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.
Hello My Lover
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been a fool, yes I have, a fool by heart (lover, wherever you are)
But I'm done up in my mind,
I have played the game of love and lost and now I'm crying
MMMMMMM...
I'm gonna try my best to do what is right
I'm gonna be with you - yes I will - both day and night
I have played the game of love and lost and now I'm crying
MMMMMMM...
(Instrumental)
I'm gonna try my best to do what is right
I'm gonna be with you - yes I will - both day and night
I'm gonna make me a brand new policy
I'm gonna teach you a lesson in love...
MMMMMMM... yes I will
Yeah, yeah yeah yeah
I said you know I will
Yeah I will
I said I will, you know I will...
The lyrics of "Hello My Lover" by Johnny Winter are clearly centered around the theme of love and heartbreak. The song appears to be a conversation between Winter and a lover who has left him, and Winter admits that he was a "fool by heart." He goes on to say that he has played the "game of love" and lost, indicating that he has gone through a difficult breakup. However, he also expresses a determination to do what is right and be with his lover both day and night, indicating that he wants to win this person back.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello my lover wherever you are
Addressing the beloved and acknowledging that they're not physically present
I've been a fool, yes I have, a fool by heart (lover, wherever you are)
Admitting to past mistakes in love and still acknowledging the absence of the beloved
But I'm done up in my mind,
Declaring a change of thought or attitude
I have played the game of love and lost and now I'm crying MMMMMMM...
Referring to past hurt in love and the emotional response to it
I'm gonna try my best to do what is right
Expressing a commitment to making better choices in love
I'm gonna be with you - yes I will - both day and night
Promising to be present, physically and emotionally, for the beloved
Said I'm grown up in my mind,
Reiterating that there has been a change in mentality
I have played the game of love and lost and now I'm crying MMMMMMM...
Echoing the earlier sentiment of past hurt in love
(Instrumental)
No lyrics, only music
I'm gonna make me a brand new policy
Declaring intention to create new guidelines for love and relationships
I'm gonna teach you a lesson in love... MMMMMMM... yes I will
Asserting that the new policy will involve showing the beloved how to love properly
Yeah, yeah yeah yeah
An exclamation of enthusiasm or agreement
I said you know I will
Reiterating the resolve to keep the promises made earlier
Yeah I will
Another expression of determination
I said I will, you know I will...
Emphasizing the commitment to follow through with the promises made
Contributed by Leah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.