Edgar Winter has organized a star-studded tribute album to his late older brother, blues-rock guitar great Johnny Winter, that features contributions from an impressive list of musicians who knew or were inspired by Johnny.
Titled Brother Johnny: An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Winter, the album will be released on April 15, and includes the talents of Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, The Doobie Brothers‘ Michael McDonald and John McFee, ex-Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, Foo Fighters‘ Taylor Hawkins, Toto‘s Steve Lukather, and many others.
Brother Johnny is a 17-track collection curated by Edgar and producer Ross Hogarth. In addition to featuring various covers and renditions of songs by Johnny, it also includes two new originals by Edgar. The first single, a cover of the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B.Goode,” has been released as an advanced digital track, while a visualizer video has premiered at Edgar’s YouTube channel. The tune features Edgar and Walsh sharing lead vocals, Edgar on piano and sax, and David Grissom — a fellow Texan like the Winter brothers — on guitar.
Walsh also plays guitar on version of Johnny’s “Stranger” that features McDonald and Starr as well.
Edgar says “Johnny B. Goode” is a significant song in his and Johnny’s life because it helped give them their first big break as musicians when their early band Johnny and the Jammers played it at a Texas talent contest and they won the chance to make their first record.
On paying tribute to Johnny with the album, Edgar notes, “[O]ne 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.”
Johnny Winter died in July 2014 at age 70.
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