Johnny Winter
JOHNNY WINTER
A blond, bombshell of a blues guitarist, Johnny Winter burst out of Beaumont, Texas into the rock 'n' roll arena after a 1968 article in Rolling Stone magazine. Though he and his brother Edgar had been playing around Texas and recording together since the late '50s, it was his self-titled debut release on Columbia that took him to the charts in 1969 and on the national touring circuit. Winter's sound was raw but rockin', drawing fans from both the Muddy Waters blues camp and that of the Rolling Stones, Cream, and John Mayall. Since those heady days Winter has returned to a rootsier blues sound through his Alligator and Point Blank recordings. You can now experience both stages of Winter's career in two compilations, Columbia's The Best of Johnny Winter and Alligator Records' Johnny Winter Deluxe. As Winter tells bn.com contributor Roberta Penn, he's still commited to the blues.
B&N.com: Did you know both compilations were coming out at almost the exact same time?
JW: Yeah, I did. And I'm really glad because this way I can get as much exposure as possible.
B&N.com: Which one best reflects you?
JW: The Alligator one is closest to what I'm doing right now. But I haven't finished my new Point Blank recording, and until they're finished you can never tell which way they'll go.
B&N.com: The Columbia compilation presents the arena rock side of your career while the Alligator one shows your roadhouse playing. Do you personally prefer one of the compilations over the other?
JW: No, I like both of them.
B&N.com: Did you want your career to go in those two paths, or did the record companies give you a push?
JW: I got a little shove to play more rock 'n' roll when I first started with Columbia. It was the right thing to do at the time, because blues had reached a big peak and people were just tired of it.
B&N.com: Is there much other unreleased material of yours in either the Columbia or Alligator vaults?
JW: Very little. And I'm glad. I would rather focus on what I'm doing now.
B&N.com: Where was your heart when you signed on with Alligator?
JW: I wanted to go back to doing straight blues. Bruce [Iglauer, owner of Alligator Records] did pressure me to do a little bit more commercial stuff. I made it real clear I didn't want to do that.
B&N.com: Why has it taken three years for you to come out with a new release on Point Blank?
JW: I just haven't done anything I've wanted to do.
B&N.com: What is it you want to do?
JW: I just want to keep doing blues, Chicago blues, my favorite kind of blues.
B&N.com: Are you touring much these days?
JW: Not as much as usual. I broke my hip about a year ago. I was asleep, got up to go to the bathroom, and stepped right off the staircase. I didn't go to the hospital until a couple of days later. I'm still in pain so I'm having a plate and some pins taken out this month. Now I'll have to take some time off after that.
B&N.com: What have you been doing with all that recovery time on your hands?
JW: I watch a lot of TV, mainly on Nick at Night. I like the reruns of All in the Family and The Jeffersons.
B&N.com: When you were coming up there were dozens of older blues players around and you worked with many of them, like Muddy Waters. Does it seem sort of lonely out there now?
JW: Yes, it does. I miss them. I liked having father figures out there, but there just aren't any out there anymore.
B&N.com: Is there anybody you've been listening to lately that you really like?
JW: I don't listen to much music. But when I do it's like Muddy Waters and Bobby "Blue" Bland. I like Bobby's old stuff, "Further On Up the Road," "I Smell Trouble," and "Little Boy Blue." I'll probably put some of that soul stuff on my next record. Oh, and I like Charlie Musselwhite a lot.
B&N.com: What do you see as the future of the blues?
JW: I don't know. I think it will always be around, though. They say it's dead, but I don't think it will ever die. Somebody will be doing it.
B&N.com: Since you left Texas you've never moved back there -- why not?
JW: I came up here to New York in 1969. All my business connections are up North and there are lot of good players around here, too. There's no reason to go back to Texas.
B&N.com: You lived in New York City for some 25 years, but now you live in the woods. Was that move strange for you?
JW: I missed the city at first. But now we have deer coming through the yard, and it's really nice. I still go the city every couple of weeks.
B&N.com: Is there something that you've always wanted to do musically that you haven't yet tried?
JW: No. If I think of things I want to do, I do 'em.
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