Johnny Winter: Guitar God, Rock & Roll Legend

When you talk about great authentic white blues guitar players, you are surely talking about some rarified company. The key word being authentic, and in my estimation authentic white blues guitar player means that when you listen to this person playing you think it’s a black man playing. Stevie Ray Vaughn a great blues guitar player always tried to get that real blues sound. When I saw Stevie Ray for the last time a few months before his death we spoke backstage at one of his shows and I told him “man you sounded like Albert King”, Stevie smiled and said that was the biggest compliment I could have ever given him. That is what we who strum the strings in the blues strive for, to sound like our idols, the great bluesmen. Johnny Winter did this as well as anyone, and proof of this is that he was accepted amongst the great bluesman as an equal, and shared the stage with many of them with great dignity and restraint.

Johnny was born John Dawson Winter in Beaumont Texas on February 23rd 1944. Johnny (as well as his brother Edgar) were born with albinism, and being an albino made Johnny stand out, but that did not stop him from playing music with his brother Edgar. His first record was recorded when Johnny was only 15 with his band Johnny and the Jammers, but it was Johnny’s self-titled first album on Columbia that established Johnny Winter as an A-List 60’s rock icon. His second album titled Second Winter was a three sided album (a double album with a blank forth side) that further marked Johnny as a guitar hero right up there with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Mike Bloomfield.

Johnny Winter: Guitar God, Rock & Roll Legend

Johnny’s next few albums were also fantastic albums, Johnny Winter And (1970), and Johnny Winter And Live (1971) were big sellers and were just ass-kickin’ rock and roll records. Those two albums contained great tunes such as “Rock and Roll HootchieKoo” (penned by Johnny Winter And guitarist Rick Derringer) and “Mean Town Blues”.

Johnny Winter: Guitar God, Rock & Roll Legend

Johnny Winter’s years of drug addiction caught up to him in 1972 and after a hospital stay (no ‘rehab in the pre Betty Ford era) he released “Still Alive and Well” in 1973, this was to be Johnny’s last decent selling release.

Even though Johnny’s days of gold records were behind him his name alone could sell out any club, or 3000 seat venue. Johnny always delivered at a live show; his fiery approach to guitar playing was eaten up by audiences all over the world.

Johnny Winter: Guitar God, Rock & Roll Legend

As a slide guitar player (playing guitar using a glass bottle-neck or copper tube) Johnny was unparalleled in his day, just check his slide work on Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” from Johnny’s album “Second Winter”. And when you talk about sheer rock and roll guitar, Johnny Winter can stand up with any rock guitarist. His vibrato (the bending of notes on the guitar) which is the signature of any rock and blues guitarist is unmistakable.

Johnny Winter: Guitar God, Rock & Roll Legend

Johnny kept it real for the blues crowd as well, and in 1983 he produced a great record for blues legend Muddy Waters called “Hard Again”. Reticent of Muddy’s age Johnny laid back on his playing on the record and let Muddy control the dynamic range of the record, a great tribute to Muddy and Johnny as well.

To this day Johnny still can bring it live, even though he sometimes has to be led to the bandstand, which is no surprise when you understand that his lifestyle over the past 40 years makes Keith Richards look like Bruce Jenner.

Johnny Winter Guitar God, Rock and Roll Survivor, and most importantly, Legend of Rock and Roll.

Legends of Rock & Roll: Guitarist Johnny Winter from MyRareGuitars.com

This past month or so I found myself having the same conversation several different times with several different people. That conversation centered around the question, “what were the greatest guitar solos on record”? I tend to go for the usual ones, but there are some great guitar sounds, not necessarily just solos, that are also worth mentioning. So folks here are my thoughts on the ten “Greatest guitar songs”. My list is a list not in any particular order, so here we go.

Mike Bloomfield (Super Session): Albert's Shuffle

#1. Mike Bloomfield [Super Session]: Albert’s Shuffle

This is the most flawless 5 minutes of solo guitar I have ever heard. Mike’s tone and note selection here are perfect. Period. I marveled over this song at 13 years old and still do. A 59 “Burst” through a blackface Twin Reverb, if not for this record you could probably still buy a ‘Burst” for $500 (not really).

Frank Zappa (One Size Fits All): Po-Jama People

#2. Frank Zappa [One Size Fits All]: Po-Jama People

Frank’s tone on this cut is similar to his tone on many of his 70’s era tunes like Inca Roads, Punky’s Whips and cuts from the Apostrophe album, but this solo in particular is so chock full of nuts I can’t say enough about it.

The SG sound here sounds like he’s choking the guitar to death. What a solo! There was magic in the studio that day, for sure.

Jimi Hendrix (Band of Gypsies): Machine Gun

#3. Jimi Hendrix [Band of Gypsies]: Machine Gun

Not much to say here aside from the fact that this is the greatest guitar solo every printed on tape! Unlike the Bloomfield cut I referred to earlier, this is not a seamless, flawless solo; it’s just the most riveting, gut wrenching piece of guitar work I have ever heard. I turn people onto it who are not fans of Jimi, rock, or guitar in general and they are stunned. Jimi, Jimi, Jimi.

Link Wray: Rumble

#4. Link Wray: Rumble

This song actually made me shiver when I was a kid hearing it for the first time. It’s what rock and roll guitar should be, raw, slightly out of tune and showing very little dexterity (off handed compliment if I ever heard one). The guitar Link is using on this cut is a Danelectro Guitarlin set in the middle position, with the pickups in series.

There are several versions of this song available. I like two of the earlier ones, one of which is the version where Link switches on the tremolo in the fade. Cool! The other version, which is my favorite, appears on a Link Wray compilation, on the Edsel label.

Eric Clapton (Fresh Cream): Sweet Wine

#5. Eric Clapton [Fresh Cream]: Sweet Wine

EC at his best. His entrance on this cut is what a solo should start like. Bang! Here I am. Eric’s tone is big yet cuts through. To my ear, it sounds like Eric is playing an SG. Clapton’s work on this whole album is unparalleled (see NSU and Dreaming) but this is “the” one. His enharmonic approach is refreshing and different. Most of his work in the future was mostly root or relative minor based. You’ll know what I mean when you listen to his solos on “While my guitar gently weeps” and “Something”. I have always felt that Clapton’s best work was when he was around musicians he did not tower over like Bruce, Baker, The Beatles and Duane Allman.

Johnny Marr (The Smiths): How Soon is Now?

#6. Johnny Marr [The Smiths]: How Soon is Now?

Rarely do you find a song with a great guitar hook in it, a song in which the guitar sound defines any sound you hear afterwards that, even remotely sounds the same. This song has two of them. I don’t know much about Mr. Mars or the Smiths, all I know is that when I heard this song I stood with my mouth open thinking “my God that is a sound I will remember for the rest of my life.”

The first one is a rhythmic heavily tremoloed effect while he’s playing a chord. His strumming is in sync with the trem, where as, you don’t hear his attack, only the chord. A very powerful sound indeed. The second is when he slides back a half step using a fragmented voiced chord up an octave or so from the first hook, also breathtaking. BTW Morrisey’s vocal on this tune is also spectacular.

Roy Buchanan: The Messiah Will Come Again.

#7. Roy Buchanan: The Messiah Will Come Again.

Even without knowing Roy’s story and subsequent fate, if this tune does not bring you to tears or at least give you a case of “chicken skin” you are dead already!!!

Hearing this song on Roy’s 1972 PBS TV special was a defining moment in this mans life. I could not believe anyone could put so much emotion into a song. To this day for me the actual playing of this tune has to be done at the right time in the right place among the right people. The Telecaster at its greatest moment is when it’s in Roy’s hands. The simple act of switching pickups in this song is earth shattering. This is more a spiritual experience than a musical one on my opinion.

Mark Knophler: Sultans of Swing

#8. Mark Knophler: Sultans of Swing

I knew that this song would be a hit based solely on the guitar playing. When was the last time you heard that statement? It was the 70’s for Chrissakes, and here comes this upstart Brit playing a Strat so clean you could actually hear his technique. And it was good, very very good!

I love this song for the sheer reason that it gives every guitar player the hope that if you play good enough you can play yourself into a hit record. His tasty playing during the song is so restrained and tempered that when in the last part of the song he goes into that famous triplet riff it sounds like the world is coming to an end.

Jerry Reed: The Claw

#9. Jerry Reed: The Claw

That’s his name and that’s his nickname. If I could play like any guitar player in the world it would be Jerry Reed. This guy is a monster picker, for sure, as well as, a talented songwriter and a not half bad screen personality (the Snowman in “Smokey and the Bandit”). Check out Jerry’s chops on this particular tune, he’s finger picking a gut string and it sounds like a multitracked guitar part being played by several great guitarists, but its not. It’s just Jerry being Jerry.

Freddy King: Going Down

#10. Freddy King: Going Down

The first time I heard this song as I am sure I am not alone was by Jeff Beck on the second Jeff Beck Group album. Upon hearing Freddy’s version, a few years later, I initially still had Beck’s version in my mind as the reference. As time went on and I listened to King’s version more, eventually I fell in love with the simplicity in his approach. The stunning fact is, that like many of Freddy’s solos, he never moves from the one position he starts in. This was to me. to become a very important lesson on how to play the blues authentically. We sometimes get caught up in moving around and that movement becomes the idea, not the bending and squeezing of the few notes. Larry Londin’s simplified drumming also lends a hand to the tasty feel set up in the recording as well as Leon Russell’s signature piano sound, all simple and all tasty. Yummy!!!

Well boys and girls that’s it for now. Please contact me with your comments criticisms and suggestions I love ‘em!

10 Greatest Guitar Songs from MyRareGuitars.com