Johnny Winter, along with his brother Edgar Winter, were nurtured at an early age by their parents in musical pursuits. Both he and his brother, who were born with albinism, began performing at an early age. When he was ten-years old, Winter appeared on a local children's show, playing ukelele and singing Everly Brothers songs with his brother.
His recording career began at the age of fifteen, when his 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 the early days Winter would sometimes sit in with Roy Head and The Traits when they performed in the Beaumont, Texas area, and in 1967, Winter recorded a single with The Traits: "Tramp" backed with "Parchman Farm" (Universal Records 30496). In 1968, he released his first album The Progressive Blues Experiment, on Austin's Sonobeat Records.
Winter caught his biggest break in December 1968, when Mike Bloomfield, whom he met and jammed with in Chicago, invited him to sing and play a song during a Bloomfield and Al Kooper concert at the Fillmore East in New York. As it happened, representatives of Columbia Records (which had released the Top Ten Bloomfield/Kooper Super Session album) were at the concert. Winter played and sang B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault" to loud applause and, within a few days, was signed to reportedly what was then the largest advance in the history of the recording industry–$600,000.
Winter's first Columbia album, Johnny Winter was recorded and released in 1969. It featured the same backing musicians with whom he recorded The Progressive Blues Experiment, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Uncle John Turner, plus Edgar Winter on keyboards and saxophone, and (for his "Mean Mistreater") blues legends Willie Dixon on upright bass and Big Walter Horton on harmonica. The album featured a few selections that became Winter signature songs, including his composition "Dallas" (an acoustic blues, on which Winter played a steel-bodied, resonator guitar), John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Good Morning Little School Girl", and B.B. King's "Be Careful With A Fool".
The album's success coincided with Imperial Records picking up The Progressive Blues Experiment for wider release. The same year, the Winter trio toured and performed at several rock festivals, including Woodstock. With brother Edgar added as a full member of the group, Winter also recorded his second album, Second Winter in Nashville in 1969. The two-record album, which only had three recorded sides (the fourth was blank), introduced a couple more staples of Winter's concerts, including Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited".
In 1984, Winter began recording for several labels, including Alligator Records and Point Blank Records, where he has focused on blues-oriented material. He continues to perform live, including festivals throughout North America and Europe. Winter has headlined such prestigious events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Swedish Rock Fest, Warren Haynes X-mas jam, and Europe’s Rockpalast. He also performed with the Allman Brothers at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on the 40th anniversary of their debut. In 2007 and 2010, Winter performed at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festivals. Two guitar instructional DVDs have been produced by Cherry Lane Music and the Hal Leonard Corporation. The Gibson Guitar Company released the signature Johnny Winter Firebird guitar in a ceremony in Nashville with Slash presenting.
In 2004, Winter received a Grammy nomination for his I’m a Bluesman album. Backing him are guitarist Paul Nelson, bassist Scott Spray, and drummer Vito Liuzzi. Beginning in 2007, a series of live Winter albums titled the Live Bootleg Series and a live DVD have all entered the Top 10 Billboard Blues charts. In 2009, The Woodstock Experience album was released, which includes eight songs that Winter performed at the 1969 festival. Johnny Winter is signed to Megaforce Records, who will release a new studio album titled Roots on September 27, 2011. It will include Winter's interpretation of eleven early blues and rock 'n' roll classics and feature several guest artists.
Winter produced three Grammy Award-winning albums by Muddy Waters, Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978), and Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). Several Winter albums were also nominated for Grammy Awards. In 1980, Winter was on the cover of the first issue of Guitar World and in 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.
Avocado Green
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please listen to me
She's gone this time for good now
That's not where she's supposed to be
The Greyhound man he took her
To where she can't be seen
Am I gonna need her?
Sure you say I should face it
But the wound is open wide
And it's really hard to replace it
When she's the only thing I've ever tried
Several of my two friends
Wrote to me about how
They seen ya out with bookends
How many can you take on now?
I got the police ridin'
Around and in between
Were you safely hidin'
As an avocado green?
Matter of factly speakin'
I'm suffering but please don't tell
At lunch I was caught sneakin'
To get a drink at the big blue inkwell
But tomorrow I can kick it
For my horoscope plainly reveals
I'm gonna inherit a fortune
But not to spend it on an African seal
Well baby, you're not with me
And I didn't wanna be mean
But do they call it envy
If an avocado's green?
In "Avocado Green" by Johnny Winter, the singer is facing the pain of heartbreak and the uncertainty of the future without his partner. He feels like he is in a "grey" area, lost and unsure, because she has left him and he doesn't know where she is. He wonders if he will need her like he needs the color avocado green, which is uncertain because it seems like she is gone for good this time. Although people have told him to move on, it is hard because she is the only person he has ever loved. The singer has received letters from friends telling him they've seen her out with other people, and he suspects she might be hiding from him, perhaps in an avocado green place. He is suffering but trying not to show it to others. He is relying on his horoscope, which reveals that he will inherit a fortune, but he knows this wealth wouldn't be used to buy an expensive item like an African seal. He concludes by questioning whether his feelings of envy are similar to the green of an avocado.
The song could be interpreted in many ways, as the lyrics are filled with symbolism, abstract language, and metaphors. One possible interpretation is that the color avocado green represents the singer's uncertainty and his longing for his lost lover. It could also represent a place of safety or a happy memory that he associates with his partner. The color green is often associated with hope, growth, and life, and by making it avocado green, the singer may be trying to emphasize that it isn't your typical bright, happy green, but rather a murky and uncertain shade.
Line by Line Meaning
Gentlemen and ladies
Attention please, everyone
Please listen to me
I have something important to say
She's gone this time for good now
My girlfriend has left me for good
That's not where she's supposed to be
I expected her to stay with me
The Greyhound man he took her
She left town on a Greyhound bus
To where she can't be seen
I don't know where she went
Am I gonna need her?
Do I still want to be with her?
Is an avocado green?
Do I even know what I want?
Sure you say I should face it
People are telling me to move on
But the wound is open wide
It hurts too much to let go
And it's really hard to replace it
She was my one and only love
When she's the only thing I've ever tried
I have never loved anyone else
Several of my two friends
Some of my friends told me
Wrote to me about how
They wrote to tell me
They seen ya out with bookends
They saw you with other women
How many can you take on now?
How many women can you handle?
I got the police ridin'
I have the police looking for you
Around and in between
Everywhere you might be hiding
Were you safely hidin'
Are you hiding out of fear of getting caught?
As an avocado green?
Is your fear making you indecisive, like the color green?
Matter of factly speakin'
To be honest
I'm suffering but please don't tell
I am going through a tough time
At lunch I was caught sneakin'
I was caught drinking at work
To get a drink at the big blue inkwell
I went to the water cooler to get a drink
But tomorrow I can kick it
I can change tomorrow
For my horoscope plainly reveals
According to my horoscope
I'm gonna inherit a fortune
I'm going to become rich
But not to spend it on an African seal
But I don't know how to spend my money
Well baby, you're not with me
Dear ex-girlfriend, you have left me
And I didn't wanna be mean
I didn't mean to be rude
But do they call it envy
Is it wrong to feel jealous?
If an avocado's green?
Just like the indecisive avocado color, am I also indecisive?
Contributed by Benjamin M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ
Johnny Winter Lyrics
"Avocado Green"
Gentlemen and ladies
Please listen to me
She's gone this time for good now
That's not where she's supposed to be
The Greyhound man he took her
To where she can't be seen
Am I gonna need her?
Is an avocado green?
Sure you say I should face it
But the wound is open wide
And it's really hard to replace it
When she's the only thing I've ever tried
Several of my two friends
Wrote to me about how
They seen ya out with bookends
How many can you take on now?
I got the police ridin'
Around and in between
Were you safely hidin'
As an avocado green?
Matter of factly speakin'
I'm suffering but please don't tell
At lunch I was caught sneakin'
To get a drink at the big blue inkwell
But tomorrow I can kick it
For my horoscope plainly reveals
I'm gonna inherit a fortune
But not to spend it on an African seal
Well baby, you're not with me
And I didn't wanna be mean
But do they call it envy
If an avocado's green?
Eltamir
Brother Edgar's organ is classic. A little Bob Dylan/Al Kooper influence perhaps?
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ
Johnny Winter Lyrics
"Avocado Green"
Gentlemen and ladies
Please listen to me
She's gone this time for good now
That's not where she's supposed to be
The Greyhound man he took her
To where she can't be seen
Am I gonna need her?
Is an avocado green?
Sure you say I should face it
But the wound is open wide
And it's really hard to replace it
When she's the only thing I've ever tried
Several of my two friends
Wrote to me about how
They seen ya out with bookends
How many can you take on now?
I got the police ridin'
Around and in between
Were you safely hidin'
As an avocado green?
Matter of factly speakin'
I'm suffering but please don't tell
At lunch I was caught sneakin'
To get a drink at the big blue inkwell
But tomorrow I can kick it
For my horoscope plainly reveals
I'm gonna inherit a fortune
But not to spend it on an African seal
Well baby, you're not with me
And I didn't wanna be mean
But do they call it envy
If an avocado's green?
Michael Emory
I bought the album “About Blues,…” decades ago and was at first disappointed to not hear more hard rock. But one more listen and it has been a favorite. “Avocado Green” such a smooth tune.
Lia Pamina
Very cool song wrote by Robbie Leff, he is GREAT!
Martin Beasley
An astonishing song. I first heard it about 30 years ago and its had me puzzled ever since. Is there really line "......not to spend it on an African Seal"? Eh! Can anyone tell me what its all about or direct me to the written lyrics.
Gehege Drei
His finest hour? Maybe. His funniest hour? Absolutely.
TheNoncritical1
"Do they call it envy when an avocado's green?" A brilliant take-off of Dylan, whom I'm sure appreciated the ribbing.
katscave7171
love this very special...
InlinePaul
Johnny did this song as a sort of playful spoof on Dylan, whom he held in high regard.
Attila shrugs
I had to check to see if this was not Dylan! Ha ha what a parody!