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▄▓▀▀ ▀████▓▄█▓▓▓███▓█▓▀▀▀ TEAM RNS PRESENTS ▄■ ▐█▄▓██
▀ ▀██░▐██▀▀ ▐█▄ ▄██▌ ▄██▌░█▌
▀ ▄▄ ▀█▄▀██▄▄████▌ARTIST: Johnny Winter ▐████▄███▀▄█▀ ▄▄
▄██▌ ▀▓▄▀██▄▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▄██▀▄▓▀ ▐██▄
█████▄ ▐█▌▐███▄ TITLE: I'm A Bluesman ▄███▌▐█▌ ▄█████
███████▄▄▄▓░ ▓█████ ██████▄░▓▄▄▄███████
▀█████▓▄▄▄█▐▓█████▌ LABEL: Virgin / EMI ▐█████▓▌█▄▄▄▓█████▀
▀▀████▀▀▄██████▀ ▀██████▄▀▀████▀▀
▄▄▀▀ ▄██████▀ RIPPER: Team RNS ▀██████▄
▄ ▀ ▄██████▀ ▀██████▄
▄█▓▀ ▄██████▀ ▀██████▄
██▌ ▐██████▌ ▐██████▌
▀██▄ ▐██████ 213kbps avg - Blues ▐▓█████▌
▀██▄ ▀█████▌ 0hr 51min total- 82.3mb ██████▀
▄▄▀▀███▄▄▀▀███▄ ███▓▀▀
█▓ ▀▀██▄ ▀██▄ RELEASE DATE: 2004-06-15 ██▀
▀▓▄ ▐██▌ ▐██▓▄ RIP DATE: 2004-07-09 ▄██▌
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▀▀███████▀ track list ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ---------- ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ 01 I'm A Bluesman 4:12 ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ 02 Cheatin' Blues 3:22 ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ 03 I Smell Smoke 3:57 ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ 04 Lone Wolf 3:29 ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ 05 So Much Love 3:22 ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ 06 The Monkey Song 6:13 ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ 07 Shake Down 4:02 ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ 08 Sweet Little Baby 2:48 ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ 09 Pack Your Bags 4:04 ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ 10 Last Night 3:12 ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ 11 That Wouldn't Satisfy 4:08 ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ 12 Sugar Coated Love 4:00 ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ 13 Let's Start All Over Again 4:25 ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
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▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ release notes ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ For more than 30 years, Johnny Winter ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ has been at the forefront ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ of modern blues and blues-rock, and his ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ new I'm A Bluesman disc, arriving June ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ 15 from Virgin Records, figures to add ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ to his ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Texas-sized reputation. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ For this release, Johnny has again paired ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ with his long-time producer Dick Shurman ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ (Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Roy ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ Buchanan), as well as Tom Hambridge ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ (Susan Tedeschi, George Thorogood). ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Backing him is his road-tested touring ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ band of ace harmonica man James ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Montgomery, bassist Scott Spray and ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ drummer Wayne June, along with guitarist ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ Paul Nelson with guest appearances by ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ such friends as keyboardist Reese Wynans ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ (from Stevie Ray Vaughan's celebrated ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ backing group Double Trouble) among ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ others. ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ I'm A Bluesman is Johnny's first new ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ collection in nearly eight years. ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ It was a question of finding the time ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ and the right material, he says, plus a ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ long recuperation from hip surgery. ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ The 13-track collection includes three ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ tunes by his friend Paul Nelson, ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ a Connecticut-based guitar player who ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ writes with Winter's bassist Scott ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Spray. ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ They collaborated on the prison-themed ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ "Shakedown," a ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ relationship-gone-bad song titled "Pack ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Your Bags" and the album's ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ title track, which Nelson describes as ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ an attempt at a Johnny Winter biography. ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ "Johnny is a real hero to me, and I ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ wanted to do a song about his life. ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ I know how Johnny talks, how he phrases ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ things, and I wanted to capture his ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ feelings. ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ It's about who he is, what he represents ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ to other musicians and what he's ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ accomplished. I'm really proud that when ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ he first heard the song he said I'd ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ gotten it right." Nelson also provides ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ guitar on the song and plays on many ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ other tracks as well. ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Winter also opted to record two new ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ songs by producer Hambridge, "Cheatin' ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Blues" and the first album single, "Lone ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Wolf." ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Johnny says it's always been something ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ of a mystery to him how singles get ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ picked, but he's especially happy with ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ how his electric slide-playing turned ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ out on this track. "It's a really good ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ song," he vouches. ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ He's also pleased to have finally ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ recorded "So Much Love," a tune by former ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ bandmate Jon Paris which Johnny has ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ played live on a number ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ of occasions and has meant to record ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ for years. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ "It's about time I've finally got around ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ to doing it for an album," he says. ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Johnny reaches back into his past for ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ songs by two musicians, Hop Wilson and ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Lazy Lester, who inspired him during the ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ early days in Texas. ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ The nod to Wilson (1927-1975) comes in ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ the form of a spine-tingling solo ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ acoustic version of "That Wouldn't ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ Satisfy," a tune Hop originally recorded ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ for the Goldband label in 1958. ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ "Hop was one of my heroes coming up. I ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ never got over to see him in ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Houston, but I liked his records a lot. ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ He had a real different way of playing ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ steel guitar." ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ The salute to the still active Lester ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ comes in a cover of his Jay ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Miller-written hit on Excello, "Sugar ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Coated Love." Winter says, "I'm a big ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ fan of Lazy Lester. He even played on one ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ of my earliest records, ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ æThat's What Love Does,' when I was ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ just 16 or 17." ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ Johnny's own compositions on I'm A ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Bluesman include "Sweet Little Baby," a ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ slide-drenched song he wrote during a ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ tour stop in Central Europe's ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ picturesque Prague, and the disc-closing ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ "Let's Start Over Again," composed with ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ harmonica player James Montgomery who ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ joined Johnny's band last year after a ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ long career leading his own group and ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ releasing seven albums under his own ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ name. ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Johnny and his players cut the tracks ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ for I'm A Bluesman at several studios ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ in New England, where Winter makes his ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ home these days. But Winter remains a ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ native Texan, born and bred in Beaumont, ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ the town where the famous Spindletop ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ gusher came in to kick off the "black ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ gold" rush in 1901. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Winter, born on Feb. 23,1944, can barely ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ remember a time when music wasn't at the ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ core of his life. ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ The Winter family, once his career Army ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ officer father came back from the war, ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ used to sing together, and Johnny took ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ up clarinet at ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ age five, followed by ukulele and then ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ guitar. ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Growing up in rough-and-tumble town ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ populated by oilfield wildcatters and ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ shipyard workers, he spent long hours ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ listening to a local deejay named J.P. ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Richardson û The Big Bopper of ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ "Chantilly Lace" fame û and became ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ hooked on '50s rock & roll. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ He formed his first band, Johnny and The ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ Jammers, in 1959 at the ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ age of 15, with his 12-year-old brother ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ Edgar on keyboards. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Racial tensions in Beaumont were still ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ high in those days. ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ The town had been the site of one of ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ the worst race riots in Texas history ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ just nine months before Johnny's birth. ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Mobs wandered the streets, businesses ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ burned, martial law went into effect, ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ and more than 2,000 uniformed National ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Guardsmen and Texas ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Rangers sealed off the town from the ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ rest of the world until tempers ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ cooled. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Despite that brutal legacy, Johnny ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ remembers never hesitating as a kid to ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ venture into black neighborhoods to ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ hear and play music. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Looking back, he believes people in the ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ black community knew that he was ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ sincere, that he was genuinely ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ possessed by the blues. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ "Nothing ever happened to me. I went to ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ black clubs all the time, and nobody ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ ever bothered me. I always felt ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ welcome." ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ He also became friends with Clarence ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Garlow, a deejay at the black radio ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ station KJET in Beaumont, who opened ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Winter's eyes and ears ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ to rural blues and Cajun music. ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ Clarence, who recorded for the ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ swamp-boogie specialty label Goldband, ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ even taught him a few things on guitar. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Johnny made his recording debut in 1960 ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ with two of his own compositions, ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ "School Days Blues" and "You Know I ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Love You," ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ on a tiny Houston label called Dart ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ Records. ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Over the next few years, as he learned ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ his craft, he cut 45s for ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Goldband, KRCO, Frolic, Diamond, ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Moon-Lite, Hall-Way and other ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ regional labels. ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ There's a famous story about a time in ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ 1962 when Johnny and his brother went to ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ see B.B. King at a Beaumont club called ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ The Raven. ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ The only whites in the crowd, they no ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ doubt stood out. ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ But Johnny already had his chops down ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ and wanted to play with the revered ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ B.B. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ "I was about 17," Johnny remembers, "and ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ B.B. didn't want to let me ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ on stage at first. ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ He asked me for a union card, and I had ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ one. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Also I kept sending people over to ask ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ him to let me play. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Finally, he decided that there were ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ enough people who wanted to hear me ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ that, no matter if I was good or not, ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ it would be worth it to let me on stage. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ He gave me his guitar and let me play. I ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ got a standing ovation, and he took his ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ guitar back!" ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ Winter's big breakthrough came a few ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ years later in 1968 when Rolling Stone ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ writers Larry Sepulvado and John Burks ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ featured him in a piece on the Texas ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ music scene, which prompted a bidding ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ war among major labels that Columbia ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ eventually won. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Johnny's self-titled 1969 disc ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ announced loudly that there was a new ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ guitar-slinger on the national scene. ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ The disc included audacious covers of ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ such blues classics as B.B. King's "Be ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ Careful with a Fool," Sonny Boy ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ Williamson II's "Good Morning Little ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ School Girl," Robert Johnson's "When You ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Got a Good ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Friend" and fellow Texan Lightnin' ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Hopkins' "Back Door Friend." ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ It also featured two prime original ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Winter songs, "Dallas" and the ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ controversial "I'm Yours and I'm Hers," ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ that went into heavy rotation ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ on FM underground radio. ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ The album peaked at No. 24 on the ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Billboard chart and was promptly ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ followed by Second Winter later that ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ same year. Looking back, writer Cub Koda ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ described the period as one when ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ "Straight out of Texas with a hot trio, ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ Winter made blues-rock music for the ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ angels." ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ That trio, by the way, included bassist ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Tommy Shannon who would go on to be ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ part of SRV's Double Trouble and ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ drummer Uncle ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ John Turner. ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Winter stayed with Columbia and its ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ boutique Blue Sky label for more than a ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ decade, turning out such well-received ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ platters as Johnny Winter And (1970), ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Still Alive and Well (1973) and John ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Dawson Winter III (1974). He also ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ helped to introduce blues giant Muddy ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Waters to another generation of ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ listeners by producing and playing ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ guitar on the Grammy-winning Hard Again ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ (1977), as well as the Grammy-nominated ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ I'm Ready (1978), Muddy "Mississippi" ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ Waters Live (1979) and King Bee (1981). ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ The collaborations were so successful ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ that Waters took to referring to Johnny ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ as his "adopted son" in interviews. ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ After a three-year hiatus, Johnny ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ returned with three acclaimed albums for ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ the blues specialty label Alligator, ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ releasing the Grammy-nominated Guitar ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Slinger in 1984, the also nominated ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Serious Business in 1985 and Third Degree ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ in 1986. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Johnny made the jump to the Virgin ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ family of labels in 1991 with Let Me ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ In, a strong collection boasting guest ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ appearances by Dr. John and Albert ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ Collins. ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ Produced by Dick Shurman, the disc ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ featured the memorable "Illustrated Man," ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ a song by the Nashville team of Fred ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ James and Mary-Ann Brandon chronicling ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Johnny's well-tattooed torso. ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ Other tracks include Winter's own title ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ tune and his equally stand-out ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ "If You Got a Good Woman," as well as ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Dr. John's "You Lie Too Much" with the ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ good doctor on ivories. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Winter has gone on to record for Virgin ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ his Hey, Where's Your Brother (1992), ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Live in NYC '97 (1998) and now the new ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ I'm A Bluesman, which he feels is some ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ of his best work. ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ For the future, Johnny, who just turned ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ 60, figures he will stick to ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ the plan he's had since his young days ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ in Beaumont: "I just want to ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ keep doing what I'm doing. Keep playing ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ and recording." ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ It's worked so far. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▀
▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▄▓██▓ ▄███▓▓▄▄ ▄▄▓▓███▄ ▓██▓▄ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▄▄██▀ ▀██▄ ▄██▀ ▀██▄▄ ▀███████▀▀
▄███▀█▄██▀▀ ▄██▀▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▀██▄ ▀▀██▄█▀███▄
▄████████▀▀▓▓▓▄▄▄█████▓██▀▀▀▀██▄ ▄▄██▀▀▀▀██▓█████▄▄▄▓▓▓▀▀████████▄
▄█████▀▄██▌ ▀▀▀▀▀███▄ ▀████▀ ▄███▀▀▀▀▀ ▐██▄▀█████▄
▄█████▌▐████▄ ▄▄▄███▀▀██▄▄▄███▀████▄▄▄██▀▀███▄▄▄ ▄████▌▐█████▄
██████▌ ▀█████▄▄▄█████▀ ███▀▀ ▀▀███ ▀█████▄▄▄█████▀ ▐██████
▀▀████▄▄ ▀▀███████▀▀ ▄▄█▀▀ ▀▀█▄▄ ▀▀███████▀▀ ▄▄████▀▀
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