Johnny Winter

Johnny Winter (born John Dawson Winter III on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is the first son of John and Edwina Winter who were very much responsible for Johnny and his younger brother Edgar Winter's early musical awareness. He began performing at a young age with Edgar, who is also affected with albinism. His recording career began at the age of 15, when their band "Johnny and the Jammers" released "School Day Blues" on a Houston record label. During this same period, he was able to see performances by classic blues artists such as Muddy Waters, B. B. King and Bobby Bland. In 1968, Johnny began playing in a trio with bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Uncle John Turner. An article in Rolling Stone magazine helped generate interest in the group. The album "Johnny Winter" was released near the end of that year. In 1969 they performed at numerous rock festivals including Woodstock. In 1970, he recorded the classic rock tune "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" with a group that included Rick Derringer and Randy Jo Hobbs from The McCoys. In 1973, after struggling with a drug problem, he returned in classic form with "Still Alive and Well". In 1977, he produced the Muddy Waters recording, "Hard Again". Their partnership produced a number of Grammy-winning recordings and he recorded the album "Nothing but the Blues" with members from Muddy Waters' band. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.