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.
Roit In Cell Block 9
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was servin' time for armed robbery
Four o'clock in the mornin', I was layin' back in my cell
I heard the whistle blow then I heard somebody yell
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
The riot started down in cell block number 4
Spread like wild fire across the prison floor
Scar-face Jones said, "It's too late to quit"
Pass the dynamite 'cause the fuse is lit
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Down in cell block number 9
Y'all gotta stop that stuff goin' on over there
If ya don't stop that riot, y'all gonna get the chair
I said, "Hey now boys, get ready to run
Here come the warden with an automatic gun"
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Down in cell block number 9
In the forty-seventh hour the tear gas
It got our men
We are all back in our cells
But every now and then
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Down in cell block number 9
The song “Riot in Cell Block #9” is a recounting by an armed robber who is doing time in a prison cell. One early July morning in 1963, he hears the whistle blow and shouts of a riot in cell block #9. The riot initially started down in cell block #4 but quickly spread and intensified with scar-faced Jones urging the others not to quit and igniting a stick of dynamite. As the chaos and destruction continue, the authorities are warned that if they don't stop it, they will face the electric chair. As the warden arrives with his fully loaded gun, the inmates realize that it's time to run, however, tear gas eventually restores order and the prisoners go back to their cells, but the memory of the riot remains in their minds.
The lyrics of this song paint a vivid picture of life behind bars, the desperation, anarchism, and lawlessness that occurs in prisons, and the tension that arises between the prisoners and the authorities. The song also suggests that inmates can still find unity and support in one another despite being rivals on the outside.
Line by Line Meaning
July the second, it was nineteen sixty-three
The riot described in the song took place on July 2nd, 1963.
I was servin' time for armed robbery
The singer of the song is in prison, serving time for committing armed robbery.
Four o'clock in the mornin', I was layin' back in my cell
At 4am, the singer was relaxing in his cell.
I heard the whistle blow then I heard somebody yell
The singer hears a whistle blow and someone screaming, signaling the start of a riot.
There's a riot goin' on
The riot is happening and it's causing chaos in the prison.
Down in cell block number 9
The riot is centered in Cell Block #9.
The riot started down in cell block number 4
The riot began in Cell Block #4 and spread throughout the prison.
Spread like wild fire across the prison floor
The riot grew rapidly and uncontrollably, spreading throughout the prison.
Scar-face Jones said, "It's too late to quit"
A fellow inmate named Scar-face Jones believes that it's too late to end the riot.
Pass the dynamite 'cause the fuse is lit
Scar-face Jones suggests using dynamite to escalate the situation because the fuse has already been ignited.
Y'all gotta stop that stuff goin' on over there
Someone in authority warns the inmates that they need to stop the violent situation that's occurring.
If ya don't stop that riot, y'all gonna get the chair
The authority figure warns that if the inmates don't cease their violent behavior, some of them will be put to death by electric chair (capital punishment).
I said, "Hey now boys, get ready to run
The singer warns his fellow inmates to prepare to flee the area.
Here come the warden with an automatic gun"
The warden arrives on the scene armed with an automatic gun.
In the forty-seventh hour the tear gas
Hours later, after extensive rioting, the prison authorities use tear gas to subdue the prisoners.
It got our men
The tear gas affected the inmates involved in the riot.
We are all back in our cells
After the riot, all of the inmates are back in their respective cells.
But every now and then
Occasionally, there are still incidents of violence and unrest.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JERRY LEIBER, MIKE STOLLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind