Edgar Winter will pay tribute to his late older brother, blues guitarist Johnny Winter, who died in 2014, on his new album, Brother Johnny, which will be released on Quarto Valley Records on April 15. You can watch a video for the first single, Johnny B. Goode, below.
Johnny B. Goode features Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, one of many guests on the album, which also features appearances from Ringo Starr, Toto's Steve Lukather, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Robben Ford, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Joe Bonamassa, Michael McDonald, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Derek Trucks, Waddy Wachtel, Phil X and Gregg Bissonette.
“Many people immediately started trying to convince me to do a Johnny Winter tribute album," says Edgar. "But I was totally devastated, and the timing just didn't feel right to me. It wasn’t until after I completed the Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest, a tour we were meant to do together with our respective bands, that the idea of a tribute record started to take form.
“After the tour, and over the following years as talk of a tribute album continued, my wife Monique, whose intuition I trust more than my own, said, “I think you have to make this album, both for Johnny, for yourself, and for the world. You owe that acknowledgement to your older brother. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be where you are today. There’s no need to worry about it. If it’s meant to happen, it will.”
Brother Johnny was produced by Edgar Winter and Ross Hogarth. All the basic tracking was done at Capitol Studios. Most of the guest artist performances were recorded at Infinitespin Records, and as the pandemic progressed, were done at various guest artist’s studios. the record was mixed by Ross at his studio The Boogie Motel.
“When I was very young, I can still remember thinking no matter how much time goes by, how old I get, what happens in my life, or how far I end up from home - there is one person in this world I know will always understand what I've been through, how I feel. And that person is my brother Johnny," Winter concludes. "As kids, we were inseparable, much closer than average brothers. Not only did we learn to play music together, but because we were both albino, we shared a unique personal perspective on life different than anyone else's.
“So much has happened to both of us since then, but one thing will always remain the same... that bond, of brotherhood, of family, of music, and of Love. So, in his name, I dedicate this album. Brother Johnny.”
