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.
Gone for Bad
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It makes me feel so sad
But I could tell them if I would
You're not gone for good
You're gone for bad [gone for bad]
You're gone for bad [gone for bad]
Yes I could tell them all
Tell them how I fell in love
Well it would hurt my pride [hurt my pride]
Nothing else calls that I still care
This pain is wrong and I feel bare
They say its wrong or would oh how I wish you had [wish you had]
No you're not gone for good, you're gone for bad [gone for bad]
Gone for bad [gone for bad]
My friends wouldn't call it good
If they only knew [If they knew]
You left me for a guy that never will love you [will love you]
But when he's gone you'll sit and cry
You'll feel alone the same as I
He'll be gone for good
But baby I'll be glad [I'll be glad]
Yes he'll be gone for good, and not for bad [gone for bad]
Gone for bad [gone for bad]
Gone for bad [gone for bad]
Gone for bad...
In Johnny Winter's song "Gone for Bad," the singer is speaking about a failed relationship, telling his friends that his love interest is not just gone, but "gone for bad." Instead of seeing the breakup as an end to the relationship, the singer believes that his love interest will eventually realize the mistake she's made and come back to him. The song is full of pain and longing, demonstrated through lyrics such as "The many nights I've cried," and "This pain is wrong and I feel bare." Despite being hurt, the singer still holds onto the hope that his love interest will eventually come back to him.
The song's chorus, "You're not gone for good, you're gone for bad," emphasizes that the relationship isn't over for the singer, despite what his friends may say. The line "He'll be gone for good, but baby I'll be glad," suggests that the singer doesn't believe his love interest's current relationship will last, and that it's only a matter of time before she returns to him.
Overall, "Gone for Bad" is a sad but hopeful song about a failed relationship. The singer's pain and longing are palpable, but his belief that his love interest will return to him keeps the mood from being entirely pessimistic.
Line by Line Meaning
My friends say your gone for good
People around me believe that you will never come back to me
It makes me feel so sad
I am deeply saddened by this thought
But I could tell them if I would
I have the power to explain things to them
You're not gone for good
You are not permanently gone from my life
You're gone for bad [gone for bad]
However, you left me for bad reasons and it hurts me deeply
Yes I could tell them all
I have the ability to tell everyone the true reason you left me
The many nights I've cried [nights I've cried]
I have spent countless nights crying over your departure
Tell them how I fell in love
I want to share the story of our love with everyone
Well it would hurt my pride [hurt my pride]
However, it would be too humiliating for me to reveal the details of our love story
Nothing else calls that I still care
Even though you left me, nothing can deny that I still love you
This pain is wrong and I feel bare
The pain of your departure is too much to bear
They say its wrong or would oh how I wish you had [wish you had]
People may have different opinions, but I still wish you had never left me
No you're not gone for good, you're gone for bad [gone for bad]
You left me for bad reasons and I cannot forgive you for that easily
My friends wouldn't call it good
My friends would not approve of your actions
If they only knew [If they knew]
If they knew the true reason for your departure
You left me for a guy that never will love you [will love you]
You left me for someone who will not love you the way I did
But when he's gone you'll sit and cry
When he leaves you, you will feel the same pain that I feel now
You'll feel alone the same as I
You will experience the same sense of loneliness as I am experiencing now
He'll be gone for good
He will be permanently gone from your life
But baby I'll be glad [I'll be glad]
But I will be happy to see you face the consequences of your actions
Yes he'll be gone for good, and not for bad [gone for bad]
He will never return, but it will not be because he did something wrong like you did
Gone for bad [gone for bad]
You left me for bad reasons and I cannot forget that easily
Gone for bad [gone for bad]
Your departure was a bad decision and it will haunt me forever
Gone for bad [gone for bad]
You left me with a deep sense of sadness and loss
Contributed by Mason F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ
Nice track. RIP Mr Johnny Winter.
Mr. Black
WOW! VERY COOL VOCALS BY A YOUNG JOHNNY.
Richard Zoll
great