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.

When You Got A Good Friend
Johnny Winter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When you gotta good friend
Let her stay right by your side
When you gotta good friend
Let her stay right by your side
Give all your spare time to her
And treat her right

I'm as true to my baby

And I can't see no reason why
Lord, man, I can't see no reason why
Every time I think about it
I hang my head and cry

Lord, I may be right or wrong
Hey and I may be right or wrong
Watch your close friends, baby
Enemies can't do you no wrong

There ain't but one thing, baby
That makes me drink
Say that you don't love me, Lord
I begin to think

Gotta good friend
Let her stay right by your side
God, give her all your spare time
Love and treat her right

Lord, Lord, down at the riverside
Go on, go on down at the riverside
No, you won't be my old lady
Man, 'til I get satisfied

You know I may be right or wrong
Little girl, I may be right or wrong

Watch your close friends, baby
And your enemies can't do you no harm

Overall Meaning

The song "When You Got a Good Friend" by Johnny Winter is a blues classic that speaks about the importance of having a loyal friend by your side. The lyrics emphasize the need to cherish and treat this person right as they deserve all your spare time and love. The song is also about heartbreak and the pain of unrequited love.

Winter sings about his commitment to his "baby," but he can’t understand why she doesn’t reciprocate his love, and he ends up feeling heartbroken. The lyrics suggest caution about close friends and the harm that enemies can cause. The song ends on a slightly bitter note with Winter's declaration that he won't settle for anything less than his satisfaction.

Overall, the lyrics encourage listeners to prioritize those who have proven their loyalty, commitment, and love. When you find such a friend, treat them with care and make them a priority in your life.

Line by Line Meaning

When you gotta good friend
If you have a good friend

Let her stay right by your side
Keep her close to you

Give all your spare time to her
Spend your free time with her

And treat her right
Be good to her

I'm as true to my baby
I am loyal to my loved one

And I can't see no reason why
I don't see any good reason why

Lord, man, I can't see no reason why
I really can't see any good reason why

Every time I think about it
Whenever I reflect on it

I hang my head and cry
I feel sad and upset

Lord, I may be right or wrong
It's possible that I'm correct or mistaken

Hey and I may be right or wrong
I might be right or wrong