STRINGBOUND
Blues music sparked in me the desire to play guitar about 27 years ago. Shortly after, when I discovered Johnny Winter, I gave myself over to my youthful enthusiasm and wanted just one thing: to play like him. Winter had already given the blues a new, more modern face, combining it with rock 'n' roll and (hard) rock, and he played the fastest, smoothest blue riffs I had heard until then. That stirred memories—and that’s why this episode is dedicated to my old hero:
Johnny Dawson Winter III was born on 22 February 1944 in Leland, Mississippi, and he is known for his (initially more regular) vocal performances (blues, Cajun, country gospel) at home and his parents’ admonitions to lead a "normal" life and grow from a solid child star. At 5 years old, Johnny is said to have stood on stage for the first time, and by age 15, he was already playing his first gigs, with early recordings soon after: a 45-single, "Schoolboy Blues." From then on, Winter regularly worked as a studio singer in Houston and Beaumont, where he contributed to countless recordings in the early 1960s. Guest appearances followed with Bobby Bland and many more, and by then, Winter had become well-known as "The Crystaliers" in the scene.
In 1968, Winter founded his new trio with Tommy Shannon (bass) and Uncle John Turner (drums). Rolling Stone hailed Johnny Winter as the hottest white blues guitarist on major labels, paving the way for his debut album "Johnny Winter" (Columbia) that same year. More world-famous albums followed, as did concert tours in multiple stadiums, but also bouts with alcoholism, nervous breakdowns, and deaths. By the mid-70s, Winter had ascended to the rock 'n' roll Olympus despite, or because of, such challenges. In 1976, he produced the Grammy-winning "Captured Live!" and in 1977, a studio recording that also included an album titled "Waters" and "Live."
With Muddy Waters (1977), Johnny began his second—and for him, likely just as liberating—career with "Hard Again," which became a celebrated studio and LP album, followed by three more records. Winter continued performing everywhere with his trio, eventually releasing "Alligator Blues" as part of a 90s TV program. Later albums and tours occurred on a smaller scale due to decreased demand, but in recent years, smaller labels and tours emerged, leading him with changing lineups back to international stages by the mid-90s. Winter’s concerts concluded on a high note.
STYLE & STUFF
Johnny now uses a pick for both picking the strings (upstrokes) and thumb strikes. His improvisations, with their characteristic major and minor scales, are fluid and force a restrained yet fast note, much like sliding fingers.
Winter’s guitar equipment is legendary to this day. In the 70s, he played a Gibson Firebird 5, an SG Custom, and later an alder Fender, before transitioning to Firebird 5 as his primary guitar for recording sessions and DVD bands in the 90s under new conditions.
Lyrics and melodies (songs) like “Side-Step on a Highway Les Paul in Blues-Rock”: “Johnny B. Goode” also targeted the highest league.
VIBRO KINGS
The hallmark of a great guitarist is their tone. Slash, B.B. King, Mark Knopfler, Rory Gallagher, Jeff Beck—an expert can identify these string artists from the first note. The guitarist’s technique is the key to their tone, determining what ultimately comes out of the speakers. For instance, the attack method can create various sounds. Whether the string is plucked with fingers or a pick, the correct technique is crucial for achieving a convincing tone. For example, Slash’s metal-style attack pressure or Mark Knopfler’s or Santana’s clean, calm hand movements.
Another important aspect is vibrato, one of the most crucial expression tools for a guitarist. The idea is to create subtle vibrations after striking the string, giving the note an emotional expression. Great masters of finger vibrato include Albert King and B.B. King. Johnny Winter’s vibrato is particularly pronounced and can be heard in his blues bendings. He typically does not use a whammy bar, relying instead on finger strength to bend the strings.
Bending and vibrato playing is no easy feat. Beginners often overextend the strings by pulling too hard. It is helpful to practice bending, paying attention to finger pressure on the fretboard. The king of vibrato, B.B. King, achieved superb bendings without excessive finger pressure.
Another outstanding feature of Winter’s playing is his speed and his ability to execute fast passages effortlessly, as many of his recordings demonstrate. Even complex runs in deep blues phrases are played with technical precision and fluidity. A prime example is "Mean Town Blues," released by Winter in the late 1960s, characterized by brilliant, fast slides and bendings from start to finish.
Winter was an extraordinary guitarist and remains one of the virtuosos of his field. His equipment remained fairly constant over the years, especially his Gibson Firebird, which accompanied him for decades.
It starts with a short classic bending lick that fluidly moves to the 7th fret of the first string (A), ending on a note pulled from the 9th fret of the B-string. This lick is classic, extending to the lower frets. The note is folded after bending, and Winter follows with vibrato directly, giving the note a distinctive feel. This lick is a prime example of his “fast-over-finger” technique, producing an extremely clean playing style. The tone and emotion are deeply embedded, followed by a deep bending run in a succession of notes.
This example showcases Johnny Winter’s typical playing style, focusing on fast vibrato in every session. His striking and immediate playing, especially his movement through bending runs, gives each note its emotional depth, making him one of the most distinctive artists in the blues world. His lick in this sequence demonstrates how to easily draw out the instrument’s full potential, making the notes come to life.
The bending movements selected here show that Winter’s playing is well thought out and classic, which also applies to his fast playing during solos. Winter always plays extremely fast sequences and licks, particularly when pushing the strings to their limits with fast bends.
The short example perfectly expresses Johnny Winter’s typical licks and guitar playing. His vibrato, familiar from his sessions, is particularly prominent here.
Winter used relatively thin strings, often electric guitar strings with low tension, making playing easier. This light string tension, combined with the attack, brought the thumb pick to the fretboard, which was often adjusted and influenced his playing style.
For acoustic blues, he mostly used a National Style 1 Tricone.
His amplifiers still include his two Music Man amps (200 watts, 4x10"). Effects: MXR Phase 90 (vintage), Boss CE-2 Chorus, Ibanez Tube Screamer (only for slide), D'Addario and Dean Markley strings (10-46"), and he tunes his guitars one whole step down. For slide playing in E major, B major, or E-B, he experimented a lot with different tunings. After all these years, his sound is powerful, soft, and full of sustain; in older recordings, it sounds spacier when his phaser effect kicks in. So far, so good. Johnny Winter is, as is well known, an albino, suffers from vision problems, and has become physically frail.
But in his performances, the blues freak or just recently showed how one survives in the heavy blues, and his warm charismatic playing became visible and audible in many colors. This blues musician turns 60 years old on 23 February. So then, Happy Birthday, Johnny!
