Johnny winter biography birthday wishes

When Johnny put himself into the River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans for heroin addiction in June 1971, celebrities didn’t get treatment for alcohol and drug addiction and rehab facilities catering to them didn’t exist.

One music magazine reporting Johnny’s hiatus from touring referred to him as a “frail Texas albino bluesman-turned-rock-superstar-turned-mental-hospital-inmate.” But Johnny saw what drugs had done to his lover Janis Joplin and his friend Jimi Hendrix, and “went for help because I didn’t want to die.”

He kicked heroin cold turkey and suffered through three months of physical withdrawal and another three months of psychological withdrawal. “The mental part was the worst part,” he said. “When you’re tryin’ to get off of heroin, it messes with your head. It’s horrible, just horrible.” Not being able to play guitar was extremely difficult, so as soon as he earned passes to leave the hospital, he sat in with a rock band named Thunderhead. The friendships forged during that dark period of his life led to musical collaborations with guitarist Pat Rush and drummer Bobby T (Torello) who became a lifelong friend.

Johnny’s resolve to stay away from heroin led to an increase in his drinking, which he tried to curtail by drinking liquor that he didn’t like. “I drank a lot of nasty-tasting things because I figured I wouldn’t drink so much. I drank bourbon and grapefruit juice. That must have been the worse possible combination and I still drank a lot of it. Scotch is nasty tasting too.”

In fact, a wild night in the French Quarter when Rush and Johnny attempted to sit in with a band was a result of drinking copious amounts of Chivas Regal scotch.

“We sat at a table at The Ivanhoe and Johnny leaned over and said, ‘Pat, promise me that you won’t let me get me get up an

HEY LOCO FANS – Happy Birthday to Texas Blues Legend Johnny Winter who was born this day in 1944! Winter was best known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Johnny Winter produced three Grammy Award-winning albums by Muddy Waters – Hard Again (1977), I’m Ready (1978), and Muddy “Mississippi” Waters – Live (1979). Several of Winter’s own albums were nominated for Grammy Awards – Guitar Slinger (1984) and Serious Business (1985) for Best Traditional Blues Album, and Let Me In (1991) and I’m a Bluesman (2004) for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

In 2015 Johnny Winter posthumously won the Grammy Award for Best Blues Album for Step Back. The album also won the 2015 Blues Music Award for Best Rock Blues Album. At the 18th Maple Blues Awards in 2015, Winter was also posthumously awarded the B.B. King International Artist of The Year Award.

In 1980, Winter was on the cover of the first issue of Guitar World. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the first non-African-American performer to be inducted into the Hall. In 2003, he was ranked 63rd in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

Johnny Winter was professionally active until the time of his death near Zürich, Switzerland, on July 16, 2014. He was found dead in his hotel room two days after his last performance.

Writing in Rolling Stone magazine, after Winter’s death, David Marchese said, “Winter was one of the first blues rock guitar virtuosos, releasing a string of popular and fiery albums in the late Sixties and early Seventies, becoming an arena-level concert draw in the process” … [Johnny Winter] “made an iconic life for himself by playing the blues”.

Had he lived, blues great Johnny Winter would have celebrated his 80th birthday on Friday, February 23. The Texas-born slide-guitar master passed away on July 16, 2014, at age 70 from emphysema combined with pneumonia.

Winter was renowned for his fiery slide-guitar skills, and was respected and admired by blues aficionados and his musical peers, alike, as well as his own heroes.

[RELATED: Ringo Starr, ZZ Top, Joe Walsh, and More Contribute to Johnny Winter Tribute Album]

While Winter amassed an impressive body of solo work, he also collaborated with many well-known artists. In honor of Winter’s milestone birthday, we’ve selected five interesting collaborations he recorded during his long career.

Jimi Hendrix – “Things I Used to Do” (1969, released 2018)

In May 1969, Winter headed into the New York City studio the Record Plant to record a version of the 1953 Guitar Slim tune “Things I Used to Do” with none other than Jimi Hendrix.

As great a guitarist as Hendrix was, Winter’s fluid slide playing truly shines through on the recording. A few months later, in August 1969, both Hendrix and Winter would play, separately, at the historic Woodstock festival.

The full version of “Things I Used to Do” wasn’t released until 2018, on the posthumous Hendrix compilation Both Sides of the Sky.

Gregg Allman – “Wasted Words” (1973, released in 2019)

In 1973, Winter took part in a recording session with Gregg Allman, playing impressive guitar on a version of Allman’s “Wasted Words.” The session also featured Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley and Band of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles. The Allman Brothers’ own version “Wasted Words” appeared on the group’s hit 1973 album Brothers and Sisters.

The version featuring Winter, however, didn’t see official light of day until 2019, when it was included on a deluxe reissue of Gregg’s 1973 solo debut, Laid Back.

Muddy Wat