Johnny Winter, Ahhh-Yeahh!
Johnny Winter, Ahhh-Yeahh!
What an iconic name amongst guitar greats! Ever since the ‘60s and ‘70s, I have been a huge admirer of Mr. Winter, with his gravelly voice accompanying his foot-stomping, slide-blues playing on his National Steel Dobro guitar or his elevating, high-energy blues-rock coming off his Gibson Firebird.
If I had not seen his picture first in 1969, I would not have believed this guy was a white man upon hearing him the first time. White! Did I say white? Well that’s an understatement, because he was the true meaning of white, when considering one’s skin attributes. The man was an Albino, and that’s as white as you can get, my friend. But, don’t confuse the white with his music as it is often used—as if he had two left feet. No, this man had the soul of a black bluesman at his best and fingers that could fly.
He had a cool way of combining old black-style blues the likes of: Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Lead Belly, Blind Lemon, and John Lee Hooker, collectively, with the masterful fingering styles of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. He, correspondingly, used a plastic thumb pick and a two-finger technique that was thrown in with the added masterful flavors of his slide fitted on his pinky. This and the integration of the ’60s British blues boom, all combined, shaped the uniqueness of Johnny Winter’s approach to the blues.
Unique for sure! When you heard his guitar and/or his voice coming through the speakers, you knew right away, this was the one and only Johnny Winter and no one else. Not only was his playing style unique, but other things that shaped who he was, such as his amplifiers’ knob setting preference; in his own words, “everything on all the way, and all treble, no bass.” His guitar preferences; Gibson Firebird, Gibson Flying V or National Steel Dobro; although he used others throughout his life, the Stratocasters, Telecasters, Les Paul’s, etc., but the Firebird and Flying V and Dobro are always identified with Johnny Winter.
JW’s early ’70s arena rock was heavy on high-energy guitar riffs that came across like Lightnin’ Hopkins on steroids. He shifted back and forth from old country delta blues to that bursting electrifying guitar which oftentimes involved that kicking signature slide. To my ears and eyes, he truly was a blues/rock wunderkind.
The first time I heard Johnny Winter was in 1969, on the radio, and I was floored! I ran out immediately to purchase his first record, the 1969 self-titled LP, “Johnny Winter.” I was immediately captured, especially on his original cut “Dallas;” by the combination of fingerpicking on his Dobro National guitar and the slide. He truly was a singular voice as an acoustic slide player.
Rock bands of the time were also doing renditions of blues standards, such as Eric Clapton’s band, Cream, with their version of “Cross Roads” (Robert Johnson) or Led Zeppelin’s “You Shook Me” (Willie Dixon), yet Johnny Winter’s blues, such as “Dallas,” which he wrote, gave into more traditionalism, not only in his playing, but also in the addition of that Old South black man’s blues-graveled voice. No matter the approach, his blistering electric blues-rock, or his more traditional acoustic blues, JW was JW and no one else would ever match him on this.
So, I was hooked and could not stop playing the record, over and over again. I played it so much that, I have to admit, I got pretty darn good at emulating his gravelly voice; AHH-Yeahh. Ha-ha.
I could not wait for the release of his second record which came out very soon after his first. The second album was simply called, “Johnny Winter - Second Winter.”
Again, I was blown away, especially by his version of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” or the opening cut "Memory Pain," and this one traveled into a more psychedelic blues-rock terrain. This record really showed a movement in him as his music was evolving towards the more rock-and-roll sounds he would go on to create. The original release, which I have, was a two LP disc, although there were only three sides recorded on them, the fourth was blank. It’s too bad he did not fill it with more, but there were plenty of records to follow.
What an iconic name amongst guitar greats! Ever since the ‘60s and ‘70s, I have been a huge admirer of Mr. Winter, with his gravelly voice accompanying his foot-stomping, slide-blues playing on his National Steel Dobro guitar or his elevating, high-energy blues-rock coming off his Gibson Firebird.
If I had not seen his picture first in 1969, I would not have believed this guy was a white man upon hearing him the first time. White! Did I say white? Well that’s an understatement, because he was the true meaning of white, when considering one’s skin attributes. The man was an Albino, and that’s as white as you can get, my friend. But, don’t confuse the white with his music as it is often used—as if he had two left feet. No, this man had the soul of a black bluesman at his best and fingers that could fly.
He had a cool way of combining old black-style blues the likes of: Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Lead Belly, Blind Lemon, and John Lee Hooker, collectively, with the masterful fingering styles of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. He, correspondingly, used a plastic thumb pick and a two-finger technique that was thrown in with the added masterful flavors of his slide fitted on his pinky. This and the integration of the ’60s British blues boom, all combined, shaped the uniqueness of Johnny Winter’s approach to the blues.
Unique for sure! When you heard his guitar and/or his voice coming through the speakers, you knew right away, this was the one and only Johnny Winter and no one else. Not only was his playing style unique, but other things that shaped who he was, such as his amplifiers’ knob setting preference; in his own words, “everything on all the way, and all treble, no bass.” His guitar preferences; Gibson Firebird, Gibson Flying V or National Steel Dobro; although he used others throughout his life, the Stratocasters, Telecasters, Les Paul’s, etc., but the Firebird and Flying V and Dobro are always identified with Johnny Winter.
JW’s early ’70s arena rock was heavy on high-energy guitar riffs that came across like Lightnin’ Hopkins on steroids. He shifted back and forth from old country delta blues to that bursting electrifying guitar which oftentimes involved that kicking signature slide. To my ears and eyes, he truly was a blues/rock wunderkind.
The first time I heard Johnny Winter was in 1969, on the radio, and I was floored! I ran out immediately to purchase his first record, the 1969 self-titled LP, “Johnny Winter.” I was immediately captured, especially on his original cut “Dallas;” by the combination of fingerpicking on his Dobro National guitar and the slide. He truly was a singular voice as an acoustic slide player.
Rock bands of the time were also doing renditions of blues standards, such as Eric Clapton’s band, Cream, with their version of “Cross Roads” (Robert Johnson) or Led Zeppelin’s “You Shook Me” (Willie Dixon), yet Johnny Winter’s blues, such as “Dallas,” which he wrote, gave into more traditionalism, not only in his playing, but also in the addition of that Old South black man’s blues-graveled voice. No matter the approach, his blistering electric blues-rock, or his more traditional acoustic blues, JW was JW and no one else would ever match him on this.
So, I was hooked and could not stop playing the record, over and over again. I played it so much that, I have to admit, I got pretty darn good at emulating his gravelly voice; AHH-Yeahh. Ha-ha.
I could not wait for the release of his second record which came out very soon after his first. The second album was simply called, “Johnny Winter - Second Winter.”
Again, I was blown away, especially by his version of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” or the opening cut "Memory Pain," and this one traveled into a more psychedelic blues-rock terrain. This record really showed a movement in him as his music was evolving towards the more rock-and-roll sounds he would go on to create. The original release, which I have, was a two LP disc, although there were only three sides recorded on them, the fourth was blank. It’s too bad he did not fill it with more, but there were plenty of records to follow.
I have to say that I was never a big fan of posters, pictures or any other graphics regarding entertainers adorning my walls as did some of the people I knew, but, for some reason, I had in my possession a big portrait of JW which, to this day, I still do not remember how I obtained it, nor where it came from. But, contrary to my normal inclination, I took this portrait of him and framed it in an old-style, gold-metal frame, and yes, I adorned my wall with it, which I continued to do everywhere I moved for the next few years. I believe I still have it somewhere, perhaps buried amongst other memorabilia in my attic? I need to try and find it someday.
Now, as this was out of the ordinary for me to do, as I mentioned, due to not believing in this sort of nonsense, others, such as my musical friends who knew me well, thought this was definitely strange of me, for reasons relating to my rationality, yet their thinking made perfect sense. “Why do you have a Johnny Winter picture on the wall, and no drummers? Where are the pictures of drummers like John Bonham, Buddy Rich, etc? You are a drummer, not a guitarist!”
Well, how right they were, nevertheless, for some reason, I felt connected with this musician and what he brought—a fresh approach to the blues. To add, I have always been attracted to the guitar. I guess this stems from having played with my older brother who has been a guitarist for so many years. We both started around the same time and all we had was each other to play with in the very beginning, so I got very tuned in to having only that instrument playing along with me. In having been around it all of my life, I understand it very well, although I don’t play. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it is what it is.
I mention that I have always been a big blues fan, well, for this I have to thank my father. He introduced my brother and me to the blues at a very young age. He was also a very big fan, obviously! My father was not a musician, as were my brother and I; however, he was a great big fan of music, especially jazz, blues and later, all types of rock. Two of his favorite rock musicians and/or groups were Hendrix and ZZ Top.
With that being said, I was little different than my friends growing up in that era; not only liking rock, I loved blues and jazz. When I heard JW’s first record it was as if, in some way, returning back in time to that Delta-style blues of old with a little breath of fresh air added in from the new times, which was very relatable for me.
In those days, FM radio was considered underground and not yet mainstream, as it is today. Today, those that didn’t live in the ’60s and ’70s have no clue as to what I am referring to here, for all they have ever known is FM, or what I like better now, Sirius Radio. Sirius Radio is not as commercialized as FM has now become. Sirius, for me, is in some ways returning back to the underground times of FM. Nonetheless, back then, it was AM radio that dominated the airwaves, but, once FM stations got their teeth in, they soared high. This is the reverse of today, with AM on the back end of the radio spectrum.
Whenever you could get FM back in the day, it usually came across later at night and, little by little, it crept up in popularity amongst our generation, for which I have to give a lot of credit to the FM radio DJs. They would be playing dual roles; a full-time gig on AM in the day and, at night, part-timing on FM and playing the LP ("Long play”) versions of songs. The same songs being played in the daytime on AM radio, but were shortened for air play (45 rpm) version; approximately two minutes and forty seconds. In doing this, they were cutting out most of what we would consider “the good stuff.” The original recordings of most songs would extend from four minutes to ten minutes or even longer; “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (Iron Butterfly) was one of the longest studio rock song recordings at the time, a little longer than 17 minutes and cut down to two minutes and 53 seconds for the 45 rpm version played on AM radio.
So FM radio became popular by playing these long versions of songs for which we kept our ears glued to the radio in excitement. As time went on, it became the norm and, eventually, FM ate up AM. The rest, as they say, is history. With the help of FM radio, the music scene, and its artists, became ever more popular, as this was a great platform for concert promotions.
One night while driving around with my friends and listening to the radio, I heard a promotion about “Johnny Winter And” (Shortened from what was originally to be called “Johnny Winter and The McCoys” due to his backup band being from the line up of the band “The McCoys.” “The McCoys” were Rick Derringer and his brother Randy Z (drummer), their family name being Zehringer, along with bassist Randy Jo Hobbs). “Johnny Winter And” were coming to town at the ever-popular concert venue known as “Pirates World.” This place was only a few minutes from my house so, since it was possible to participate every weekend, I took full advantage.
When the news came from the radio of JW’s coming, I thought, “Finally, I’ll get up close to see the man!” And, as he would say, “AHHH-YEAHH!”
This was 1970 and my friends and I were right up front in the “pit,” as we called it, waiting with anticipation for their entry. Have to mention that, by this time, they had replaced Randy Z on the drums with Bobby Caldwell, for which I was tremendously pleased. This guy played his butt off and, not to mention, had a great foot (bass drum foot action), of which I had become a big fan since John Bonham’s (Led Zeppelin) admission, bringing the bass drum to the front of playing due to his phenomenal foot work on a single bass drum.
The concert started and it was incredible, to say the least. Not a shred of disappointment throughout the concert. Johnny laid some new songs on us and those from his previous albums, too. I remember his rendition of Rick Derringer’s composition “Rock-n-Roll Hoochie Koo.” It rocked the house down for sure. When Rick Derringer released it on his own a couple of years later, it lacked the same intensity of JW’s version.
On this particular 1970 tour, they had been recording a live album of the tour with some recordings taken from two venues; The Capital Theater in New York and Pirates World in Diana, Florida. You could say this pre-dates my first nationally-released records with my own band (Viktim) a few years later, because, if you listen close, you may hear me as one of the few thousand other fans in the audience, ha-ha.
This album became huge and his popularity grew even more, but it soon would ring in dark times for Johnny Winter, as his momentum was throttled down hard as he sank into heroin addiction during the “Johnny Winter And” days. He did, however, seek treatment for his addiction and eventually recovered.
In 1972, friends and I went to a huge pop festival which had a diverse lineup from, “The Allman Brothers,” “John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra,” “Edgar Winter and White Trash” and others. Although it was a great mix, and was, for a musician like myself, a tasty smorgasbord, I really wanted to go and see “The Edgar Winter and White Trash” group. They had released a kicking combination of Funk, Blues, R&B, Rock & Roll and Gospel album that same year.
On the way to the concert, we heard on the radio from the DJ broadcasting that there was a rumor flying around that Johnny Winter was going to make a special appearance with Edgar’s group. To hear this made it more awesome to me, because, ever since we had heard of his entering a drug rehab, there was little news as to what was going to come out of JW, so this was very exciting. This would also be another first for us; “Johnny Winter And Live,” recorded at Pirates World 1970, and Johnny’s return to the stage, again in South Florida at the Hollywood Sportatorium’s outdoor pop concert event (actually located on the adjacent, long-gone “Miami-Hollywood Speedway Park”—a popular drag strip back in the day). Either JW loved this town of ours for allowing us to be part of his personal journey in life or we were being lavished with gifts from above!
It was a very hot summer South Florida day, especially when you were in the middle of nowhere, with wide open space and no shade, I mean it was hot! No worries, there were plenty of cold drinks and good smoke to keep us in form. From early afternoon to late night, thousands of fans such as me speared through one act after another with anticipation of the two major acts that day; Edgar Winter and White Trash and the Allman Brothers. Of course, by this time everyone at the concert had heard there was a possibility the certainty of Johnny’s return this night. (This is how riots can happen—a rumor becomes a sure thing.) In any case, we all waited with excitement and were only willing to accept just that; his arrival to that stage, there, that night, and nothing less!
Now, as this was out of the ordinary for me to do, as I mentioned, due to not believing in this sort of nonsense, others, such as my musical friends who knew me well, thought this was definitely strange of me, for reasons relating to my rationality, yet their thinking made perfect sense. “Why do you have a Johnny Winter picture on the wall, and no drummers? Where are the pictures of drummers like John Bonham, Buddy Rich, etc? You are a drummer, not a guitarist!”
Well, how right they were, nevertheless, for some reason, I felt connected with this musician and what he brought—a fresh approach to the blues. To add, I have always been attracted to the guitar. I guess this stems from having played with my older brother who has been a guitarist for so many years. We both started around the same time and all we had was each other to play with in the very beginning, so I got very tuned in to having only that instrument playing along with me. In having been around it all of my life, I understand it very well, although I don’t play. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it is what it is.
I mention that I have always been a big blues fan, well, for this I have to thank my father. He introduced my brother and me to the blues at a very young age. He was also a very big fan, obviously! My father was not a musician, as were my brother and I; however, he was a great big fan of music, especially jazz, blues and later, all types of rock. Two of his favorite rock musicians and/or groups were Hendrix and ZZ Top.
With that being said, I was little different than my friends growing up in that era; not only liking rock, I loved blues and jazz. When I heard JW’s first record it was as if, in some way, returning back in time to that Delta-style blues of old with a little breath of fresh air added in from the new times, which was very relatable for me.
In those days, FM radio was considered underground and not yet mainstream, as it is today. Today, those that didn’t live in the ’60s and ’70s have no clue as to what I am referring to here, for all they have ever known is FM, or what I like better now, Sirius Radio. Sirius Radio is not as commercialized as FM has now become. Sirius, for me, is in some ways returning back to the underground times of FM. Nonetheless, back then, it was AM radio that dominated the airwaves, but, once FM stations got their teeth in, they soared high. This is the reverse of today, with AM on the back end of the radio spectrum.
Whenever you could get FM back in the day, it usually came across later at night and, little by little, it crept up in popularity amongst our generation, for which I have to give a lot of credit to the FM radio DJs. They would be playing dual roles; a full-time gig on AM in the day and, at night, part-timing on FM and playing the LP ("Long play”) versions of songs. The same songs being played in the daytime on AM radio, but were shortened for air play (45 rpm) version; approximately two minutes and forty seconds. In doing this, they were cutting out most of what we would consider “the good stuff.” The original recordings of most songs would extend from four minutes to ten minutes or even longer; “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (Iron Butterfly) was one of the longest studio rock song recordings at the time, a little longer than 17 minutes and cut down to two minutes and 53 seconds for the 45 rpm version played on AM radio.
So FM radio became popular by playing these long versions of songs for which we kept our ears glued to the radio in excitement. As time went on, it became the norm and, eventually, FM ate up AM. The rest, as they say, is history. With the help of FM radio, the music scene, and its artists, became ever more popular, as this was a great platform for concert promotions.
One night while driving around with my friends and listening to the radio, I heard a promotion about “Johnny Winter And” (Shortened from what was originally to be called “Johnny Winter and The McCoys” due to his backup band being from the line up of the band “The McCoys.” “The McCoys” were Rick Derringer and his brother Randy Z (drummer), their family name being Zehringer, along with bassist Randy Jo Hobbs). “Johnny Winter And” were coming to town at the ever-popular concert venue known as “Pirates World.” This place was only a few minutes from my house so, since it was possible to participate every weekend, I took full advantage.
When the news came from the radio of JW’s coming, I thought, “Finally, I’ll get up close to see the man!” And, as he would say, “AHHH-YEAHH!”
This was 1970 and my friends and I were right up front in the “pit,” as we called it, waiting with anticipation for their entry. Have to mention that, by this time, they had replaced Randy Z on the drums with Bobby Caldwell, for which I was tremendously pleased. This guy played his butt off and, not to mention, had a great foot (bass drum foot action), of which I had become a big fan since John Bonham’s (Led Zeppelin) admission, bringing the bass drum to the front of playing due to his phenomenal foot work on a single bass drum.
The concert started and it was incredible, to say the least. Not a shred of disappointment throughout the concert. Johnny laid some new songs on us and those from his previous albums, too. I remember his rendition of Rick Derringer’s composition “Rock-n-Roll Hoochie Koo.” It rocked the house down for sure. When Rick Derringer released it on his own a couple of years later, it lacked the same intensity of JW’s version.
On this particular 1970 tour, they had been recording a live album of the tour with some recordings taken from two venues; The Capital Theater in New York and Pirates World in Diana, Florida. You could say this pre-dates my first nationally-released records with my own band (Viktim) a few years later, because, if you listen close, you may hear me as one of the few thousand other fans in the audience, ha-ha.
This album became huge and his popularity grew even more, but it soon would ring in dark times for Johnny Winter, as his momentum was throttled down hard as he sank into heroin addiction during the “Johnny Winter And” days. He did, however, seek treatment for his addiction and eventually recovered.
In 1972, friends and I went to a huge pop festival which had a diverse lineup from, “The Allman Brothers,” “John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra,” “Edgar Winter and White Trash” and others. Although it was a great mix, and was, for a musician like myself, a tasty smorgasbord, I really wanted to go and see “The Edgar Winter and White Trash” group. They had released a kicking combination of Funk, Blues, R&B, Rock & Roll and Gospel album that same year.
On the way to the concert, we heard on the radio from the DJ broadcasting that there was a rumor flying around that Johnny Winter was going to make a special appearance with Edgar’s group. To hear this made it more awesome to me, because, ever since we had heard of his entering a drug rehab, there was little news as to what was going to come out of JW, so this was very exciting. This would also be another first for us; “Johnny Winter And Live,” recorded at Pirates World 1970, and Johnny’s return to the stage, again in South Florida at the Hollywood Sportatorium’s outdoor pop concert event (actually located on the adjacent, long-gone “Miami-Hollywood Speedway Park”—a popular drag strip back in the day). Either JW loved this town of ours for allowing us to be part of his personal journey in life or we were being lavished with gifts from above!
It was a very hot summer South Florida day, especially when you were in the middle of nowhere, with wide open space and no shade, I mean it was hot! No worries, there were plenty of cold drinks and good smoke to keep us in form. From early afternoon to late night, thousands of fans such as me speared through one act after another with anticipation of the two major acts that day; Edgar Winter and White Trash and the Allman Brothers. Of course, by this time everyone at the concert had heard there was a possibility the certainty of Johnny’s return this night. (This is how riots can happen—a rumor becomes a sure thing.) In any case, we all waited with excitement and were only willing to accept just that; his arrival to that stage, there, that night, and nothing less!
Ultimately Edgar’s group arrived on stage and performed, really sounding great. Roughly three songs in, and as you know, concert-going songs can be a lot lengthier than what you get on a record, yes, even longer than that of LP versions we were always delighted with on FM radio a couple of years earlier, people were screaming, “Where’s Johnny”?
With people screaming for Johnny, “Where is Johnny? We want Johnny.” so on and so forth, I figure that Edgar and the boys must have decided it was the proper time to make the announcement, “People keep asking me, ‘Where’s your brother, Johnny?’ “ (Fans go crazy, the anticipation of the next few words will decide the fate of tonight’s show; mayhem or exultation?) and, with the raising of Edgar’s right arm, he points to stage left, and out comes this tall, long-white-haired, skinny man as the thousands of people in the audience go wild and scream, “JOHNNY!!” Above them all, you could hear Johnny’s famous roar, “AHHHHYEAHHHH!!!”
And he did not disappoint—none whatsoever. This night Ronnie Montrose (Edgar’s guitarist), and an awesome guitar player, had to take a back seat to the man himself; John Dawson Winter III.
By 1973, Johnny Winter returned to the music scene and released a new album, “Still Alive and Well,” properly titled due to his battle with heroin addiction. The disc was a blend of blues and hard rock, as in the tradition of JW, and was well received. The title track was written by Rick Derringer, but, unfortunately, Derringer did not return on the road with him, nor did Bobby Caldwell.
A few years passed as I continued to buy JW’s records and go and see his concerts whenever I could. By now, I, too, was a fulltime musician and at most times when he was working, I was, as well. The difficulties of seeing him live became much harder, and so, I had to resort to listening to records or watching brief television appearances when possible.
1981 was a benchmark year for me and my band, Viktim. We had won a big band contest and, in so doing, we got the opportunity to open for a major act. There were other prizes, but the concert staging with a major act was important to us at that time, as this is what we were gearing ourselves for also; to be national recording artists with a good few years of concert touring and record sales, etc.
A couple weeks had passed when the contest promoters finally informed me of the date of the show in which we were to open for the major act. I asked, “Who will the major act be?”
The promoters responded, “None other than Johnny Winter.”
“Wait—wait a minute—did you just say Johnny Winter?”
“Yes! Don’t you want to play that show? Would you like another upcoming date instead?”
“No! Are you kidding? Don’t touch anything, this is great! Thanks, see you showtime.”
I hung up the phone and called my brother to inform him of the great news. By the way, the band Viktim with which I played back then, was a band my brother Rick (guitarist) and I had created, so not only did I have to tell him first before the other members, but, as a guitarist, he was also a big fan of JW.
Now here we are a few weeks later getting ready to share the stage with the man—Johnny Winter!
Showtime comes, we do our show, all is well and finally backstage I get to meet Johnny. Yeah, that’s right, I get to call him by his first name now, because we both get to be comrades for the night’s events.
We were introduced to each other and commenced a small conversation, with him thanking me for being a part of the night’s show and telling me how good we sounded and wishing us good luck in the future and hoped we could do this again in the coming years. It was not only great to be a part of this, but also to hear this man being somewhat humble towards us.
I have to say that when I met him, Johnny was a lot skinnier up close and personal. His hand, when we shook, was like holding onto a skeleton, cold and very bony. His albino, very white skin and hair, and his barely open eyes due to the light, for Albinos are very sensitive to it, made him seem frailer than when he was on stage. He also had a very soft spoken voice, contrary to that which you heard on stage, strong, forceful and gravelly.
So now my journey had made a full circle; a man and music I had cherished and followed throughout his concerts and records were now sharing the same stage with us—together as one.
As years have passed, I have had the pleasure of sharing many upon many a stage with other big musicians, but with only a couple of exceptions, little has come close to the pleasure of this experience.
It was a sad day when I heard the news of his passing a few weeks ago. The music world lost a great icon, yet, I thank God for his legacy, both the records that he left behind to remind us of his greatness and the many musicians who continue to be influenced by him.
I am also thankful for the time I got to share the stage with a man I admired so much. He will surely be missed. Rest in Peace, Johnny…
Serge Dilorenzo
With people screaming for Johnny, “Where is Johnny? We want Johnny.” so on and so forth, I figure that Edgar and the boys must have decided it was the proper time to make the announcement, “People keep asking me, ‘Where’s your brother, Johnny?’ “ (Fans go crazy, the anticipation of the next few words will decide the fate of tonight’s show; mayhem or exultation?) and, with the raising of Edgar’s right arm, he points to stage left, and out comes this tall, long-white-haired, skinny man as the thousands of people in the audience go wild and scream, “JOHNNY!!” Above them all, you could hear Johnny’s famous roar, “AHHHHYEAHHHH!!!”
And he did not disappoint—none whatsoever. This night Ronnie Montrose (Edgar’s guitarist), and an awesome guitar player, had to take a back seat to the man himself; John Dawson Winter III.
By 1973, Johnny Winter returned to the music scene and released a new album, “Still Alive and Well,” properly titled due to his battle with heroin addiction. The disc was a blend of blues and hard rock, as in the tradition of JW, and was well received. The title track was written by Rick Derringer, but, unfortunately, Derringer did not return on the road with him, nor did Bobby Caldwell.
A few years passed as I continued to buy JW’s records and go and see his concerts whenever I could. By now, I, too, was a fulltime musician and at most times when he was working, I was, as well. The difficulties of seeing him live became much harder, and so, I had to resort to listening to records or watching brief television appearances when possible.
1981 was a benchmark year for me and my band, Viktim. We had won a big band contest and, in so doing, we got the opportunity to open for a major act. There were other prizes, but the concert staging with a major act was important to us at that time, as this is what we were gearing ourselves for also; to be national recording artists with a good few years of concert touring and record sales, etc.
A couple weeks had passed when the contest promoters finally informed me of the date of the show in which we were to open for the major act. I asked, “Who will the major act be?”
The promoters responded, “None other than Johnny Winter.”
“Wait—wait a minute—did you just say Johnny Winter?”
“Yes! Don’t you want to play that show? Would you like another upcoming date instead?”
“No! Are you kidding? Don’t touch anything, this is great! Thanks, see you showtime.”
I hung up the phone and called my brother to inform him of the great news. By the way, the band Viktim with which I played back then, was a band my brother Rick (guitarist) and I had created, so not only did I have to tell him first before the other members, but, as a guitarist, he was also a big fan of JW.
Now here we are a few weeks later getting ready to share the stage with the man—Johnny Winter!
Showtime comes, we do our show, all is well and finally backstage I get to meet Johnny. Yeah, that’s right, I get to call him by his first name now, because we both get to be comrades for the night’s events.
We were introduced to each other and commenced a small conversation, with him thanking me for being a part of the night’s show and telling me how good we sounded and wishing us good luck in the future and hoped we could do this again in the coming years. It was not only great to be a part of this, but also to hear this man being somewhat humble towards us.
I have to say that when I met him, Johnny was a lot skinnier up close and personal. His hand, when we shook, was like holding onto a skeleton, cold and very bony. His albino, very white skin and hair, and his barely open eyes due to the light, for Albinos are very sensitive to it, made him seem frailer than when he was on stage. He also had a very soft spoken voice, contrary to that which you heard on stage, strong, forceful and gravelly.
So now my journey had made a full circle; a man and music I had cherished and followed throughout his concerts and records were now sharing the same stage with us—together as one.
As years have passed, I have had the pleasure of sharing many upon many a stage with other big musicians, but with only a couple of exceptions, little has come close to the pleasure of this experience.
It was a sad day when I heard the news of his passing a few weeks ago. The music world lost a great icon, yet, I thank God for his legacy, both the records that he left behind to remind us of his greatness and the many musicians who continue to be influenced by him.
I am also thankful for the time I got to share the stage with a man I admired so much. He will surely be missed. Rest in Peace, Johnny…
Serge Dilorenzo