it's personal to me is all those nights there, to the detriment of my studies and Clifford Antone (also a Beaumont, Texas resident), his move to Austin to open his club really cannot be over stated.

Antone's became a crucible, where all these old greats could tour thru, and pass the torch on to Stevie, Jimmie Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and others. We were also having us a SMOKIN' good time!!!!

Clifford was also mentor to my friend Jesse Dayton, who from Beaumont, Texas also, continues to "hold it down" (or light it off, depending on your view) in Austin today.

So you see, Johnny Winter is like the grandfather, with sons, and grandsons.
What a great and wonderful life to have led. Albinos are genetically rare, and normally life expectancies are reduced. Johnny rose past all that, brushed it aside, and strode onto the stage, to play rock and roll. Turned up, to 10!


Thanks guys....

 

There you go, what a GREAT picture!
I'm stealing it...LOL!

Thanks!

That pretty well sums it up, we lost Jimmy Hendrix too soon, but we kept Johnny a long time!

 

Very sad. His playing had a huge influence on my playing as well. He'll be missed.

 

Oh no , thanks for letting us know Mike.

Like many of y'all he was a huge influence on me as well - could never cop the licks exactly as he laid 'em down, but kept trying.

He was one of the first "real" concerts I ever went to - even though I was up in the cheap seats I could swear I "saw" sound coming out of those full stacks.

"Rock me Baby" and "Still Alive and Well" are just epic tunes.

 

I thought it was Edgar when I saw the photo.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFAKO2Vjjvo

 

That's it!!!

Here's what I was reaching for, in my mind:

Onstage with George Jones, in Vidor Texas, a little town outside of Beaumont....they are playing, obviously ...country music!!
Note the ad on stage for a Bolivar Fishing event, out on the Gulf of Mexico.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thanks for that, Bill...that's the most I have heard his speaking voice, in my entire life!

He was a quiet person, as you hear there, in the tone of his voice.
He let his fingers to the talking!

"All treble, no bass..." love it.