Is there anything musically Edgar Winter hasn’t done? Keyboardist, guitarist, saxophonist, percussionist, producer, singer, composer. Starting out professionally with his older brother Johnny Winter, they were nurtured at an early age by their parents in musical pursuits. Edgar and his brother began performing at an early age. When he was eight years old, the brothers appeared on a local children’s show with Johnny playing ukulele.

The boys’ father sang in a barbershop quartet, in their church choir, and played saxophone in a jazz group. Edgar and Johnny, who’s three years older, began performing together as teens, playing local watering holes like Tom’s Fish Camp before they were old enough to drink. The pair’s early R&B and blues groups included Johnny and the Jammers, the Crystaliers and the Black Plague.

Edgar Holland Winter was born to John Winter II and Edwina Winter on December 28, 1946, in Beaumont, Texas. Both he and his older brother Johnny were born with albinism, and both were required to take special education classes in high school. Winter states,

In school I had a lot of friends. I wore a lot of white shirts to, like, blend in I guess. No one really gave me a hard time about being albino or taking special education classes. Then again, I wasn’t really popular.

In high school, Edgar became fascinated with the saxophone stylings of Julian “Cannonball” Adderley and Hank Crawford, and he began playing alto sax in earnest. As a pre-teen he had played ukulele like his older brother, but by the time he was of college age, Edgar had become competent on keyboards, bass, guitar and drums.

Although he’s often skirted the edges of blues music, at heart Edgar Winter is a blues musician. Edgar Winter has always pushed himself in new directions, synthesizing the rock, blues and jazz melodies he hears in his head. As a consequence, his fan base may not be what it could have been, had he made a conscious effort to stay in a blues-rock mold over the years.

After appearing on Johnny Winter’s first Columbia album “Johnny Winter”, Edgar was signed to Epic Records in 1970. He recorded “Entrance”, his debut album, which featured himself on most of the instruments. After radio success accompanying his brother on “Johnny Winter And”, he formed a large horn ensemble called White Trash. Although it was a short-lived group which broke up in mid-’72, Winter assembled another group to record two more albums for Epic Records, “White Trash” and “Roadwork”. Winter’s single, “Keep Playing That Rock ‘n’ Roll,” reached number 70 on the U.S. rock radio charts, and the album “Roadwork” hit number 23 on the album charts. By the summer of 1972, through constant touring, (and a ready willingness to do interviews, unlike his older brother), Winter formed The Edgar Winter Group in the summer of 1972.

Winter brought together Dan Hartman, Ronnie Montrose, and Chuck Ruff to form The Edgar Winter Group, who created such hits as this number one “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride” (with lead vocals by its writer Hartman). Released in November 1972, “They Only Come Out at Night” peaked at the number 3 position on the Billboard Hot 200 and stayed on the charts for an impressive 80 weeks. It was certified gold in April 1973 by the RIAA, and double platinum in November 1986.

Winter invented the keyboard body strap early in his career, an innovation that allows him the freedom to move around on stage during his multi-instrument high-energy performances.

After “They Only Come Out at Night”, Winter released “Shock Treatment”, featuring guitarist Rick Derringer in place of Ronnie Montrose.

Winter also kept busy doing session work, playing sax on Meat Loaf’s “All Revved Up With No Place to Go”, Dan Hartman’s solo hit “Instant Replay”, Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” and David Lee Roth’s remake of “Just A Gigolo”, as well as appearing on material by Rick Derringer, Johnny Winter, Ronnie Montrose, Todd Rundgren, Michael McDonald and many others.

Edgar Winter’s live shows consistently receive rave reviews. His music is always evolving and he is a master at stretching his skill and imagination to produce amazing results. He continues to thrill audiences with his live performances, always remaining on the cutting edge of music and style.

Although he’s never matched that kind of commercial radio success again, Winter has continued to tour and record at a prolific pace. He relocated from New York City to Beverly Hills in 1989 to pursue movie score work, which he’s had some success with, most notably with a slightly reworked version of “Frankenstein” for the movie Wayne’s World II.

Views: 58