![]() To many blacks, blues music was a retrograde, rural genre that reminded folks of the hardship and suffering they were leaving behind. WAS: Here's the irony: white kids from New York and Detroit and Pennsylvania, where these concerts were recorded, were embracing a music that it had been shunned in the very community where it was born. WATERS: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Their devotion to the Chess Records catalog of the late '40s and '50s fueled the commercial resurgence of these venerable artists and others. But that would change with the rise of the rock and roll blues man: Winter, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. WAS: Until then, blues and jazz were only appreciated by a small but loyal cadre of aficionados. WAS: That year, 1977, Johnny Winter had produced Muddy Waters' album "Hard Again," and this was the tour that supported that release. ![]() It's called "Breakin It Up, Breakin' It Down." And it captures not only their easy rapport and respect these guys had, but the palpable excitement of their fledgling blues rock audience. WAS: A new concert recording of this classic salt and pepper ensemble has just been released. WATERS: (Singing) Leave my baby (unintelligible) But in the late '70s, they were being introduced to a generation of young white suburbanites suffused with existential angst. The two blues men used to work together in the funky clubs of Chicago's Southside. WAS: The Beaumont, Texas guitarist had long admired singer Muddy Waters and harmonica virtuoso James Cotton. MUDDY WATERS (Musician): One, two, three, four. It's David Was, DAY TO DAY's resident musician. He had been due to begin a US tour in August, ahead of the September 2 release of his new album "Step Back", which features music icons such as Ben Harper, Eric Clapton and Dr John.Unidentified Man #1: I'd like to welcome you to an evening of blues with James Cotton, Johnny Winter and Muddy Waters.ĭAVID WAS: Thirty years ago this spring, a long-haired albino guitar hero named Johnny Winter sat down with a pair of blues legends. He had been on tour this month, most recently performing at the Cahors Blues Festival in France on July 14. His big breakthrough came in 1968 when Rolling Stone magazine dubbed the guitarist the hottest item after Janis Joplin in an article about the Texas music scene.Īfter the 1969 Woodstock festival, Winter withdrew from the public eye because of a drugs problem before returning to the scene in 1973. Winter began playing the clarinet aged five, switching to the ukelele and then the guitar a few years later.Īccording to his official website, he formed his first band when he was 14 years old, with his 11-year-old brother, also an albino. Winter, who was also a singer, was one of the most striking figures on the blues scene.Īn albino who was heavily tattooed, his fragile frame and long blond hair contrasted starkly with his powerful, gravelly voice.īorn John Dawson Winter III in Texas in 1944, Winter was the son of a cotton farmer. "Based on the initial elements of the investigation, it appears that this death was the result of medical reasons, and that nothing points to the involvement of another person," the spokesman told AFP. Swiss police told AFP that Winter was found dead early Wednesday in a hotel room in Bulach, a small town north of Zurich, which lies close to the city's airport.Ī Zurich police spokesman said the local prosecutor's office has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death. "His wife, family and bandmates are all saddened by the loss of their loved one and one of the world's finest guitarists," the statement read, adding that Winter died on Wednesday. ![]() ZURICH: US blues legend Johnny Winter has died aged 70 in a hotel room near Zurich, Swiss police and a statement on his official Facebook page said Thursday. A photo taken on Jshows US guitarist Johnny Winter performing on stage during the XII Jazz Festival in Valencia's Palau de la Musica.
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