366 | Johnny Winter

Today is the birthday of Johnny Winter, a virtuoso blues guitarist who left an indelible mark on the blues-rock genre.
The adaptation above, the birthday calendars below, and the overview with hyperlinks about his life and work below were made by me, Frieke.

Johnny Winter was born on February 23, 1944, in Beaumont, a city where oil, heat, and blues music are deeply embedded in everyday life. Born John Dawson Winter III, he grew up in a musical family alongside his younger brother, Edgar Winter. Both boys were born with albinism, which not only gave them a striking appearance but also made them outsiders from an early age. Perhaps it was precisely for that reason that they found refuge in music. Inspired by greats such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Robert Johnson, Johnny developed a raw, uncompromising guitar style. His playing was fierce, direct, and emotionally charged—as if every note were a necessity. Together with Edgar, he was already performing as a teenager. At fifteen, he released the single  School Day Blues with his band Johnny and the Jammers; Edgar was only thirteen at the time, yet already played with a maturity far beyond his years.

In the 1960s, Winter began making a name for himself in the Texas club circuit, where his virtuosity and untamable energy did not go unnoticed. His breakthrough came in 1968 with The Progressive Blues Experiment, an album that instantly placed him on the national blues map. The music magazine Rolling Stone named him, along with Janis Joplin, one of the greatest new talents of the moment.

A year later, Winter signed a record contract with Columbia Records and released the album Johnny Winter. That same year, he performed at the legendary Woodstock Festival, where he blew the audience away with his fiery rendition of Me and My Uncle, written by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. The performance cemented his status as one of the most intense guitarists of his generation.

The 1970s brought both success and chaos. Albums such as Still Alive and Well and Saints & Sinnerswere well received and showcased an artist who effortlessly blended blues, rock, and boogie. At the same time, Winter became increasingly entangled in heroin addiction. Yet his love for the blues remained untouched. He produced several albums for his great idol Muddy Waters, playing a crucial role in Waters’ successful comeback and earning deep respect within the blues world.

From the 1990s onward, Winter’s health visibly declined. Despite physical limitations and chronic ailments, he continued to perform and record. His playing became more restrained, but no less intense; every note seemed to carry even greater meaning. The blues remained his lifeblood. Johnny Winter passed away on July 16, 2014, in Zürich during a European tour. He was 70 years old. His death was attributed to natural causes, after a life lived as intensely and uncompromisingly as his music.

The impact of Johnny Winter on the world of music cannot be overstated. As a guitarist, singer, and ambassador of the blues, he left an indelible legacy. He will forever be remembered as one of the true giants of blues music, a beacon of inspiration for generations to come.

An impressive overview of his career can be found in the box set True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story,, which brings together studio recordings, live performances, and previously unreleased material into a musical portrait of a man who did not just play the blues—he was the blues.