PASSINGS
John Dawson Winter III (1944 - 2014)
Way back during my high school days in
the 1970s, music became much more to me than just something I enjoyed. It became my life. I just couldn't get enough. I loved every- thing from Deep Purple to Alice Cooper, from Arlo Guthrie to Merle Haggard. One of the top five acts in my book was Johnny Win- ter. To be honest, Johnny and his brother Edgar Winter shared a very special place in my heart and soul. My bedroom at my parents’ house look like a museum of rock 'n roll. Among all the posters, black lights, and stereo equipment hung a huge black and white poster of Johnny Winter. That thing must have been four feet tall. It was a straight on shot of Johnny blazing across the fret board, circa 1971. During a two-year period in the early-70s,
Johnny Winter released three albums that would forever change and influence my musi- cal perceptions. First came Still Alive and Well, followed by Saints and Sinners, and then John Dawson Winter III. I loved the
rocking cover of The Stones “Silver Train,” and the country – yes, country- “It Ain’t Nothin’ to Me.” The title track of “Still Alive and Well” was a rocker, as were songs like “Stone County.” “Cheap Tequila” was another favorite. Heck, I loved ‘em all. I played those LPs endlessly. I had never, ever heard a guitar played like that. But with these albums, Johnny Win- ter also managed to teach me something brand-new. He taught me about the blues. Prior to my discov-
ery of Johnny, I had not been exposed to blues much at all. My parents were country music fans, and I kind of sought out hard-hitting rock and Top 40 tunes. Then I heard “Too Much
Seconal,” and “Sweet Papa John.” I began reading the interviews in the Creemand Cir- cusmagazines in which Johnny expounded upon his love of the blues. I learned about the albums that came before these three, includ- ing an epic work called The Progressive Blues Experiment. A couple of years later Johnny started touring and recording with the great Muddy
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