When harmonica ace James Montgomery began the New England Blues Society Medical Fund to help poor, underinsured blues musicians, a wealthy star like Johnny Winter was not who he had in mind.
Although Winter, 60, did not need financial help, he was a perfect candidate for a new doctor and a radically different health regimen.
“We hooked Johnny up with our main doctor, who drastically cut down all his prescribed medications. It was a dramatic change: His lifestyle habits changed too. The difference is unbelievable,” said Montgomery, who is a full-time member of Winter’s band in addition to pursuing his own music. “Johnny is in the best health he’s been in for a long time.”
If you see Winter when the famed guitar-slinger comes to Arlington’s Regent Theater tomorrow night, you will not see a man in robust health. After major hip surgery three years ago, Winter walks with difficulty using a cane and sits for all performances.
“I can’t stand up more than five minutes at a time. In airports, I use a wheelchair. It was a successful operation: They mended my hip. But I just can’t walk much,” Winter said in a telephone interview last week.
Johnny Winter is a survivor. In the ’70s, when Winter’s blues-rock albums were in the Top 40, narcotics addiction was a significant problem. That troubled period is long gone.
“I used to joke that his best friends were Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and he’s doing a lot better than them,” said Montgomery, who has known Winter for 30 years.
Despite his hip problems, Winter has been touring frequently in recent years. While his cult American audience is dedicated and most of his shows sell out, in Europe he is a gigantic draw. Winter’s old 1970s reputation as the world’s greatest white bluesman was supplanted by Stevie Ray Vaughan in the ’80s, yet in many parts of the world, the albino guitarist is still considered a legend.
His new album, the first in nearly eight years,
I’m a Bluesman
(Virgin/EMI), has a distinct New England stamp. It was recorded in South Boston and Stamford, Conn., and in addition to Montgomery on harmonica, the co-producer is Boston’s Tom Hambridge, with Boston-area musicians Mike Welch and Sal Baglio making appearances.
I’m a Bluesman has been called a return to pure blues for this onetime rocker. Yet Winter does not concur. He says he has always played blues, especially since 1984, when he began recording a series of CDs on Chicago’s Alligator label.
“The two other albums I’ve made for Virgin have also been blues albums. This one is just called I’m a Bluesman because that’s the name of the [title] song,” he said.
The answer is pure Winter, a man who avoids big statements and, in interviews, rarely answers a question with more than a short phrase. Ask him how it felt to play guitar with and produce albums for Muddy Waters, and he’ll just say, “Great!”
A follow-up question gleans this: “I wanted to make Muddy sound like he sounded in the ’50s.”
In 1977, Winter produced Waters’ album Hard Again and spearheaded a Waters revival, presenting the legend in a visceral yet still relatively traditional electric blues setting. It was the best gift Winter could have bestowed upon his boyhood hero. The album set Waters up for a triumphant old age, and the Winter-Waters team followed it up with I’m Ready in 1978, and Waters’ last studio album, King Bee, in 1981. The albums won three Grammys and have just been released on CD by Sony Legacy, with additional songs. They’ve aged very well.
It’s hard to get Winter to open up about the experience, however. Ask him if working with Waters changed his guitar style or influenced his own music, and he’ll just say, “No.”
His pal Montgomery, meanwhile, is effusive. “Muddy Waters called Johnny his son,” he said. “It was a close relationship. With all of Johnny’s amazing blues experiences, there are few people in the world like him today.”
The big yearly event in Montgomery’s life is coming up on 8 August: the Reel Blues Fest at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, a benefit for the Blues Society Medical Fund. The fund has helped dozens of underinsured blues musicians find free medical care.
Dickie Betts and Koko Taylor will headline, and Montgomery will play with guitarist G.E. Smith and special guests to be named later. Entrain is also on the long bill. The show starts at 4 p.m.
