John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III (born February 23, 1944 died July 16, 2014)… Read Full Bio ↴John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III (born February 23, 1944 died July 16, 2014) was an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters. Since his time with Waters, Johnny Winter has recorded several Grammy-nominated blues albums and continues to tour extensively. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and in 2003, he was ranked as 74th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", a debatable ranking based on those listed ahead of him as being more talented than Johnny.

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.

I'm Not Sure
Johnny Winter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can't say girl,
It's so hard to show, oh baby
I can't say girl,
It's so hard to show, ohhhhhh
Well if I die baby, if you know, if you know
You keep saying you need all of me
But that's one thing baby that can never be, hey
I can't say it's so hard to show, ohhh

If I die baby, if you know
I will love you baby 'til the break of day
But you will never keep me
If I don't want to say
Hey, hey, it's so hard to show, ohhhh
Well if you die, baby, if you know, if you know
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Just like I love you, baby
Gonna love somebody else
I can't make it with you gal
If you can't make it with yourself
I can't say girl, it's so hard to show
So hard to show, yeah
If you're dying baby, I'll help you know, ohhhh
I can't say girl, it's so hard to know
So hard to know, so hard to know

I can't say girl, it's so hard to know, ohhhhh
Well if you're flying, baby if you know

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Johnny Winter's "I'm Not Sure" express a sense of hesitation and uncertainty towards an individual. The singer struggles to express their feelings to this person, suggesting that it is difficult for them to display vulnerability. The repeated phrase "I can't say girl, it's so hard to show" emphasizes the internal struggle and emotional barrier the singer is experiencing. They acknowledge that the other person desires their complete love and devotion, but they cannot promise that. In fact, the singer implies that if they were to die, their love would still not be enough to fully satisfy the other person's desires.

The lyrics indicate that the singer is not willing to sacrifice their own agency and independence for the sake of another person's expectations. They acknowledge that there may come a time when they will need to move on and love someone else. The final line of the song "Well if you're flying, baby if you know" could be interpreted as the singer encouraging the other person to take control of their own life and emotional fulfillment.

Overall, "I'm Not Sure" is a poignant reflection on the difficulties of vulnerability and emotional expression within relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

I can't say girl,
I am unable to express myself to you, girl,

It's so hard to show, oh baby
I find it difficult to show or demonstrate my love to you, oh baby

Well if I die baby, if you know, if you know
In case I die, my dear, if you know, if you know

You keep saying you need all of me
You insist on having all of me

But that's one thing baby that can never be, hey
But that's one thing, baby, that can never happen, hey

I can't say it's so hard to show, ohhh
I can't say it enough that it's very difficult to show or express, ohhh

I will love you baby 'til the break of day
I will love you, baby, till daybreak

But you will never keep me
But you won't be able to keep me

If I don't want to say
If I am not willing to express it

Hey, hey, it's so hard to show, ohhhh
Hey, hey, it's very difficult to express, ohhhh