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.
Stone County
Johnny Winter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Running from the county man
Just broke from the Stone County Prison
And I'm never goin' back again
Gonna make my way from Stone County
Try to catch the Santa Fe
I can hear her whistle callin' me
I left my home down in Texas
Seven long years ago
I remember my mom on my daddy's arm
Sittin' in the back of lawn
I'm gonna run till I die from Stone County
Gotta catch the Santa Fe
I can hear her whistle callin' me
About a half a mile away
I'm a Stone County wanted man
I'm a Stone County wanted man
Well, I'm a wanted man, now in Texas
Even down Mexico way
Ya know they want me in Stone County Prison
But Lord, they'll never see that day
I'm gonna make my way from Stone County
Try to catch the Santa Fe
Oh, I can hear her whistle callin' me
About a half a mile away
I'm a Stone County wanted man
I'm a Stone County wanted man
I'm a Stone County wanted man
I'm a Stone County wanted man
Stone county wanted man
I got a money, I gotta money
And I'm a Stone County, Stone County
Stone County wanted man
I'm wanted man, I'm wanted man
Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away, gotta get away
A Stone County, a Stone County
The lyrics to Johnny Winter's song "Stone County" tell the story of a man who has just escaped from Stone County Prison, and is on the run both from the law and from his past. He is determined to catch the Santa Fe train and leave his troubles behind, but he knows that he is a wanted man and that the authorities are hot on his trail. The song is filled with vivid imagery and tells a gripping story of escape, redemption, and the pursuit of freedom.
As the lyrics unfold, we learn more about the man's backstory: he left his home in Texas seven years ago, and has been on the run ever since. He remembers his parents sitting in the back of the lawn, and he is haunted by the memory of the life he had before he became a fugitive. But despite the dangers he faces, he is determined to keep moving forward, to outrun his pursuers, and to find a new life.
Overall, the lyrics to "Stone County" are a powerful and evocative portrait of a man on the run, and they offer a window into the human experience of escape and the search for a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
I traveled forty miles of back wood
I went a long way through the forest on back roads
Running from the county man
I'm escaping from the police
Just broke from the Stone County Prison
I escaped from Stone County jail
And I'm never goin' back again
I don't want to go back to jail
Gonna make my way from Stone County
I'm leaving Stone County behind
Try to catch the Santa Fe
I want to catch the Santa Fe train
I can hear her whistle callin' me
I can hear the train whistle in the distance
Just a half a mile away
The train is very close
I left my home down in Texas
I left my home in Texas
Seven long years ago
It was seven years ago
I remember my mom on my daddy's arm
I have a memory of my mother with my father
Sittin' in the back of lawn
They were sitting in the back of the house
I'm gonna run till I die from Stone County
I'll keep running until I can't go on anymore
Gotta catch the Santa Fe
I need to get on the Santa Fe train
About a half a mile away
The train is very close
I'm a Stone County wanted man
The police are looking for me in Stone County
Well, I'm a wanted man, now in Texas
The police are also looking for me in Texas
Even down Mexico way
Even if I go to Mexico
Ya know they want me in Stone County Prison
The police want to put me back in jail
But Lord, they'll never see that day
I don't plan on going back to jail
I'm a Stone County wanted man
The police are still looking for me in Stone County
I got a money, I gotta money
I have some money
And I'm a Stone County, Stone County
I'm still a wanted man in Stone County
Stone County wanted man
The police are looking for me in Stone County
I'm wanted man, I'm wanted man
The police are looking for me
Gotta get away, gotta get away
I need to escape
A Stone County, a Stone County
The police are still looking for me in Stone County
Contributed by Kaylee K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.