JOHNNY WINTER in June 1969

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June '69: Johnny Winter, the albino bluesman with a mane like pineapple sherbet, sets the rock world ablaze. From Texas roadhouses to the Newport stage, his sizzling guitar licks and haunting vocals captivate audiences. A $650,000 Columbia deal confirms his arrival. But the highlight? Four standing ovations at the Toronto Pop Festival, proving that this "White Tiny Tim" is a force to be reckoned with. Winter is here to stay, and the blues will never be the same.

Album Front cover Photo of JOHNNY WINTER in June 1969 https://vinyl-records.nl/

Johnny Winter in June 1969

Atlantic City Pop Festival
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Friday August 1

Iron Butterfly - Johnny Winter - Crosby, Stills & Nash - Chicago Procol Harum - Joni Mitchell - Mother Earth - Santana Blues Band - Booker T & The M.G.'s

Saturday August 2

Jefferson Airplane - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Grateful Dead - B.B. King - Butterfield Blues Band - Byrds - Hugh Masekela - Lighthouse - American Dream

Sunday August 3

Janis Joplin - Canned Heat - Mothers of Invention - Moody Blues - 3 Dog Night - Sir Douglas Quintet - Joe Cocker - Little Richard - Buddy Rich Big Band - "Dr. John" the Night Tripper

August 1-2-3

Atlantic City Race Track

Atlantic City, N.J.

Special Advance Rates Single performance, $6.

3 performances only $15.

Enclosed is check or M.O. for

$_________ for_________ 3-performance tickets @ $15.

Print Name

Address

City

State & Zip

Send check or M.O. payable to The A.C. Pop Festival, 22nd & Arch Sts., Phila., Pa. 19103. Enclose stamped self-addressed envelope. For more details, phone (215) LO 3-9284.

1 June 1969: Atlantic City Pop Festival Announcement Advertisement, New York Times
Photo of 1 June 1969: Atlantic City Pop Festival Announcement Advertisement, New York Times
What's going on in Teen-Age World?
5 June 1969 - Hays Daily news:

Teens Are Rapping About . . . Tiny Tim's successor, a 24-year-old cross-eyed albino guitarist with shoulder-length pineapple sherbet hair who goes by the name of Johnny Winter . . . Winter starts off a song wailing like Yma Sumac... then the bottom falls out of his voice and he's down on the salty river bottom grinding out his funky lightning volts

Blues by Albino by Joe Cappo
6 June 1969 The Los Angeles Times:

Synopsis: Johnny Winter, an albino guitarist and vocalist, defied expectations by becoming a respected blues musician. His journey from Beaumont, Texas, to Mississippi and back shaped his deep connection to the blues. Winter's talent and dedication led him to Chicago, where he met influential figures like Mike Bloomfield. After years of performing with various groups, Winter gained recognition through Rolling Stone magazine. This exposure led to a lucrative record deal with Columbia Records. Winter's debut album showcased his extraordinary guitar skills and authentic blues sensibility, solidifying his place in the music world.

Read Full Article

Newport '69 to showcase 30 Pop-Rock Superstars
10 June 1969 Van Nuys newspaper announces the Newport festival:

Headline acts Jimi Hendrix Experience, Creedancv Clearwater Revival and The Rascals today had been set by producer Mark Robinson for the Newport '69 Pop Festival In the held June 20, 21 and 22 at Devonshire Dawns in Northridge. John Carpenter, Music Editor of the Los Angeles Free Press, who regularly broadcasts over radio stations KPFK and KRLA will act as master of ceremonies with assistance from a number of special guest emcees.

Opening night will feature Jim Hendrix Experience with special guest stars Spirit. Other acts appearing on this evening Include Albert King, Southwlnd, Taj Mahal, Joe Cocker, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Ike and Tina Turner and Jerry Lauderdale. On Saturday Creedance Clearwater Revival heads a bill which Includes guest stars Szeppenwolf, Buffs St Marie, Eric Burdon, Sweet-water, Love, Brenton Wood and Jethro Tull.

Highlighting the festival's Sunday program will be The Rascals, along with special guest star Johnny Winter. Other artists slated for this program are Flock, Mother Earth, Booker T. and The MO's, Three Dog Night, The Grassroots, Marvin Gaye, The Byrds, The Chambers Brothers. and Poco as special guest stars of the Newport '69 Pop Festival. Robinson, producer of the Newport '69 Pop Festival, said his organization was planning to "plant." more than 100,000 square feet of grass and 100 12-foot shade trees especially for the event.

Source: 69-06-10 Van Nuys Newport Festival

Johnny Winter and The Raven at the Boston Tea Party
12 June 1969 - Saturday 14 1969 Boston Tea Party:

Johnny Winter and The Raven performed at the Boston Tea Party on 12, 13, and 14 June 1969. The Boston Tea Party was a popular music venue in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1967 to 1970. It hosted many famous rock and blues bands, including The Who, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin.

Johnny Winter at the Boston Tea Party
Photo of Johnny Winter at the Boston Tea Party
The Delaware County Daily Times publishes an amusing column on Johnny Winter
13 June 1969 Delaware County (PA) Daily Times:

Teens Are Rapping About . . Tiny Tim's successor, a 24-year-old cross-eyed albino guitarist with shoulder-length pineapple sherbet hair who goes by the name of Johnny Winter . . , Winter starts off a song wailing like Yma Sumac . then the bottom falls out of his voice and he's down on the salty river bottom grinding out his funky lightning volts in grave-throated raps . . . UGLY models . London's swingiest modeling agency, which is revolutionizing the beauty business by glorifying teen-age girls with irregular features and Plain Jane looks . . . Who says the ugly duckling need turn into a swan to get ahead?

1969 Winnepeg International Teen Festival - Brandon Sun Newspaper
13 June 1969:

Guest star is the latest Flash in the eccentric rock pan: Johnny Winter. This albino artist has been referred to by various pop eolumnisls as The White Tiny Tim, perhaps an unfair comparison as his rendition pf heavy blues has won much acclaim at such places as the Fillmore in New York.

Source: 69-06-13 Brandon Sun

The Denver pop festival, scheduled to start on the 27th of June 1969.
14 June Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph:

Pop Festival Set In Denver

Over a quarter of a million dollars of talent will be presented at the Denver Pop Festival to be held at Mile High Stadium. The Festival begins on Friday, June 27 and continues through Sunday, June 29. The three-day festival is being produced by Barry Fey, President of Feyline Productions, Inc. The following groups will perform: The Jimi Hendrix Experience; The Mothers of Invention; Sweetwater; Iron Butterfly; 3 Dog Night; Big Mama Thornton; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Tim Buckley; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Johnny Winter ; Joe Cocker; Taj Mahal; Aum; Zephyr and the Rev. Cleophus Robinson.

Backstage will be such veterans of the Monterey and Miami Pop Festivals as Bill Hanley providing the sound system, and Chip Monck designing the lights. This promises to be a heavyweight production with the top stars in the pop field. Hours for the Festival will be 5 p.m. to 12 Midnight all three days. Tickets for the event are $6 for one day and $15 for all three days. Cheeks or money orders for advance tickets should be sent to the Denver Pop Festival, Box 306, Denver, Colorado 00201.

Source: 69-06-14 Colorado Springs

Newport '69 Pop Festival
15 June 1969 Oxnard CA:

Synopsis: The Newport '69 Pop Festival, set for June 20-22 at Devonshire Downs, boasts an impressive lineup. Headliners include The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Rascals. Other notable acts include Steppenwolf, Joe Cocker, Ike & Tina Turner, and The Byrds. John Carpenter will emcee the event, with over 200,000 attendees expected. Producer Mark Robinson has taken extra measures to ensure comfort, including planting grass and shade trees.

Read Full Article: Newport '69 Pop Festival

Newport '69 at Devonshire Downs in Northridge. Tickets available for 6$ and the 3 day package 15$
20 June 1969 Newport Jazz Festival

The Brandon Sun newspaper mentions:

On 22 June The Rascals hold top spot. Guest star is the latest flash in eccentric-rock pan JOHNNY WINTER- This albino artist has been referred to by various pop columnists as The White Tiny Tim, perhaps an unfair comparison as his rendition of Heavy Blues has won him acclaim at such places as the Fillmore in New York

21-22 Jun 1969 Toronto Pop Festival, Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada

The success of the Toronto Pop Festival is heralded in the Bridgeport Post, Monday 23 June 1969: Texan Johnny Winter twanged his blues guitar and got four standing ovations.

Source: 69-06-23 Bridgeport Post

23 June 1969 Emporia KS Gazette

Texas-born blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter has embarked on his first national tour beginning with an appearance at the Seminóle Indian Village in Florida. The Capitol Times Green , Madison WIs, is reporting that Booker T. Johnny Winter and Albert King are in town. The Winnipeg Free Press reports: Toronto Pop Festival a HIT, highlighting Johnny WInter's performance as the best of the evening.

Super-group fills blues-rock niche
27 June 1969 - The Brandon Sun reports

Synopsis: This article, written by Grahame Newton, discusses the formation of a new supergroup consisting of Stephen Stills, David Crosby, and Graham Nash, following the breakup of their previous iconic bands, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, and the Hollies, respectively. The article outlines their musical background and creative ambitions, explaining their desire to blend blues-rock with personal expression. The trio has just completed recording an album for Atlantic Records, which is expected to cement their status in the upper echelons of rock music. The article also highlights the recent $20,000 Toronto Pop Festival, where blues guitarist Johnny Winter stole the show with four standing ovations. It concludes with a local update on the upcoming Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, which will feature performances from various Canadian bands.

Full Article: By GRAHAME NEWTON

Cream, one of the most significant groups on the pop music scene over the past couple of years, disbanded a few months ago leaving a gap in the field of blues-rock. The abyss remained until Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and Dave Crosby, three very accomplished musicians, decided to combine their talent. The three have just finished recording an album for Atlantic Records which could put them in the upper crust of rock, reserved only for the insiders.

David Crosby, formerly of the Byrds, is a true veteran of American rock music. While he was a member of the Byrds, he played the electric 12-string guitar which became characteristic of their music. Whenever he sang, it was always harmony, which he feels restricted his musical freedom. He left the Byrds in 1967, a few months later recorded a solo album which met with little enthusiasm from listeners. After this unsuccessful debut as a soloist, Crosby drifted for about a year, until meeting Stills and Nash. In December 1968, the three signed with Atlantic and began work on their album. Crosby feels that Nash and Stills have broadened his scope and allowed him to find himself.

Stephen Stills was a member of the now-defunct Buffalo Springfield. After their breakup, Stills hit the road and became a roving guitarist with a substantial reputation. He was popular as a guest guitarist for entertainers such as Judy Collins and Joan Baez. On an LP called Super Session, he combined his stylings with those of well-known blues guitarists Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. Stills’ reputation as a composer equals his ability as a guitarist. Many of the songs made popular by the Buffalo Springfield were the work of Stills and Neil Young, lead singer of the group. Soon after recording Super Session, he became bored with the long periods of inactivity between playing sessions and decided to form the group.

Graham Nash, an ex-member of the Hollies, joined the group to play the kind of music he enjoys. While he was with the Hollies, his enthusiasm for the group slowly diminished as their music became increasingly commercial. When they decided to record an album of Dylan songs, Nash thought it was time for him to leave. So he left the group and went to Los Angeles specifically to be with Stills and Crosby, whom he had met while he was still with the Hollies. Nash and Stills wrote all of the composing for the group. All the cuts on the new LP, except two composed by Crosby and Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane, are their work.

The trio has been called the newest super group, and all seems to indicate that they will be received gratefully by jolly music fans. They themselves prefer not to be thought of as a group, but rather as individuals, hence they go unnamed. They are sincere in their work, striving for a sound which will express their own personal taste in music. Their main concern is not only to please themselves, but to please themselves.

The $20,000 Toronto pop festival came to an end last Sunday with the promise of more to come. More than 49,000 people were entertained by some of the most highly-rated bands in rock music during two days of continuous action.

The star of the Saturday session was Johnny Winter , an albino blues guitarist who is currently rated among the best in North America. He received four standing ovations from a raving audience.

Sunday was devoted almost entirely to Canadian talent. Included in the line-up were Blood Sweat and Tears, who were heralded. David Clayton-Thomas was born and raised in Toronto and appeared with a popular group containing four members from Oshawa, Ont.

Also on the program were the Sugar and Spice, a Winnipeg band whose recording The Cruel War became quite popular in Canada and the northern United States.

LOCALLY

The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba opens next Monday, and one of the major attractions will be the Scene Centre ’69. The bands appearing in this week-long affair will be the UFO, the Mongrels, the Sugar and Spice, the Good Fortunes, the Gettysburg Address and the Footprints. The tickets, which allow admittance to the exhibition grounds as well as the Scene Centre, are available at the Country Music Centre, Don Gardner’s Clothing, Eaton’s and the exhibition ticket office.

Source & Full Article: 69-06-27 Brandon Sun.pdf

28 June 1969 - Denver Pop Festival, Mile High Stadium, Denver Colorado

One of the other bands at the “Denver Pop Festtival” was Jimi Hendrix.

    Johnny Winter’s setlist:
  • Rollin' & tumblin'
  • Help me
  • Leland Mississippi
  • Going down slow
  • Mean town blues
  • I'm not sure
  • It's my own fault
29 June 1969 - Walker Art Center / Tyrone Guthrie Theatre

Johnny Winter Band and The Holy Modal Rounders. The Johnny WInter band: Johnny Winter, Tom Shannon and "Uncle" John Turner. The Holy Model Rounders are Peter Stanofel, Steve Weber, Richard Tyler, Michael McCarthy, John Annas#