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February '69 was a whirlwind for Johnny Winter. A record-breaking deal with Columbia, hyped by Clive Davis himself, solidified his stardom. Gigs at Fillmore East and a Boston Tea Party appearance further cemented his reputation as a guitar virtuoso. Media frenzy ensued, with Life and Look covering the "new genuine superstar." Yet, amidst the ballyhoo, Winter remained grounded, focused on upcoming concerts and his debut album.
Johnny Winter signs up with Columbia Records (CBS) for $300,000 published in the New York Times on 4 February 1969. Making him the highest paid musician in history at that point. Winter was later to bitterly regrest at all this ballyhoo: "I had this "fuckin" manager man. He made everybody think I got all that bread at one time. It was actually spread over a long time. I just wished I could give the whole goddam lot back and start over.
Johnny Winter, the Texas albino guitarist and the newest star with progressive rock audiences, has signed a five-year contract with Columbia Records, with the most money ever offered by that company for a new artist, according to Clive Davis, president of Columbia. The signing climaxed a two-month battle by all the major recording companies for Winter's signature. Winter was first heard of in an article in Rolling Stone, the San Francisco music newspaper. He was mentioned in a story about the Texas rock scene. This prompted Steve Paul, owner of the Scene, the hip New York club, to fly to Texas in search of Winter.
They met in Houston, and Steve aecame Johnny Winter's manager. He brought him to New York, where he played jam sessions at the scene, and performed at the Fillmore East. Winter quickly became the favorite of New York's rock underground. Even Ihe establishment was impressed. Steve Paul leased a 30-acre estate in upstate New York for Winter, and Life and Look assigned writers and photographers to cover the story. Johnny Winter and his three-piece group, called Winter, appeared in Boston Sunday with the Janis Joplin Revue, and then at Fillmore East.
After months of competitive bidding by many record companies, a rambling farmhouse in Rhinebeck, New York, was the scene of one of the most important signings of the decade.
Johnny Winter (the young Texas-born blues and rock guitarist whose recent San Francisco and New York appearances have caused underground and other critics to hail him as rock music's new genuine superstar) has signed an exclusive long-term contract with Columbia Records.
In commenting on the signing, Clive Davis, president of Columbia Records, said, "Johnny Winter is a virtuoso of the guitar. To say more would involve the use of superlatives that would wrongly be attributed to press agentry."
Winter's plans for the near future include concert appearances on the East Coast and work on his first album, which is tentatively scheduled for release this spring.
Most assuredly, he'll do well, but we'll just C Sharp.
