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.
Blues This Bad
Johnny Winter Lyrics
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I woke up this morning, with something that I've never had
I've had the blues before but I've never had the blues, I've never had the blues this bad
Everyone that I talk to, everybody feelin' down and out
Everyone that I talk to, everybody feelin' down and out
Everybody's got an answer but nobody really knows, nobody really knows what it's all about
There ain't no drugs can help me, my baby she can't ease my mind
I don't even know what hit me but I just have to keep on, I just have to keep on, keep on tryin'
Tables don't stop turnin', who knows what we're headed for
Tables don't stop turnin', who knows what we're headed for
Nothin' I say or do, ain't gonna mean a thing, ain't gonna mean a thing and that's for sure
The song "Blues This Bad" by Johnny Winter is a classic blues track that embodies a feeling of helplessness and despair. The song begins with Winter admitting that he woke up feeling different than he ever had before. He had experienced the blues before, but never this bad. It's a universal feeling that anyone who has ever been down and out can relate to.
Winter then goes on to describe how he talks to everyone he knows and they are all feeling down and out as well. Everyone's got an answer, but nobody knows what it's all about. The idea is that everyone has experienced feeling down, but it's impossible to truly understand the pain that someone is going through.
Winter then confesses that even his partner can't ease his mind, and no amount of drugs can help him. He doesn't even know what hit him, but he just has to keep trying to get through it.
The song ends with the idea that even though the world keeps turning and changing, it won't make a difference to those struggling with the blues. It's a heartbreaking sentiment, but one that many people can relate to.
Overall, "Blues This Bad" is a song about the struggle with depression and feeling lost, and the feeling that nobody truly understands what you're going through.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up this morning, with something that I've never had
I woke up this morning, feeling a sense of blues that I've never felt before
I've had the blues before but I've never had the blues, I've never had the blues this bad
Although I've felt the blues before, I've never felt it this intensely
Everyone that I talk to, everybody feelin' down and out
Every person I encounter is experiencing a sense of depression and despair
Everybody's got an answer but nobody really knows, nobody really knows what it's all about
People try to provide solutions, but nobody actually understands the root of the problem
There ain't no drugs can help me, my baby she can't ease my mind
Neither drugs nor my partner can alleviate my emotional pain
I don't even know what hit me but I just have to keep on, I just have to keep on, keep on tryin'
I cannot identify what caused this depression, but I must persist in trying to overcome it
Tables don't stop turnin', who knows what we're headed for
Life goes on despite our struggles and hardships, and the future is uncertain
Nothin' I say or do, ain't gonna mean a thing, ain't gonna mean a thing and that's for sure
Regardless of my actions or words, it will not make a difference in my emotional state
Lyrics © Royalty Network
Written by: JON PARIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind