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.
Blue Mood
Johnny Winter Lyrics
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I feel a blue mood coming on
Don't want to hear nobody talking
I just want to be alone
Every time I hear that music
It take me back to my old lady
Can't get my mind off that woman
I get a funny, funny kind of feeling
Like tear drops falling down inside
I guess I gotta keep on smiling
So folks will think I'm satisfied
Satisfied
The lyrics to Johnny Winter's song "Blue Mood" are about a man who is feeling down and experiencing a blue mood. The singer is contemplating going for a walk to be alone and not wanting to hear anyone talk. He finds that every time he hears music, he thinks about his old lady, and he cannot get her out of his head. This is causing him to feel somewhat crazy and full of anguish. Despite his pain, he tries to keep a smile on his face for others to see so that they will think he is happy and content.
The lyrics accurately depict the emotions of someone struggling with heartbreak and loss. The singer is stuck with memories of his old lady, and he can't shake the pain. He wants to be alone, but he doesn't want to be consumed by his thoughts. The song is heartbreaking yet truthful, speaking to the experience of anyone who has gone through a breakup. The line, "I guess I gotta keep on smiling / So folks will think I'm satisfied / Satisfied" is especially poignant - the singer wants to look joyful, but he knows that he is far from it.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess I'll have to go out walking
I must take a walk to clear my mind and lift my spirits.
I feel a blue mood coming on
I sense an oncoming melancholic state of mind.
Don't want to hear nobody talking
I desire solitude and do not want to engage in conversations.
I just want to be alone
I long for seclusion and want to be left to myself.
Every time I hear that music
Whenevr I listen to that melody,
It take me back to my old lady
it reminds me of my former lover.
Can't get my mind off that woman
I'm unable to stop thinking about my ex-partner.
Its about to drive me insane
This is driving me close to madness.
I get a funny, funny kind of feeling
I experience an unexplainable, peculiar sensation.
Like tear drops falling down inside
It feels like teardrops cascading within me.
I guess I gotta keep on smiling
I suppose I must strive to keep up appearances and project a cheerful persona.
So folks will think I'm satisfied
To avoid unwanted inquiries, I pretend to be content.
Satisfied
Despite my emotional turmoil, I pretend to be happy and fulfilled.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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