Johnny Winter - True To The Blues

The Life Story of John Dawson Winter III is told best, not by the countless people who know him or played with him, but by both the quality  and the  longevity of his recorded music from 1968 to 2011 spanning a 43 year period and  packaged in a four CD box set released on the day Johnny Winter turned 70 years old, aptly named: True To The Blues -The Johnny Winter Story. The music speaks for itself, and few artists can equal his credentials. The box set by Legacy is put together nicely including a deluxe booklet with tributes from other musicians and some great insight into the Life and times of the legendary Texan guitar Slinger.  
With the first few chords of Bad Luck and Trouble you get a sense of Winter's deep respect and appreciation of the blues. That song is followed up by his classic blues rocker: Mean Town Blues. From there we go to some vintage live cuts recorded at the Fillmore East with Mike Bloomfield and Johnny Winter tearing it up on; It's My Own Fault the great BB King song. Johnny then delves heavily into Rock n Roll with Rick Derringer and his brother Edgar. The box set allows the listener to experience featured snippets in chronological order of Winter's entire career and that is what I enjoyed about it the most. The Alligator Records years are included as well on up to the current Roots album. The question is: what is next for Johnny Winter? . . .  All I know is I can hardly wait!
Through the years I have managed to see Johnny a few times. The first time was the most memorable. It was in the early 90's at a club in Cincinnati ; Bogart's. I will never forget hearing a 15 minute blistering version of ; You Keep Say'n That You're Leavin'. I have yet to see someone match the finesse and speed on the guitar since that night.
Johnny's stock was in decline just a few short years ago due to his health and past battles with addiction. Those vices look to be behind him thanks to his current rhythm guitarist and new road/marketing manager: Paul Nelson, who  is reinventing the JW of old. Thanks to Paul's guidance and Johnny's own determination and  dedication to music and the blues, he is now touring to sold out shows here in the states and overseas where he is also a huge draw. Catch him soon in a town near you! Enjoy the posted videos from the past (1970) to recently on the David Letterman Show.

Billboard Recent Article: http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/sxsw/5937499/johnny-winter-roots-album-eric-clapton-joe-perry-ben-harper-billy-gibbons#1m8IP03CDmz8GLbs.14