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.
Boney Maroney
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You always see her dancing with her blue jeans on
Yeah, she ain't no fat, just skin and bones
And I love her and she loves me
Oh, how happy now we can be
Makin' love underneath the apple tree
Whew, yeah
Oh, her mama and her papa too
Just say exactly what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna get married on a night in June
And we'll rock and roll by the light of the moon
And I love her and she loves me
Oh, how happy now we can be
Makin' love underneath the apple tree
Yeah, I wanna make love to you
Come over, yeah, here we go now
Ow, so fast baby, she's my heart's desire
She's a real up setter, she's a real live wire
Now we're gonna get married on a night in June
Yeah, we'll scream and howl at the light of the moon
Now I love her and she loves me
Oh, how happy now we can be
Makin' love underneath the apple tree
Makin' love, makin' love, makin' love, makin' love
Whoa, yeah, come on over, baby
Yeah, I'm coming to get you honey
Oh yeah, yeah
The lyrics of Johnny Winter’s song “Boney Maroney” revolve around a love story between the singer and a girl who is notably skinny. The song opens with three lines describing the girl’s physique. Despite her thin frame, the singer declares his love for her, and he claims that she loves him too. The couple envisions a happy future together, making love underneath an apple tree. They plan to get married in June, but the girl’s parents are apprehensive about the marriage, and the singer vows to convince them otherwise. The song concludes on a hopeful note, with the couple enthusiastically making plans for their future together.
On the surface, the song may seem like a simple love song. However, there are some nuances that can be interpreted as suggestive or even controversial. The line “makin’ love underneath the apple tree” can be perceived as a euphemism for sexual activity, and the romanticization of skinny bodies may be seen as problematic. Nonetheless, the song is mostly light-hearted and upbeat, and it captures the essence of a joyful, carefree love affair in the 1950s.
Line by Line Meaning
She's as skinny as a stick of macaroni
She's incredibly thin, almost like a stick of macaroni.
You always see her dancing with her blue jeans on
It seems like whenever she's dancing, she's wearing blue jeans.
Yeah, she ain't no fat, just skin and bones
Although she's barely got any flesh on her, she's incredibly beautiful and attractive.
And I love her and she loves me
She and I share a mutual love for each other.
Oh, how happy now we can be
We can now be incredibly happy together.
Makin' love underneath the apple tree
We'll let our passion run wild in the outdoors, beneath the shade of an apple tree.
Oh, her mama and her papa too
Her parents, both her mother and father, know exactly what I'm planning.
Just say exactly what I'm gonna do
They know exactly what I'm going to do, without me needing to say it.
I'm gonna get married on a night in June
We've decided to get married on a beautiful summer night in June.
And we'll rock and roll by the light of the moon
We'll dance the night away to some passionate rock and roll music, beneath the light of the moon.
Yeah, I wanna make love to you
I am desperately attracted to you, and want to be intimate with you.
Come over, yeah, here we go now
Let's get together and indulge in our passion and love for each other.
Ow, so fast baby, she's my heart's desire
I can't get enough of her- I want to love her as much and as fast as possible.
She's a real up setter, she's a real live wire
She's full of energy and enthusiasm, and she sets the mood alight when she's around.
Now we're gonna get married on a night in June
We've thoroughly decided- we'll definitely get married on a summer night in June.
Yeah, we'll scream and howl at the light of the moon
We'll let all our joy and passion out as we bask in the light of the beautiful moon.
Makin' love, makin' love, makin' love, makin' love
We'll continue expressing our love and intimacy as we celebrate our union together.
Whoa, yeah, come on over, baby
I can't wait any longer- come to me, my love.
Yeah, I'm coming to get you honey
I'll come and make you mine, my darling.
Oh yeah, yeah
I'm so excited about what the future holds for us, my love.
Contributed by Dominic I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Albert-Mag...
.....It's a privilege for us to see this Musician who rose to fame and stardom during the Psychodelic 60's and 70's era of Rock music, on a stage and doing what he has loved all of his life, to interact with the audience in a positive feedback loop interacting with the audience.
.....One of my greatest rock heroes Mr Johnny Winter did his last show while old to even stand anymore a mear shadow of his former great self ..but you know what ?? It was him, man ..
.....The same guy that I saw in the Vancouver coliseum back in the 70's bogin a joint behind the speaker stack while getting his intro,
....I also saw Johnny at the commodore ballroom on Grandville in Vancouver I went Saturday and Sunday first nite.
..... I shot 100 ASA with flash while standing in the very front of the stage, Johnny stayed far away from me, and my flash being an albino He really didn't like it,
....The second nite I switched to 400 ASA no flash, Johnny came right in front of me standing front and centre, The photo's were outstanding...
..... My biggest thrill I had was the second evening after doing his final set and the crowd got him to come back out for an encore ...
.... he comes out, walks up to his mike, I was standing directly in front of him, a few feet away.
....He begins to talk into the mike "" OK NOW WERE GOING TO DO A LITTLE SONG CALLED''
at that exact moment I yelled up to him '' Bony moronie '' HE LOOKED DOWN AT ME AND YELLED INTO THE MIKE '' Bony moronie'' THEN proceeded to play the shit outta that song ...
.... Interacting with one of my greatest Rock Idles was truly one of the high points of my concert experiences.
...Perhaps one of the greatest examples of a positive feedback loop between a band and its audience
Was Freddy Mercury and Queens set at the Live Aid- concert..."Radio Ga Ga" was pure magic ....I'm getting a little long in the tooth ..Beter wrap it up ....
......Any more fine experiences or examples I'd love to hear about them....Cheers ...and good years ...
@johnny-r
This song and this album have been blowing my mind since I was a stoner in the 70s. Johnny was peerless and unmatched.
@kevinharvey2060
Got this album in 1974. Still have it.
@user-qw6po3km3w
I bought this twice on vinyl,and once on cd
@Bopalena
Why aren't you a stoner anymore?
@johnny-r
@@Bopalena I had to grow up - but I did so with protest.
@marcusbuckner5582
See above comment
Get toasted on some JW!
@jflash3451
I used play this song over and over on vinyl. always got chills during his leads. truly one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
@michaelmaness4579
RIP Mr. Winter. Thank you for decades of amazing music.
@johnrasenas2458
any assholes out there who dont think johnny winter is one of the best blues/rock guitarist of all time. johnny also was a very humble man. love his firebird collection! rock on and r.i.p. your legend will live on forever!!!!!!!
@peterhuskisson5122
Yeah Baby!!!!