Johnny Winter phoned for his interview on Sunday night, March 9, from his home in New York. Amazingly for a musician, he actually phoned a minute before the scheduled time (how often does THAT happen?). It had been over five years since Johnny had done an interview, and he hadn't really done a lengthy one since around 1989, so we were very happy that he was honoring us with the interview. I found him to be very polite, friendly, and open. And that was in spite of the fact that I'm quite sure he was nervous after so many years of not talking to the press. Now, as a Delta boy myself, I can do a mean Mississippi accent. And my folks have lived in and near Tupelo for decades, and yes, everybody up there does sound just like Elvis (that IS the accent). But imagine when you read this, Johnny Winter's quiet voice, and a real south Texas/Houston-area accent, very drawling and distinctive.

We began by chatting about a few mutual acquaintances, and the fact that I spent my first 8 years just down Highway 82 from Johnny's home in the Delta - not that he remembers that area well, since he was less than two years old when he moved. Although Johnny's career and musical history is centered in the southeastern part of Texas and west Louisiana, I was surprised by how many connections Johnny's career has had to my adopted hometown of Austin. So, here's nearly the complete text of the interview, mainly omitting me talking, and what the weather was gonna be like when he plays SXSW in Austin in two weeks (man, I don't know, it's cold and rainy as all get out now, and that's weird for Austin at this time of year).

Goldmine: I grew up in Indianola, in the Delta, about 14 miles east of your old hometown of Leland, Mississippi. There seems to be some question among fans about where you were actually born.

Johnny Winter: I was born in Beaumont, and when my daddy got out of the army, we lived in Leland for a year or so. But then we moved back to Beaumont, and I actually grew up in Beaumont, Texas.

Goldmine: You and your brother Edgar, performing as the Winter brothers, actually appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in New York City in 1959 didn't you? What do you remember about that show?

Johnny Winter: Well, we auditioned for it, we didn't actually get to go on the show. It was strange, we were very little kids. We'd never done anything like that before. We weren't used to staying up that late. It was very weird.

Goldmine: Did your family go up to New York with you?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, they drove us up. We had won a contest in Beaumont, and got to go up there. They drove us all the way from Beaumont to New York.

Goldmine: I've read in an old interview that the first time you met Muddy Waters was actually here in Austin. Was that right? Tell us what it was like meeting one of your idols, and getting to play with him.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, it was at the Vulcan Gas Company in downtown Austin. We were opening for Muddy. He played a whole weekend, two shows a night. When he wasn't playing, we were. It was unbelievable for me. I had my tape recorder set up. I had my camera, and took lots of photographs. We was just recordin' the whole thing. I was just in awe of Muddy!

Goldmine: That's so cool. Did you actually get to play with him then or was that later?

Johnny Winter: No, it was later that we played together. It was just unbelievable, though, I was just in awe of him. I couldn't believe we got to play on the same show with him. I just couldn't believe it?here was the guy that had inspired me to go into music, and he was playing on the same gig with us. He inspired me to play the blues and everything, and there he was playing on the gig with us. It was so amazing!

Goldmine: How old would you have been then? Still in your teens?

Johnny Winter: No, I was about 27-28 then, at the Vulcan.

Goldmine: How does somebody from Beaumont, Texas, discover the blues and get into playing it?

Johnny Winter: The radio, the radio. We had stations we could get out of Nashville, Shreveport, and Del Rio, and in Mexico. I listened to all the blues I could get on the radio, that was before I was old enough to get into clubs.

Goldmine: What was the first blues song you heard that made a big impression on you?

Johnny Winter: It was "Somebody In My Home" by Howlin' Wolf. I'll never forget that. Wolf don't sound like anybody else, you know! I thought it was just wild, and said "what is this?"?it just wiped me out.

Goldmine: Some of the earliest recording you did was with that odd character Roy Ames down in Houston, wasn't it?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, but actually Bill Hall was the first guy to record me. You remember that movie Go Johnny Go that had Chuck Berry and Jimmy Clanton?a lot of rock'n'roll people in it (Hal Roach Studios, 1959, also with Eddie Cochran, Ritchie Valens, & Jackie Wilson)? And along with the movie, they had this contest, this Johnny Melody contest. I won that, so I got to audition for a recording session with Bill Hall, Beaumont's only record company that I knew anything about. He had the only recording studio in town. He just said "let's cut it?", and I had these two songs that I had written, and we went in and recorded them. I think we sold 285 copies.

Goldmine: Would that be the single "School Day Blues" on Dart Records?

Johnny Winter: Yep. Dart Records.

Goldmine: I didn't get into the blues from Rolling Stones records like a lot of people did. I think you were one of the first people I listened to playing straight blues, back when I was in college.

Johnny Winter: Oh really? That's great.

Goldmine: It's been said that you were one of the first people to really play straight blues, and spread it to a white audience for the first time. And that, of course, was responsible for those original blues artists actually making money at it for the first time, when white audiences in the Sixties discovered their music. Do you feel like you really had a lot of influence in that way?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I think I did.

Goldmine: What was it about the blues that made you want to take it to a wider audience?

Johnny Winter: It was real music, about real people and real problems. It wasn't about going to school or anything like that. It was very real, very raw. It was so uncontrived, they were just playing what they wanted to play, it didn't sound like they had worked it out much.

Goldmine: You had to have been a total outcast listening to the blues in Beaumont back in the Fifties?

Johnny Winter: Yep, nobody else cared anything about it. I played as much of the blues as I could in clubs, but until the Stones made it, I didn't get to play too much of it.

Goldmine: I'm sure you had to play covers of songs people knew in the bars?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, we did a lot of that, but just sneaked in a blues song here and there whenever I could.

Goldmine: Now, I understand your little brother Edgar wasn't into the blues as much as you were.

Johnny Winter: Naw, he wasn't. But he got to hear as much of it as I did. We were close, grew up together, and what I heard, he heard too.

Goldmine: The impression I've gotten in earlier interviews is that you had to drag him into the blues a little bit.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I did. But he liked Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, he liked the big band blues.

Goldmine: What did you hear that made you want to pick up the guitar for the first time.

Johnny Winter: Wow! I was playing the clarinet when I was young, but the orthodontist told me I was getting an overbite from playing the clarinet - that's when I was a little kid of about nine or ten - so then I dropped the clarinet, and started to play the ukelele. We had one around the house. So I played the ukelele until my hands got big enough to play a guitar. I guess I was about twelve when I started to play the guitar. Just did imperfect versions of what I was hearing on the radio.

Goldmine: Did you start off like a lot of musicians of your generation with Buddy Holly?

Johnny Winter: I started out with Buddy Holly and people like that. That was before I heard the blues for the first time.

Goldmine: Were you much of an Elvis fan?

Johnny Winter: Yeah. Well, the Old Elvis. I still do love the Sun Records stuff.

Goldmine: When your first years playing in bars, were you able to play much blues, or did it not happen until you got a record deal?

Johnny Winter: It didn't even happen then. I played in black clubs, and I got to playing blues in black clubs with people like B.B. King and things like that. But mostly I played covers and rock 'n' roll.

Goldmine: Were you accepted by the audiences in black clubs?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, they sure did accept me. They sure did. That was really cool.

Goldmine: Jim Dickinson is a friend of mine, and he's told stories of sneaking into clubs around Memphis as a young kid to hear black music, sneaking in the back door and all that. He said he just couldn't understand why everybody wasn't into it.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, yeah, there weren't any other white people in those clubs with us except for a couple of my friends.

Goldmine: At least you had those friends. Man, in Beaumont, you could've been the only one!

Johnny Winter: Yeah, no kiddin', and because I couldn't drive, I needed somebody to take me out there too.

Goldmine: Jumping forward a little bit, what was it like when you got that big spread in Rolling Stone, and they singled you out as "?the hottest item outside of Janis Joplin?"?

Johnny Winter: Scary! I just couldn't imagine it, never expected it, and didn't know it was coming out in advance. All of a sudden there it was in this magazine.

Goldmine: That led directly to your being signed to Columbia, didn't it? Were you excited to be on that label, with Dylan and everything?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, it did lead directly to that. I was very excited to be on Columbia.

Goldmine: Do you still like those first couple of records?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I (very emphatically) like 'em.

Goldmine: You've been on a zillion different labels over the years. Is there any possibility of there being some kind of comprehensive boxed set of all the different areas of your career?

Johnny Winter: Record labels don't exactly cooperate with each other much. CBS has put out a good couple of CD compilations, some of them have some of the blues and rock 'n' roll records together.

Goldmine: I know our readers are gonna want to know what you remember about Woodstock. I've been fortunate enough to have seen hours of footage from the festival that's not been aired, and it seems to me that most of the bands that played there were too dosed on LSD to perform well. Even the best of the bands are frequently just not playing that well. But the clip of you performing "Mean Town Blues" is one of the hottest things from Woodstock.

Johnny Winter: Really? That's good to hear you say that.

Goldmine: You were left out of the film and the original album. I've heard that was your manager, Steve Paul's doing. Why were you left out of the film?

Johnny Winter: That was Steve Paul. He didn't think it was too big of a deal, I guess. He didn't want to do it. I think it did hurt my career. He didn't think it was going to amount to anything, so we got left out.

Goldmine: So, what do you remember about Woodstock?

Johnny Winter: Not much, really! We were playing big gigs like that all of the time around then. That year there were so many pop festivals going on. Mainly I remember the rain and the mud!

Goldmine: A lot of artists never actually got paid for Woodstock. Did you get paid?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, we did! We got paid.

Goldmine: Good for you! How did you come to hook up with the McCoys? They were a teenybopper pop band originally, but I know particularly towards the end of their career, they were getting heavily into the blues. A lot of people still fondly remember the Johnny Winter And band.

Johnny Winter: My manager had a place right across the way from mine. We were living in upstate New York at the time, and he was trying to help the McCoys out. At that time, they didn't have a manager or a label any more. They were practicing all the time, and we were practicing all the time. Then when it came time to get a new band for me, and the blues had finally kind of run its course in the marketplace?it had been so popular for a while that nobody cared about it any more. So they (the management and the label) convinced me that if I didn't do something more commercial, I wasn't going to have a career anymore. So we decided to break up the band with Tommy (Shannon) and Red, the McCoys were there. And they were good, and they were nice guys. They could play blues, too. So we decided to get together and all that.

Goldmine: When I was in college, the Johnny Winter And and the Johnny Winter And Live albums were two that nearly everyone in the fraternity house listened to, and had copies of.

Johnny Winter: And looking back, those are probably the two that I care least about.

Goldmine: (Laughing) I was told you would say that.

Johnny Winter: Really?

Goldmine: Why don't you like those albums very much?

Johnny Winter: Well, I do like them OK. I still like rock 'n' roll, I just missed the blues.

Goldmine: We've got a limited amount of time here, so let's fast forward to the present. I like your new album Live In NYC '97 a great deal. It's a really good album. You haven't played live in a number of years. Was this show at the Bottom Line in April, 1997, played specifically to record a live album?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, it was. I picked the songs I wanted for this album, the ones I liked, not necessarily what anyone else wanted to hear. I tried to pick ones that hadn't been recorded too much, hadn't been on too many records. Since I don't write much myself, it's hard to find material that hasn't been overdone.

Goldmine: How did you come to be involved in the Bob Dylan anniversary tribute? Almost everyone I know, all the Dylan fans, thought that your performance was one of the night's very best. Out of all those superstars, you really surprised a lot of people that night, really blew 'em away!

Johnny Winter: They just asked me to do it. I don't know why. It sure was fun for me to do it.

Goldmine: Have you ever met Dylan, or did you get to meet him that night?

Johnny Winter: No, I sure didn't. There were so many people there. I've never met him.

Goldmine: Were you pleased to see that show come out on video and record?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I sure was. I was really pleased about that.

Goldmine: What about the tribute album to the Rolling Stones, Cover You - were you asked to be a part of that, or did they just license your track from the label?

Johnny Winter: What's that? I don't know anything about that. (after I explain what it is to him). They must have just licensed that. I'm glad to be on it, though.

Goldmine: Have you ever gotten to play with the Rolling Stones? They seem an obvious band to put you on the bill with them.

Johnny Winter: No, I haven't.

Goldmine: I just saw them two weeks ago in Houston, and they were just brilliant. One of the best tours I've ever seen 'em do. Are their any young blues players you've heard that you think will carry on the torch for future generations like you did?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, there are some good young people I've heard. I can't really remember some of their names. There's the kid who's related to Butch Trucks, he's really good. He's from Florida, and he's real good.

Goldmine: Would you ever consider working with Edgar again?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, we definitely will, if we can get the right kind of deal. We can't make as much money together as we do apart.

Goldmine: Have your parents been very supportive of you in your career? With your dad being a military man from Mississippi, it must have been pretty outrageous to him for you to be playing black music.

Johnny Winter: Yeah. They really were very supportive. They've always been supportive of both of us. The only time they weren't was when I was very young, about fifteen, and I wanted to be playing in clubs, and they didn't want me in there. Finally they did let me do it. After that, there wasn't any turning back, I was on my way.

Goldmine: What did your dad say when you finally had a record out?

Johnny Winter: They were real supportive of it. They couldn't believe it.

Goldmine: You're a lucky guy! I've heard you actually get a new tatto every time you put an album out. That's a funny story, but is it true?

Johnny Winter: No, that's not true. I haven't gotten one in a long time.

Goldmine: (laughing) 'Bout run out of room, huh?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I think I've just about had enough of 'em.

Goldmine: How old were you when you got your first tattoo?

Johnny Winter: It was right before I was forty. I was looking for something new to do that wasn't self-destructive. Tattoos turned out to be it. In fact, Keith Ferguson from Austin (the late bass player from the Fabulous Thunderbirds, LeRoi Brothers, Tailgators, Big Guitars From Texas, etc.)?do you remember Keith? ("oh yeah") Keith turned me on to it. He died about a year ago. Anyway, he got one of those spider webs tattooed on, and I watched him get it. That made me decide that I was gonna try it.

Goldmine: (laughing) Johnny, you've gotta be one of the only people who ever waited until the age of forty to get his first tattoo?

Johnny Winter: (laughing) I know, I know! I waited a long time to get one.

Goldmine: One of your fans owns that Strat that you used to have, the one that Rick Derringer is wearing on the cover of All American Boy. He wanted to know where you got it, originally?

Johnny Winter: I don't know, I sure don't. I kept trying to play Strats because I love their sound, but I just can't.

Goldmine: What kind of guitar are you playing now?

Johnny Winter: A Lazer, designed by a guy named Mark Erlewine, of Austin. I play that mainly, and a Gibson Firebird for slide.

Goldmine: Who influenced you to start playing slide?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I was. Robert Johnson and Son House were the main influences, they turned me on to it.

Goldmine: Weren't you self-taught? What did you use for a slide?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I was self-taught. Man, I used all kinds of things. I used test tubes, pieces of test tubes, pieces of pipe?but nothing worked right until I played in Denver. And a guy from Denver named Morris Tiding turned me on to a piece of conduit pipe - a 12-foot piece we got from a plumbing supply place. And I'm still using that same piece of pipe now that I used back then. I just saw off another piece of it every time I need a new one.

Goldmine: Really? That's amazing.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, it's just a piece of pipe.

Goldmine: Unbelievable! The same piece! Well, do you play with a regular pick?

Johnny Winter: No, I play with thumb picks.

Goldmine: Was it Muddy who turned you on to thumb picks? (continuing to display my ignorance of guitar player lore)

Johnny Winter: Naw, it was Merle Travis, mostly. There was a guy in Beaumont who gave me a few lessons who turned me on to finger picks (sorry readers, I can't make out that name on the tape). I got turned on to Chet Atkins, too, and he used one. You can't get the right sound on that Chet Atkins/Merle Travis stuff without it.

Goldmine: Merle Travis is just an amazing player. I got turned on to him through old kinescopes from Tex Ritter's Ranch Party.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, he's great.

Goldmine: Are there any new players you really like?

Johnny Winter: I still like the old stuff: Muddy, Wolf, Little Walter, Bobby Bland, Ray Charles, all those people.

Goldmine: What are some of the most memorable moments in your career? I'd imagine working with Muddy was at the top of the heap.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, getting to work with Muddy was definitely one of the best moments. And making the first CBS record was a big moment. Making the first Dart record really wiped me out, hearing myself on the radio. It definitely turned me on.

Goldmine: If you had to pick three favorite records of yours, which would they be?

Johnny Winter: The first record, Johnny Winter is one of my favorites. Still Alive And Well is my favorite of the rock 'n' roll records. And Let Me In, the one on Point Blank, is one of my favorites.

Goldmine: At this point, what would you like to say about working with Muddy Waters ?

Johnny Winter: I just loved it. I loved Muddy, and working with him was one of the high points of my career.

Goldmine: When you were working on the Grammy-winning Hard Again with Muddy in 1977, is it true that many of those songs were recorded on the first take?

Johnny Winter: A lot of it was. We didn't hardly ever do more than two or three takes.

Goldmine: Do you like working that fast?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I do.

Goldmine: If you get a take that has the right feel, are you happy with that, as opposed to a take where every note is played perfectly?

Johnny Winter: If it's got the right feel, that's the main thing.

Goldmine: If you had to pick your favorite records of all time by other people, what would they be?

Johnny Winter: Wow. Muddy Waters ' first record, The Best of Muddy Waters , The Best of Little Walter, there's a Bobby Bland record called Two Steps From The Blues that's one of my favorites.

Goldmine: Are you lookin' forward to playing at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Conference here in Austin in a few weeks?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I am. (at which point I tell him all about the venue he's playing in, Stubb's, a new version of a classic joint famous for its blues and barbeque, with a large outdoor stage).

Goldmine: Is your health good enough now that you are going to be able to be able to do some extensive touring this year for the first time in a long while?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, it is, I'm feeling really good now.

Goldmine: A final question from a fan, have you ever thought about adding any acoustic numbers, maybe on your National Steel, into your live set.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I have. I've actually thought about that a lot over the years. It's very hard for me to do acoustic numbers on stage. It just doesn't feel right to me somehow. I can't hear my guitar the way I would want to. But I have thought about doing that a lot, and I talk about it all the time, maybe one day I will do it.

Goldmine: (after promising to run some vintage Howlin' Wolf clips for him and give it to him at the Austin show) Well, I know I've exceeded my allotted time for an interview here a bit, but we really do appreciate you're taking the time to talk with us. I know your fans will be excited to hear from you again after so long.

Johnny Winter: Yeah, I think we've about covered it.

Goldmine: One last thing, we're putting you in a Southern Rock issue, but I've never really identified you with that genre. Have you ever considered your music to be Southern Rock?

Johnny Winter: No, not really. Maybe somewhat with the rock 'n' roll stuff with the McCoys, around there a bit. (both laughing)

Goldmine: Well, you did jam with the Allman Brothers at the Atlanta Pop Festival in 1970. What was that like?

Johnny Winter: Yeah, that was great. I really enjoyed it. I loved Duane's playing - he was great. I'm sure there must be tapes of that somewhere, but I haven't ever gotten one. Nobody's ever given one to me.