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.
Rock & Roll
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Try to understand
You can never keep me
So you'd better use me while you can
I'm gonna rock and roll you baby
Roll you till the break come down, yeah
Know by then now people
Well I ain't no main man
Always on the road
Now I got a side-tracked woman
Most every place I go
You gotta rock and roll you mama
While I tell her gonna break come dawn
You know by then now people
Gonna be some lovin' goin' on
Gonna head on now, fuckin' roll!
I got time for it honey
Love like cherry wine
Match your feel like your four-wheel
Give eye sight to the blind
Gonna rock and roll you mama
Rock and roll you all night long
You know by then now people
Gonna be some lovin' goin' on
The lyrics of "Rock & Roll" by Johnny Winter speak of a man who is always on the road and has a side-tracked woman in every place he goes. He warns his current partner that she cannot keep him, so she should use him while she can. He promises to rock and roll her until the sun comes up, and when it does, there'll be some loving going on. The singer is not afraid to have a good time on the road and is not committed to any one woman. He uses the power of music and wild nights to keep the women and audiences fascinated.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is not a one-woman kind of man, but rather, he is a free-spirited man who enjoys traveling, playing music, and meeting new people. However, he doesn't promise anything to his women, indicating that he takes the good times as they come. He uses his rock and roll power to put on a great performance and bring happiness to himself and others. The song is all about living life to the fullest, taking what you can while you can, and enjoying the thrills of the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me tell you baby
I need to confess something to you
Try to understand
I hope you can comprehend
You can never keep me
You won't be able to possess me forever
So you'd better use me while you can
Therefore, you should take advantage of me while you still have the opportunity
I'm gonna rock and roll you baby
I'm going to entertain you by playing the music you love
Roll you till the break come down, yeah
Until it's time to stop, I'm going to keep playing and you're going to keep dancing
Know by then now people
By that point, everyone will understand
There'll be some lovin' goin' on, yeah
That's when the romance will start to flow
Well I ain't no main man
I'm not the most important guy
Always on the road
I travel frequently
Now I got a side-tracked woman
I've got a girlfriend in every town I visit
Most every place I go
I seem to have connections all over
You gotta rock and roll you mama
You must dance to the music
While I tell her gonna break come dawn
As I announce that the music won't stop until early morning
Gonna head on now, fuckin' roll!
I'm moving forward, and the music will keep playing
I got time for it honey
I have the time for romance, my dear
Love like cherry wine
I want a love that is sweet and pure like cherry wine
Match your feel like your four-wheel
Our love will be as smooth and powerful as a four-wheeled vehicle
Give eye sight to the blind
Our love will be so strong that it will have a miraculous effect, even curing blindness
Gonna rock and roll you mama
I'm going to make you dance and have fun all night long
Rock and roll you all night long
The music and the good times won't ever stop
You know by then now people
Everyone will realize
Gonna be some lovin' goin' on
That we'll have an amazing romantic night
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: J WINTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DilfredoRuiz
Let me tell you baby
Try to understand
You can never keep me
So you'd better use me while you can
I'm gonna rock and roll you baby
Roll you till the break come down, yeah
Know by then now people
There'll be some lovin' goin' on, yeah
Well I ain't no main man
Always on the road
Now I got a side-tracked woman
Most every place I go
You gotta rock and roll you mama
While I tell her gonna break come dawn
You know by then now people
Gonna be some lovin' goin' on
Gonna head on now, fuckin' roll!
I got time for it honey
Love like cherry wine
Match your feel like your four-wheel
Give eye sight to the blind
Gonna rock and roll you mama
Rock and roll you all night long
You know by then now people
Gonna be some lovin' goin' on
@Tessmage_Tessera
I've been cranking this song for nearly 50 years now and I swear, EVERY time he launches into the slide solo at the end, the hair on the back of my neck STILL stands up. You'd think that by now, I'd have gotten used to it... but no. This is the scariest slide guitar ever played.
@ceolsen2884
He be whipping out some nasty licks.
@vivazapata15856
Amen to that bro
@BWild82
Nobody but Johnny could do this like he did. What a gift he was and is to this world. Thank you God, for the gift of Johnny Winter!
@josepgrasrius8614
I bought the single when I'm sixteen (1974). Side A- Rock and Roll, Side B. Can you feel it.Johnny Winter captures with this two songs the essence of Rock and Roll. Bravo. Greetings from Barcelona. Spain
@terryhughes7200
Johnny Winter best damn blues man of all time this song is one of the greatest songs ever recorded slide guitar at it's best !!
@ThisSeptemberMusic
Johnny Winter is a motherfuckin legend
@variousvisfineart
RIP today I visited his grave in Easton, Connecticut
@gogan3429
He is buried in Conneticut?
I thought he was born in Mississippi.
@bbb8997
@@gogan3429 born in beaumont, texas