RIP Johnny Winter and Stolpman Syrah

Johnny Winter, one of the greatest Texas-bred guitarists and singers and a mainstay of the blues-rock world since the 1960s, died of unknown causes on Wednesday in his hotel room in Zurich. He was 70 and had been on tour in Europe.

Imagine a 130-pound, cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest, yet fluid blues guitar you’ll ever hear. That was Johnny Winter. I discovered Johnny when I was 15 while strolling the aisle E.J. Korvette’s record section. His appearance reflected in the back of a National steel guitar on the cover of his “Progressive Blues Experiment” album was so intriguing that I had to buy it. From that moment on I was in love with his music and the blues.

In 1977 Johnny began a series of collaborations with Muddy Waters, his idol, producing his album “Hard Again.” That record, and two that followed won acclaim for their raw sound, and each won a Grammy Award. As Winter told Look Magazine, “I love the blues. You can feel that nobody cares about you, and you sing, and it doesn’t make any difference and you don’t care. It’s not a happy feeling, it’s not sad. You can cry, and it’s good.”

Commentators rarely mention the fact that both Johnny and his brother Edgar had albinism, a condition that severely affects the eyes and caused Johnny to become legally blind later in his life. He may have been blind, but he was still one hell of a musician. Rest in peace.

Woodstock 1969: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6kPQLLLYAc

Dust my broom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIpmUroL2D4

Don Kirshner’s Rock show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9srJIjp55Bs

Toronto Concert Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjaFWurTS1U

Highway 61: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvNUTqDJJaI

Mama talk to your daughter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic7k7ZaoE8o

Come on in my kitchen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcC5sp27W8g

Rollin and tumbling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js8bASk_mxE

Red House with Leslie West: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh4zc288ERg

Be careful with a fool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tyg5SJDpiQ  

Goin down slow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1YwVrxC7Hc

Johnny Winter requires a wine with a lot of depth, so I suggest a 2011 Stolpman Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah ($24.00). The wine is 94% Syrah, 3% grenache, 2% roussanne and 1% viognier.  Dark ruby red color with aromas of black raspberries and dark plums.  This is a dense wine, yet vibrant and with good acidity combined with sweet dark fruits, spices, and pepper flavors.  It’s a very juicy wine whose taste and aromas finish long.  Pour a glass and toast one of the greatest blues guitar masters to ever pick up the instrument.

Cheers!

Joss Stone and Stolpman Vineyards Rose Santa Ynez Valley

I realize tonight’s  featured artist isn’t a guitarist, but there’s some very nice guitar in the videos I’ve linked to below.  Jocelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is in my humble opinion, the finest blues/soul singer working today (apologies to Adel). Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, “Soul Sessions.” She was born in Dover, Kent, and spent her teen years in Ashill, a small villiage near Cullompton in Devon. She attended the Uffculme Comprehensive School, but left at the age of 16, as she says, not because she was stupid, but because she suffered from dyslexia and as a result was more artistic than academic.

Her soulful singing style developed as she grew up listening to a wide variety of music including 1960s and 1970s American R&B and soul music performed by such artists as Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin, the latter one of her idols.

Her second album, “Mind, Body, and Soul” debuted at number one on the U.K. charts and she became the youngest person to ever top the British charts. She’s had a varied career touring, recording, acting, and producing, yet she’s only 26. Yikes! She’s gonna be a monster…as if she’s not already. Hope you enjoy one of the best soul vocalists on the scene today.

Here comes the rain again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmduDP-JNLQ

Karma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ6xjTA8VoA

You had me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytsHaxV0SKM

Tell me ‘bout it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhUmko2z_ds

Fell in love with a boy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDU2EXsW9tA

Teardrops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2Wch10W3k

Tell me what we’re gonna do now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwynr6vCcgk

Right to be wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcpEte4plbw

The high road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0SnOpT6R8g

Dirty man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtLvw78HXMQ

This is a man’s world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svf5N8QSGA8

Summertime (with LeAnn Rimes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn6nuqC6cFA

People get ready (with Jeff Beck): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7ECdYboOVA

I put a spell on you (with Jeff Beck): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNgWCP9Oqs0  

Stop dragging my heart around (with Rob Thomas): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYyWdw-0IyI

Hot legs (with Rod Stewart): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPCz_rYRSM

Joss Stone’s cool rendition of summertime with LeAnn Rimes calls for a cool wine and I suggest a 2012 Stolpman Vineyards Rose Santa Ynez Valley ($17.00). I am a big fan of Stolpman Vineyard’s Syrah, one of the best I’ve ever tasted and at a price that can’t be beat. Likewise, this rosé, a blend of Grenache (60%) and Sangiovese (40%), can’t be beat for a fantastic summer wine. The wine is rose colored with Ferrari red highlights. It’s filled with aromas of strawberries, rhubarb, and a touch of citrus. The flavors follow the nose with loads of berries and a hint of cinnamon spice. It’s a fresh, fruity wine, very refreshing chilled, which you’ll want when you hear the hot soulful voice of Joss Stone. Enjoy!

Cheers!