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.
Lightning
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lightnin', my love moves like lightnin'
Now I'm not callin' you a liar
But I know where there's smoke there's fire
People talkin' all over town
Sayin' you're gonna put me down
Lightnin' bad news moves like lightnin'
Human nature is a funny thing
People will do most anything
Sometimes good and sometimes bad
I better not find out I been had
Lightnin', you'll be struck by lightnin', yeah
Lightnin', bad news moves like lightnin'
Yeah, lightnin'!
(Instrumental)
If your love is really true
Why do I go on chasing you
One day you'll look into my eyes
And you'll see the truth and realize
Lightnin', you'll be struck by lightnin'
Lightnin' bad news moves like lightnin'
Lightnin', oh like lightnin', yeah.
The first verse of Johnny Winter's "Lightning" suggests that the singer has been hit by love - love that is strikingly fast and intense. The second verse is more ambiguous, with the singer suggesting that people are talking about his partner, possibly saying that she is going to "put him down." The use of the lightning metaphor here suggests that the news is bad and travels rapidly, perhaps indicating that people gossip and spread rumors quickly. The chorus repeats the lightning metaphor and suggests that bad news, in particular, travels like lightning.
The final stanza of the song includes a direct contemplation of the relationship between the singer and his partner. He questions her loyalty, suggesting that he is "chasing" her despite her lack of commitment. However, he also leaves open the possibility of a happy ending, suggesting that if their love is true, she will eventually "realize" and come around to reciprocating his feelings. Overall, "Lightning" uses the motif of a natural disaster to describe the intense, unpredictable nature of passionate love, as well as the potentially destructive power of rumors and gossip.
Line by Line Meaning
Lightnin', I've been struck by lightnin'
I've fallen in love so suddenly and deeply, it feels like I've been struck by lightning.
Lightnin', my love moves like lightnin'
My love is fast and intense, just like a bolt of lightning.
Now I'm not callin' you a liar
I'm not accusing you of dishonesty.
But I know where there's smoke there's fire
Rumors often start from some kernel of truth.
People talkin' all over town
Word is spreading rapidly.
Sayin' you're gonna put me down
People are saying you're going to hurt me.
Human nature is a funny thing
People's behavior can be unpredictable or irrational.
People will do most anything
People can be motivated by a variety of factors, for better or worse.
Sometimes good and sometimes bad
People's actions can have positive or negative consequences.
I better not find out I been had
I hope I don't discover that I've been deceived or taken advantage of.
If your love is really true
If your feelings for me are genuine.
Why do I go on chasing you
Why do I persist in pursuing you when I'm not sure of your feelings for me.
One day you'll look into my eyes
I hope that someday you'll truly see me.
And you'll see the truth and realize
And you'll understand the depth and sincerity of my love for you.
Lightnin', you'll be struck by lightnin'
Someday you'll understand what it feels like to love someone so passionately and suddenly.
Lightnin' bad news moves like lightnin'
Negative rumors or gossip can travel quickly and cause harm.
Lightnin', oh like lightnin', yeah.
Love can be fast, intense, and unpredictable, like a bolt of lightning.
Contributed by Adam P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Le moigne NJ
I heard that song when I was 10, my father had that in cassette... now I'm 32 and I still love that song
Lisa Lockhart
Oh Yes Johnny is the best,...I Love this whole album,.. God Rest His Sweet Soul.
Barry Daws
Johnny at he's amazing best , that raw talent of the brilliant guitar skills, matched with he's incredible voice. A phenomenon I was lucky enough to witness live half a dozen times
John Raymond
Lightning has struck in Texas. Nobody will ever match this Texan. Your sound -still part of me.
Thanks brother
Mike Godhard
Dirty and raw. I freakin love it.
Maria Clemencia Gomez Salcedo
Amo su musica .Que gran musico
T-roy Anderson
I perform this song now it is the Bomb! I dont try to even pretend to be this great I just love the grove! Thank you johhny Winter!
eddygortex
Lucky to have seen this guy in Liverpool in the 70s could not have believed such a voice from someone so slim ,one of my first albums was : still alive and well : which got me into buying his vinyl but this tracks a belter ,Scottish expression.
Larry DuVall
johnny had a great voice too, i can imagine him sitting in a studio doing this number
dave paul
I LEARNED EVERY LINK I COULD FROM J WINTERS GREAT SOUNDS TO BAD HIS LEFT US RIP BROTHER