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.
Guy You Left Behind
Johnny Winter Lyrics
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My friends keep tellin' me your not my kind
No your not girl
I'm not the kind of guy to speak just idle talk
I don't no wanna lose my somethin' fine
I ain't a asking very much of you child
Tell me 'bout the guy you left behind
Yes the same way, just the way
That you left him too, yeah!
Why won't you tell me whatta happened that day
Will it be any different this time
What did he do to make you drive him away
Tell me 'bout the guy you left behind
You know that my love for you is true
Sometime I wonder do you love me to?
What I say now!
I said now every time you kiss sets my heart aflame
But there's one thing that worries my mind
I said you always whisperin' some other guys name
Tell me 'bout the guy you left behind
I wanna know, I wanna know I just, gotta know
Woah yeah, I wanna know, please tell me child
In the song "Guy You Left Behind," Johnny Winter sings about his insecurities and suspicions about his girlfriend's past relationships. He knows that his friends don't think she is right for him, and he fears that she will leave him just like she left her previous partner. He wants to know about the guy she left behind, what he did wrong, and if the same thing will happen to him. Despite these anxieties, Johnny's love for his girlfriend is true, and he can't help but feel jealous when she mentions other guys.
The lyrics of this song reflect the universal human experience of jealousy and fear of being left behind. Johnny Winter's soulful voice and the bluesy instrumental background capture the raw emotion of these complex feelings. The repetition of the phrase "tell me 'bout the guy you left behind" emphasizes Johnny's need for reassurance and clarity in his relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothin' I do can satisfy my mind
Despite my efforts, I cannot find contentment in my life.
My friends keep tellin' me your not my kind
My friends are trying to warn me that we may not be well-suited for each other.
No your not girl
You are not the right person for me, despite my feelings for you.
I'm not the kind of guy to speak just idle talk
I am a man of my word and do not engage in meaningless conversation.
I don't no wanna lose my somethin' fine
I do not want to lose something valuable and precious like you.
I ain't a asking very much of you child
I am not asking for anything unreasonable from you.
Tell me 'bout the guy you left behind
I want to know more about your past relationships, specifically the one who you left behind.
My friends all tell me that you'll leave me blue
My friends believe that you will hurt me in the same way that you hurt your previous partner.
Yes the same way, just the way
I fear that you will treat me the same way that you treated him.
That you left him too, yeah!
You left him, which is a warning sign to me that you may be unreliable in relationships.
Why won't you tell me whatta happened that day
I want to understand the events that led to your breakup with your previous partner.
Will it be any different this time
I am questioning whether our relationship will end in the same way.
What did he do to make you drive him away
I want to know what actions your previous partner took that led to the end of your relationship.
Tell me 'bout the guy you left behind
Once again, I want to understand your past relationships so that I can know what to expect from ours.
You know that my love for you is true
I have strong feelings for you and care about you deeply.
Sometime I wonder do you love me to?
I have doubts about whether you feel the same way about me as I do about you.
What I say now!
I am emphasizing the importance of my next statement.
I said now every time you kiss sets my heart aflame
Whenever we are intimate, my feelings for you become even stronger.
But there's one thing that worries my mind
Despite my strong feelings for you, I have concerns about our relationship.
I said you always whisperin' some other guys name
I feel insecure when you mention other men, even if it is innocent.
Tell me 'bout the guy you left behind
Once again, I am asking for information about your previous relationships so that I can better understand our own.
I wanna know, I wanna know I just, gotta know
I am emphatic about my desire to know more about your past relationships and how they may affect our future.
Woah yeah, I wanna know, please tell me child
I am begging you to open up to me and share your past experiences.
Contributed by Kaylee G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.