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.
Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw a woman walkin' in the sand.
She'd be walking thirty miles en route to bombay
To meet a brown eyed handsome man,
Her destination was a brown eyed handsome man.
Way back in history three thousand years,
In fact ever since the world began,
Over a brown eyed handsome man,
A lot of trouble was a brown eyed handsome man.
Well -
Well, the milo de venus was a beautiful lass,
She had the world in the palm of her hand
She lost both her arms in a wrestling match
To win a brown eyed handsome man,
She fought and won herself a brown eyed handsome man.
Well, a beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
Between a doctor and a lawyer man.
Her mother told her daughter go out and find yourself
A brown eyed handsome man,
Just like your daddy was, a brown eyed handsome man.
Well -
Oh-ho!
Well, a two, three the count with nobody home
He hit a hi'flyer into the stand.
A rounded third he was a-headin' for home
It was a brown eyed handsome man that won the game.
It was a brown eyed handsome man.
It was a brown eyed handsome man.
In Johnny Winter's song Brown Eyed Handsome Man, the singer tells the story of different women who are all traveling, fighting or searching for a "brown eyed handsome man". The first woman in the song is walking across the desert to meet him, and the second woman, Milo de Venus, lost both her arms in a wrestling match to win him over. The singer also refers to a long history of women being attracted to and shedding tears for this type of man. Furthermore, a beautiful daughter is advised by her mother to find herself a brown eyed handsome man, just like her father.
Essentially, the song is a celebration of the attractiveness and charm of brown-eyed men from the past to the present day. Johnny Winter makes a statement that these men have been sought after by women for thousands of years, and it seems like nothing has changed. The catchy melody and upbeat rhythm of the song provide a fitting accompaniment for the entertaining and playful lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, flying across the desert in a twa,
I was flying over the desert in a TWA airplane.
I saw a woman walkin' in the sand.
I saw a woman walking in the sand.
She'd be walking thirty miles en route to bombay
She had already walked thirty miles and was headed to Bombay.
To meet a brown eyed handsome man,
To meet a man with brown eyes who was handsome.
Her destination was a brown eyed handsome man.
She was traveling to meet a man with brown eyes who was handsome.
Way back in history three thousand years,
Three thousand years ago in history,
In fact ever since the world began,
In fact, since the beginning of the world,
There's been a whole lotta good women shedding tears
Many good women have shed a lot of tears
Over a brown eyed handsome man,
Over a man with brown eyes who was handsome.
A lot of trouble was a brown eyed handsome man.
A man with brown eyes who was handsome caused a lot of trouble.
Well -
Well,
Well, the milo de venus was a beautiful lass,
Milo de Venus was a beautiful young lady.
She had the world in the palm of her hand
She had a lot of control over the world.
She lost both her arms in a wrestling match
She lost both her arms while wrestling.
To win a brown eyed handsome man,
To win the affections of a man with brown eyes who was handsome.
She fought and won herself a brown eyed handsome man.
She fought hard and won the love of a man with brown eyes who was handsome.
Well, a beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
A beautiful daughter could not decide
Between a doctor and a lawyer man.
Between marrying a doctor or a lawyer.
Her mother told her daughter go out and find yourself
Her mother told her daughter to go and find
A brown eyed handsome man,
A man with brown eyes who was handsome.
Just like your daddy was, a brown eyed handsome man.
Just like the girl's father, who was a man with brown eyes and was handsome.
Well -
Well,
Oh-ho!
Oh-ho!
Well, a two, three the count with nobody home
There was a two and three count with nobody on base.
He hit a hi'flyer into the stand.
He hit a high fly ball into the stands.
A rounded third he was a-headin' for home
He rounded third base and was heading for home plate.
It was a brown eyed handsome man that won the game.
A man with brown eyes who was handsome won the game.
It was a brown eyed handsome man.
It was a man with brown eyes who was handsome.
Writer(s): CHUCK BERRY
Contributed by Camilla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.