Johnny Winter RIP

[kesslari]

We lost a great one.
I had his "Nothin' But the Blues" collaboration with Muddy back in the '70s, and I wore that vinyl record OUT.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Pretty amazing he lasted this long.

 

[mellowinman]

Sorry to see him go. A true genius, and a great man.

 

[JimK]

Johnny Winter And Live was an early LP I owned...probably within my 1st 50 or so albums.
Loved his version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
Still Alive & Well & his brother's Roadwork albums were also favourites.

RIP...

Just visited Amazon...he has a new album coming out in Sept?

 

[WoodyG3]

He was too young, but he sure put out more great music in his life than most. What a talent.

 

[Guitarmageddon]

 

[Thor]

Saw him numerous times including this tour. I love his stuff. This one stands out for me, above all others as a hallmark of his genius, both as a bluesman and as a live performer. The interplay between him and Rick Derringer is outstanding.

 

[ShoeManiac]

I honestly wish that I had such a positive experience listening to Johnny Winter. I saw him back in 2010 at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and he was not in good form. When he was led out to his chair on stage I was genuinely concerned for him since he seemed pretty infirm at the time.

I'm going to have to check out some of the links that you guys have shared because I feel that I didn't see the man perform at his best. RIP, Johnny.

 

[Feral Feline]

Thanks for the music Mr. Winter, thank you for coming to Hong Kong recently.


Been a fan since my teens, while he may have been lauded, he was still under-appreciated.

Haden and Winter, Tommy Ramone... this is turning out to be a bad month, perhaps even year.

 

[jerry]

Johnny was one of those cats that's been around since I was old enough to buy records and desire to be in a band. I saw him a bunch through the years and Johnny and all his bassist have been an influence on me from 1969-on. This one hurts. For those interested, there is a great book on Johnny that came out a few years back.
Fly on Johnny...................

 

[nutdog]

Total badazz. Caught some shows in the 80s up close. Astonishing player. RIP.

 

[2milehighspike]

Wow , this one hurts for me, He was a huge influence on me. I still play Still Alive and Well with my band almost every night, it is one of the few songs that I still want to sing the vocals. I had the opportunity to meet him 4 years ago in San Diego in his Winnebago. He was the most approachable and humble players I ever met. He said he hated playing the rock stuff, but he had too to pay the bills. His greatest pleasure was when he played with Muddy in the late 70's because his true love was the traditional blues. He was truly one of the influential artist of blues and will be missed . RIP my friend

 

[fjadams]

One of the best shows I ever saw was at the Capitol Theatre for the Johnny Winter And tour. Opening act was Edgar Winter's White Trash.

They were recording that night but none of it made the album. Seen him before that, and after, but that show still was something special.

 

[mntngrown]

Since I never saw him live, my moment was when he was assisted onto the stage at the Crossroads festival, backed up by Derek Trucks band. He was frail looking and my first thought was Clapton has him up here as an iconic slide blues player backed by an iconic slide blues player, and of course suggesting that he may have been in or had already accomplished rehab. (I always wonder if Clapton only invites clean and sober acts to his rehab clinic benefit). Anyway, the looks back and forth between Derek Trucks and Todd Smalley are priceless as they are totally digging this blues slide icon and soulfull singer tearing up Highway 61 like he was at the peak of his game.

 

[chuckNC]

Saw him numerous times including this tour. I love his stuff. This one stands out for me, above all others as a hallmark of his genius, both as a bluesman and as a live performer. The interplay between him and Rick Derringer is outstanding.

Rick Derringer is one of those great lead guitarists who's also a great rhythm player. Very classy comping behind Johnny. A little more "uptown" than JW's style, but you can tell that Johnny played well off him. That album was my first of his. I have about a foot of JW vinyl today, plus CD's.

Saw him in '76 and several times in the '80's. Last time I saw him he opened for George Thoroughgood. You could say Johnny gave a slide guitar master class before GT got out there. I appreciated that George was a good enough sport to let him do that on his stage.

Johnny was a great one. And will not be forgotten. R.I.P.

 

[Thor]

Johnny was one of those cats that's been around since I was old enough to buy records and desire to be in a band. I saw him a bunch through the years and Johnny and all his bassist have been an influence on me from 1969-on. This one hurts. For those interested, there is a great book on Johnny that came out a few years back.
Fly on Johnny...................

Aloha Jerry, you got a link to that book?

 

[Thor]

One of the best shows I ever saw was at the Capitol Theatre for the Johnny Winter And tour. Opening act was Edgar Winter's White Trash.

They were recording that night but none of it made the album. Seen him before that, and after, but that show still was something special.

The Capitol Theater in Portchester, NY right? I WAS AT THAT SHOW!

 

[jerry]

Aloha Jerry, you got a link to that book?

I'm in an airport and can't get the link to work, but it's called 'Raisin' Cain' and Amazon has it. It's a great book with a lot of people's perspective including Johnny's on his life. It covers all his bassist too!

 

[fjadams]

The Capitol Theater in Portchester, NY right? I WAS AT THAT SHOW!

Cool!

Loved that place. Went to every show we could driving in from CT. They had about every show The Fillmore did without having to drive or take the train into the city.

Next best shows were Allman Brothers opening for Delaney & Bonnie, and the night it started with the acoustic Jerry Garcia Band, followed by New Riders of the Purple Sage followed by The Dead. That was one long night.

Left after one show and we were so blitzed that instead of going East to CT, went west. Realized it when we were on the NJ Turnpike and the signs said Philly up ahead. No explanation for it. We always wondered if we went thru The City without seeing it.

 

[blowinblue]

Had the honor to open 4 shows w/ JW back in the 90's. His road manager made sure he was well protected backstage [from pesky opening acts, among other things] and applied large white footprints on the floor for Johnny to follow to the stage due to his limited eyesight.

I too was privileged to 'open' for Johnny Winter in November of 2006. Due to a screw up by the club owner we ended up closing for Mr. Winter. We could have opened but it would have been an hour earlier than we had advertised and none of our people would have been there. We chose to close for him. He was very frail but awesome, nonetheless. It was amazing that a guy who could barely walk was able to play and sing with such power. He was an early influence on my guitar player so you can guess who was super pumped about the whole thing.

I hear what you're saying about him being protected. He was escorted onstage by two assistants and escorted offstage by the same two fellows. As he came off of the stage after his set I was standing in the wings waiting to make the changeover. He walked right past me but I didn't have the heart to even speak to him, as he looked so frail. I wanted to tell him how much I enjoyed his set but it just didn't seem like the appropriate thing to do at the time. Yes, he will be missed.

M. M.