Chuck Shute Podcast

Edgar Winter (Edgar Winter Group, Ringo Starr All Star Band)

May 17, 2022 Edgar Winter Season 4 Episode 243
Chuck Shute Podcast
Edgar Winter (Edgar Winter Group, Ringo Starr All Star Band)
Show Notes Transcript

Edgar Winter is a musician, songwriter and record producer.  He has a new album out now called “Brother Johnny” that is a tribute to his late brother Johnny Winter.  The album includes a large list of stellar musicians including Joe Walsh, Taylor Hawkins, Michael McDonald, Ringo Starr, Billy Gibbons & many others. We discuss the new album, dealing with success & fame, memories from the 70s and so much more! 

0:00:00 - Intro
0:38:00 - New Album Thank Yous
0:05:45 - Album Guests 
0:13:36 - Lone Star Blues 
0:19:22 - Music, Fame & Spiritual Path 
0:27:15 - Clive Davis & Critical Success 
0:28:56 - Edgar Winter Group & Commercial Success 
0:32:35 - Free Ride 
0:36:00 - Keyboard Synthesizers 
0:38:55 - The Beatles & Ringo Starr 
0:43:58 - Johnny B. Goode & Joe Walsh 
0:48:05 - Stranger Song & Guests 
0:50:45 - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 
0:51:40 - Fans, Fame & Making It 
1:01:00 - Success with Relationships 
1:03:46 - Other Projects 
1:05:55 - Animal Charity 
1:08:36 - Outro 

Edgar Winter Website:
https://edgarwinter.com

Humane Society website:
https://www.humanesociety.org

Chuck Shute website:
https://chuckshute.com

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Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Chuck Shute:

Hey, come up on the show with Edgar Winter stick around. He's got a new album out called brother Johnny. That's a tribute to his brother Johnny Winter. And it's an all star studded event of guests including Joe Walsh, Taylor Hawkins, Kenny, Wayne Shepherd, Billy Gibbons, and many more. So he's going to tell us all about it. Plus, we talk about his two biggest hit songs Frankenstein and freeride. Talks about playing in the Ringo Starr All Star band and more stay right there. All right, well, yeah, we're just here to promote your new album. It's amazing. Brother Johnny. I was just listening to it. Great stuff. Well, thank you. I have the album, right. That's, that's what I hear. Yeah, so tell me about the recording though. Because like you have all these crazy big guests on the album. And it's not just like these local players. These are like nationally known amazing people. Yes. Well, the

Edgar Winter:

first thing I was undecided about doing the album. And before I start talking about it in detail, I'd like to thank the main people first, beginning with my, my lovely wife, Monique. We've been married for 43 years now. Not bad for rock and roll and in California, but she really helped she added her voice to the people that were that were for it and gave me the strength and courage to make the album so I want to thank Monique. The next person being the engineer, and personally ended up being a co creator, Ross Hogarth and Ross really contributed in so many ways. He actually brought a lot of people into the project that that wouldn't have been there otherwise people that I was not that familiar with, like Phil x from Bon Jovi David Grissom, who's a great Texas guitarist. He suggested. He suggested. Oh, what's the other guitarists name from the Doobie Brothers? John?

Chuck Shute:

John McPhee.

Edgar Winter:

Yeah, John McPhee. Of course. Yeah, there it is. Yep. John McPhee of the Doobie Brothers had forgotten what a great slide player he was listening to all of the early FOD were on the Doobie song. And of course, Ross had worked with, with Cabo and did the Taj Mahal album with Taj Mahal and Cabo. So you know, that was through Ross, that kept mo ended up on Lonestar Bluth. So, you know, just wouldn't be the ultimate is without Ross. And finally, the president of cordeaux Valley records, Bruce corto, he was largely responsible for helping me make the record, he wanted to do it for all the right reasons. Basically, what had happened was that shortly after Johnny's passing, I got a lot of offers, and, you know, suggestions to do the record. And that's what they felt they felt like deal offers. They were people sensing an opportunity, and it just felt like exploitation of Johnny's name. And it wasn't something I wanted to do at the time. Plus, I was just devastated after Johnny's death, and I wasn't emotionally ready, or prepared to make a record like this. It took, I spent three or four years not making this record thinking about it, and realizing that at some point, it was something that I wanted to do. But when I talked to Monique about it, she was so certain and definite. She said, Well, you always talk about how Johnny is your all time musical hero and you wouldn't be where you are. If it weren't for him. Well, here's your opportunity to show the world I think you owe it to yourself and to Johnny and, and to the world to make the record and she she was absolutely so right. And I'm just so happy that I've done it. And I feel closer to Gianni and unaccountably in a way that I that I never expected having made the record and playing that music. I thought it might be sad and difficult, but it turned out to be a great source of strength and comfort. So Oh, so it's like cathartic to make this very cathartic, very cathartic, therapeutic in, I needed to do it for my own spiritual evolution for my art. And you Johnny Johnny may have departed this, this physical plane, but I talked to him every day and his music and his presence, will, will live on in my heart for forever. And I hope this album will help perpetuate that legacy. You know, and I wanted it to be not only a tribute to Johnny but to the blues, which he loved so deeply. And to guitar, I just want her to make our great guitar record. So those were the things in my mind. And you mentioned all the, you know, the array of guests. The people that ended up on this album are not necessarily the usual suspects. I didn't want to just do a sort of cookie cutter, kind of, I think there's some some unusual and unexpected people that you might not expect to see. But that's what I wanted was sort of an interesting cast of characters. And the people that ended up on are the people that really wanted to play on it. And I'm sure you probably have the list but Joe Bonamassa Joe Walsh, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Derek trucks, Steve Luther, Kenny, Wayne Shepherd, Kent, Mo, Ringo Starr and Taylor Hawkins. To name just a few. Robin forward. I'm sure I'm leaving some. Because there we say

Chuck Shute:

Michael McDonald. McDonald was listening. And I heard his voice and I go, Oh, that's that's totally Michael McDonough. It's so just Yeah,

Edgar Winter:

yeah, absolutely. You can't myth. And what a magical vocal. I just love I love that song. I just finished a visualizer of that song. But Michael, Michael and I played together, he invited like, just out of the blue. I didn't even know Michael was aware of me or are familiar with my music. And he invited me to play in his first solo band after the doobies and record with him on his first record, if that's what it takes. And it was it was just amazing. It's one of the highlights of my career and just a very creative I love Michael. He's just a great artist, singer, and writer. We did a Japanese tour with us. Joe Walsh and boths gags three, what a show.

Chuck Shute:

That sounds like fun. It was most of these guys, you know, from touring and recording with and

Edgar Winter:

some, some are longtime friends. And some Pete were people that I had never met Bobby Rush, for example. And Bobby was he he was recommended by Bruce corto, the president of Cordova Valley records and they had worked together on a previous project. And I was this the song that he's on was got my mojo working, which was practically Muddy Waters thing, you know, his anthem, and I toward the end of the project. Ross said hey, you know, we don't have anything by muddy on here and you know, Johnny just idolized he loved Maori. I think the highlight of his career was getting to play with Maori and produce those records that that they did together. And I said man, how could I have overlooked that so so that one is not only a tribute to Johnny but to the Chicago blues and Bobby Rush it's a perfect guy to have on there because he was like, in with that whole like, muddy waters a little while there. And Buddy Guy all the Chicago blues guys Willie Dixon. And they're you know the that was great style of music that Johnny laughs so I was I was great Michael thing backgrounds on Got my mojo working. That's him and, and John McPhee are doing the party vocal. Okay.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, well, one, the some of the ones that are most interesting to me are the people that I didn't know. I was like, I had never heard of Doyle Bramhall. Does that always say his name?

Edgar Winter:

No, I Oh, yeah, no, no. Doyle plays with Eric Clapton. He's and that's where I knew him from. But he's like Am I really connected with with the with The Blues, with with the foundations and so forth very highly respected. And I just knew him from playing with Eric and I didn't realize he was another guy that Ross Hogarth turned me on to. And he, like we wanted to do one of those acoustic on every one of Johnny's records. He always had one of those songs with without any drums or bass, it was just him playing acoustic guitars. And he'd usually play two or three of them, like play a standard guitar and one of the Old National Flood. Yeah, cuz

Chuck Shute:

that song is like, it's so old school blues. That's one of my favorite songs on the record, I think it was really cool. Like, just like, This sounds like, like old school blues is very, very, very

Edgar Winter:

authentic. Yeah. And that was, you know, to me, there are a lot of great electric Blues Guitar players. But I think one of the things that that separated Johnny from that pack was his slide playing. And I'm talking about the old like the old school authentic Delta slide, you know, acoustic slide playing. And he could do that with an authenticity that I think is unparalleled. And Doyle just did a fantastic job. I had no idea that that he was conversant with that style and could do that. But Ross said, yeah, he's the guy you want. And he was right.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. Well, so you originally you tried to get Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. And you couldn't get those guys though. But that's, I mean, so it's just like really hard to get. Because I mean, the guys, you guys, they got Ringo Starr, you got some amazing people. But it's like, I wonder, I'm curious why you couldn't get those three?

Edgar Winter:

Well, I never, I never spoke with them. Or, and got direct read, I just put the word out. They, you know, they knew I would I thought like, who are the first three guitar players that come to mind. And those were, those were the three. But being I didn't really expect them to do this, in all honesty, because the logistics of it would have been difficult, you know, trying to go to Europe or get them to, you know, to come here. In a lot of cases, at our, you know, show there were certain guitars that Johnny loved, and those are certainly, you know, a top the list. But, you know, he, he loved Billy Gibbons. And he loved he always talked about Warren Haynes and Derek trucks. So most of the people that are here, or are they're there, because Johnny would not, you know, what Johnny would have loved, you know, the people he really felt strongly about. And, you know, I tried to get as many of those people as I could, but you know, I know like, I don't, someone must have asked me that question in an in an interview, but those are three of the people it would have been great to have had. But like I said, I never actually seriously thought that they were going to do it. So I never established direct contact with any of those people. Or got, like a formal yes or no, but there you have it.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, they must have tons of those kinds of offers too. So it's horrible. Absolutely.

Edgar Winter:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, but

Chuck Shute:

so then you wrote them obviously mostly cover songs, but you wrote two songs on the record, right loan sir. Blues is one of them. What was the other one that you wrote?

Edgar Winter:

The other one is end of the line. Okay, last, the last, the the that's more of a classical piece. And well, I'll talk about Lonestar via and Kev most performance is just amazing on that another truly authentic blues, yes, performance. But the story the backstory behind that song is lies in that as kids, Johnny, one of the ways in which we were very different. We both love music. And we have different styles. Johnny loved the old traditional Delta Blues, the like people like like muddy and Elmore James, like in Hopkins some of the like the old flight players, and I gravitated more toward the urban style people like Ray Charles and BB King and Bobby blue bland. But the thing was, Johnny had the drive and ambition he had that dream ever since I can remember as Kids, he was going to be a star. And he was Johnny Cool Daddy winter with the pompadour and the shades and the guitar and the girls. And I was like the quiet kid that played all the instruments. And the irony of this is that after working his whole life, dedicating himself to that dream, when he finally realized it, and seemingly had everything anyone could possibly want, fame, fortune money, adoring fans, it wasn't what he expected it to be. And I remember him saying, Yeah, Edgar, I just never thought it would be like this. I feel so sort of cut off from people that says, No, there's this image that suddenly people relate to Johnny Winter, but they don't know who I am. And I don't know who to trust and who to talk to. And that was a, it was a difficult time for him of readjustment. And he overcame, and, and he loved. You know, he loved the blues, first of all, and, and I think, after his great popularity in rock with Johnny Winter, and he rededicated himself to the Bluetooth, and I think resolved a lot of those issues in his mind, but I know, he loved his fans, I've seen him like, you know, invite people into his trailer, you know, to sign autographs, and just talk to people. So he came to appreciate everything, everything that he had, but he did go through that period of disillusionment, and I went through the same thing, it's kind of odd, and it's not something that you can really explain. You have to experience it. But you like, suddenly you you really don't feel that you have any privacy. And there is that feeling that people that people have this preconceived idea of who you are, that is not really who you are. And that's just one of those things. So I tried to write the song Lone Star blues in Johnny's voice, and to give voice to those feelings, he never wrote that particular song, but he, you know, he talked about it, and I knew the way he felt about it. And I thought it would just be a cool idea. And when I thought, well, star being alone, Lone Star bliss, and we're from Texas, you know,

Chuck Shute:

that's perfect. Now, that's cool backstory behind that. I didn't know that that's really interesting.

Edgar Winter:

And that the thing that I love about it is, but if, when I got Cabo to do it, he did exactly what I was hoping he would do, he broke the song down completely started over from scratch, he played all the instruments on it. And whereas if it had just been that story, it wouldn't have been the same. It's like when camo comes in on those courses, like sounds like the Lone Star blues, it's like, he introduces this notion of, of empathy, compassion. He's like, the old blues God, like, that's, like, the young guy is going through these problems. And it's like key saying, yeah, things can be tough, but it's gonna be all right. You know, and that just transforms the song. It makes it it gives it so much power and a different feeling, you know, then than what it would have had. Without So my thanks to Ed Catmull for for, you know, making that song, you know, so, so heartfelt for me. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

no, that's even cooler now that I know the story behind it. That's like makes it way more powerful. That's really interesting. So that's kind of like lonely at the top is what you're saying. Or like, you can go through a period where the world's kind of weird in a way because you're having this interaction with people where it's not real.

Edgar Winter:

Yeah, it doesn't feel it didn't feel real to me. I never took it seriously. But see the thing. I never had that expectation. That was never my dream. I just wanted to be a good musician. I just wanted to learn as much as I could about music. And I just love music in and of itself. The beauty of chords, harmony, man. Melody rhythm I just love playing. And so I never took the fame thing that seriously, either. Well, I remember, like at the height of my popularity with Frankenstein being number one, and they only come out at night being multi platinum selling millions of records. And this guy asked me, well, how does it feel to be a rock star? And I said, well, it doesn't feel any different than the way I felt before. In all honesty, I've never taken it that seriously. It really has nothing to do with me or who I am as a person. It's it. It's just people's feelings about who I am. Then years later, with, after all of that the dust is settled. And I was doing another interview, interview and I got, well, how does it feel to be a fallen rock star? Well, it doesn't feel any different than when I was what, you know, a supposed rock star or what I felt like, before I ever had any degree of fame. I just said, I had nowhere to fall I never elevated myself to begin with. I never put myself on any kind of pedestal. To me, it was just kind of fun. And an eye uku kind of free ride experience.

Chuck Shute:

I liked it. That's a good callback. But isn't that part of it. The experience, like being validated for creating this are like if you just played music, and nobody and two people listened, it wouldn't be the same as if you're going out there. And even if it's like 50 or 100, you have to have some sort of audience interaction people clapping. I mean, you maybe you don't need the giant stadiums of 40,000 people, but you need something right?

Edgar Winter:

Well, well, to be the people that I would care about are our other serious musicians. I respect their opinions. And and as far like I would be playing, it doesn't matter to me if it's Madison Square Garden, or the the club on the corner, I would be playing. And I've never done it for fame or for money. I just, I just love music. So I love to write. And I don't know how to explain this. But there's there's a thing that happens. I think the reason people love music. To me, life is a spiritual quest. And music has a great spiritual significance. For me. It has, like is illuminated that spiritual path, it's the light. It's not the path itself. But I feel like well, when I did Woodstock, that's what changed my life. And before Woodstock, I thought of my I love jazz and classical as well as blues and rock and country and everything. But music was my own sort of personal private escape world. And when I played Woodstock, I remember this transfiguring moment. Like I was sleeping a press trailer and shaken awake. And I staggered up there on stage and on and I was looking out over this endless sea of humanity. And how did I get here? This is just such an incredible thing. And like Woodstock set against the social backdrop of civil rights and the peace movement. It just had a vibe and you like, you felt like you were part of something greater than, you know, beyond yourself. And seeing all of those people united in that unique way, made me realize that music could be so much more than just artistic beauty and expression that it actually had the power to reach out to transcend boundaries and bring people together in a way that I had never considered. And after playing Woodstock, that's when I started to think about what it might be like to be an artist rather than just a musician, and then I started writing songs. But getting back to the spiritual aspect. When you when you play music when when I fly or when I'm listening to a great performance, there's something that happens. The you can you can call it like being in the zone, or some kind of spiritual experience. But for that moment, all your cares and worries fall away. And you're just there in that moment. And and you have this feeling of being part of something beyond yourself. And that's the way I think about music. And when I hear something, like, there's music, either it either takes you somewhere or it doesn't, you know, and that's the only classification. I never understood why I always felt like record companies wanted, they want their artists to be like a rock guy, or he's like a rock star, or he's a blues guy. And it always seemed like, or he's country, it always seems. So unlike musical segregation, it's like, okay, all you cowboys going to play country music, and only black people are going to play blues. And that gives us a target audience, that, you know, we can, we can decide how to market this music. And I just sort of rebelled against and flew in the face of all of that. So the first album that I did, the entrance album was sort of a combination of blues, rock, jazz and classical. And it had like a 25 minute continue with that was sort of like a symphony out with different movements, in different styles of music. And that's what I've tried to do throughout my career is sort of make people aware of all the great variety of music that's out there. And just to broaden musical horizons. And so I guess, in terms of seeking a wider audience, like, like you were talking about, well, you must want to, you must want to be successful. When I, when I signed my deal, Johnny's manager set up a meeting with Clive Davis, who was the president of CBS at the time. And I, I didn't, I just didn't, I couldn't imagine. Like, suddenly having a record deal, Clive. I talked to him really seriously and explained, like this whole concept. And I said, this music is highly experimental, it has no commercial potential whatsoever. And if you know, yeah, I mean, if you want to offer me a deal, great, but I just want to, I want you to know, that I'm, I can't imagine this actually selling six numbers of records. And he surprisingly, said, Well, I'm okay with that. Are you? Sure you are. And I thought that was a very perceptive thing to say, because I really thought about it. Well, how is it? How is it gonna feel if I put my heart into this, and then he'd like it, you know, and the album was critically acclaimed and it and it did, like, you know, it didn't sell tons of records. But I was so proud of making that record. And, and I have to, I owe a great debt of thanks to, to Clive Davis for believing in me as an artist and making me Johnny and I, to have that, that unique echelon, upper echelon of people that Clive Davis signed directly. And, and when I made they only come out at night, I was really thinking of Clive, I sort of did that. I felt like I had done two or three records. And the white trash I think road were went gold, but I've never sold a lot of records. And I said, Well, I kind of owe it to Clive, he's given me really generous advances, you know, for all of these records. And I'm going to, I'm going to put together the quintessential all American rock band, and really, really do it. And that's kind of why a big part of why I put together the Edgar Winter group and change directions so drastically. That is such an

Chuck Shute:

amazing group, Dan Hartman, Ronnie Montrose, and Chuck ruff. And it's just It's funny though, if you like it's like kind of like you said, like, this is not music. I felt like Frankenstein. That would not be a thing where you'd say this is going to be a number one hit like if you try to cut Since a record label person about this is a smash hit, they'd be like, okay, like, and put it was because it was so original. And there's probably so many bands that would try to do some sort of instrumental thing like that, that have failed. And somehow you did it.

Edgar Winter:

Yeah. But that was not intentional. That was accidental. And, and just circumstance, like, I felt like the, the strength of the under winner group and not with like, sort of a big talent. Like, you know, I was looking for people, that would not be just great players. But Dan Hartman. It said soon as I heard his audition tape, no, we were listening to tapes that were sent into the office to hundreds of them. And as soon as I heard, Diane, I said, this guy is fantastic. He's a great writer, he's great singer, great musician. And that's what I was looking for people that would not just be great player, but could write and would have stage presence and charisma and be able to contribute to the overall direction of the band. And I'd seen Ronnie Montrose, I'd seen him play with Van Morrison and boss gags, and he, like fit that that, like, to me, that bad boy had that kind of edge. And I like that chemistry. Dad has a sort of a youthful innocence. If he listened to free rod, and Ronnie had that, like, unpredictable, and she seemed like the like the lead guitar guy. And Dan was really a guitar player. He loved Hendrix, he was a ninja three, and I had to talk him into switching to bass. I just didn't think it should be a five piece band. We tried it for a while with two guitars. And Randy Joe Hobbs played bass in a band. But I just feel like like a trio is great like cream. The Beat The Beatles, for people you can keep track of but when it gets like into Dave Park Five, when it's more than four people, it kind of gets you know, I just feel like it's a better focus. And I felt like the four man group was the right thing.

Chuck Shute:

Now it's perfect. I love it. Well, yeah, sorry. Go on. No, no, I was just gonna say yeah, I mean, I've heard you talk about the story behind Frankenstein. And how you guys that was actually like a 30 minute song. And then you you pieced it together. So that's what they call a Frankenstein. But I don't know the story behind your other big hit. The one that done a Dan Harmon? Did he write the whole song freeride? Is that his song? It is it though. President he would give that to that guy thought he would hang on to that for a solo career. So I'm he he brought that to the first time you heard that you must have said that's one where you would go? Yeah, this sounds very pop oriented. This is like a hit.

Edgar Winter:

Yeah, exactly what I said. And it was it complete. In other words, when David and I wrote, he was great to write with incidentally, Dan had a great radio voice and a great commercial ear, he loved commercial music. I coming from a jazz and classical background, my music tends to be more complicated. And I have to I have to I have to think when you know when, when I want to write something that I think it's going to be accessible to a large number of people, I just have to simplify and think differently then than I normally would. But Dan just goes there naturally. And when I heard free rod, I instantly heard that this sounds like a this is a radio song. I can join along. Dig in there. But we did work like the one thing that I did, that I questioned about free Rod was the you know, the mountain is high, the valleys low, you're confused on what's ready to go. I've come here to give you and lead you into the promised land. It's a little messianic. It has a certain pretension about it. And I thought I was thinking of three rod in the in the in the spiritual sense. So he in the second verse, he didn't have lines he said all over the country. I've seen it the same nobody's going to this kind of guy that said, we've got to do better. It's time to begin you know, all the answers must come with from within. And that was my idea of free Ron. Then at the end. Like I said, well why don't we Gospel out on the end and D that Come on take a fee era. Yeah, yeah. Hey, yeah, I thought that that I had, you know, an important element to the song and also puts the synthesizer in it. So it's not that I didn't contribute to the song and I think that I could certainly have demanded, if not co-writers, like a share of the song. But I just wasn't into that. I just felt like songs that Dan started out with where he had a basic idea. I just said, Well, you can have that song and songs that I come up with that you helped me on, I'll just take those songs. And that's just kind of the way we did it.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, that's always interesting to hear that because it seems to be decided these kind of casual conversations, but it's like, I mean, there's so much at stake. It's I guess, for you, you seem like you just don't even care about that sounds like yeah, whatever that's like, that's really refreshing. Yeah, I mean, you guys did so many shows, so many tour. I mean, you basically toured with every major 70s band from Alice Cooper to the Allman Brothers. I mean, what shows stand out for you the most in the 70s? Or since then, I mean, you've pretty much played with everyone, right? Yeah.

Edgar Winter:

Well, there are definitely shows that stand out. Woodstock, obviously, the first time, selling out Madison Square Garden, the first playing Albert Hall. But in terms of my career, the things that I think of as really meaningful, I think coming up with the idea of putting a strap on the keyboard, that that, to me, is a deceptively simple and obvious idea, you think someone would have come up with it. But that really changed the face of music that, like, synthesizer was very controversial at that time and being. So I was being variously acclaimed and accused of ushering in this whole era of the synthesizer. And you know, the lot that people were using the synthesizer to emulate the sounds of already existing instruments like to be piano or a string section, or a horn section that was putting musicians out of work. And, and also, there were people that were more programmers and not that musical that were just doing dumb loops, and causing computers to play things that they were physically not capable of playing. And I just, I totally rebelled against that, to me synthesizer is one of the most human instruments in existence. If you look at a piano, for example, it's rods and pedals and hammers and strings. It's a machine. A synthesizer is a machine but it's a smart machine. You can make it sound virtually like anything with Wave synthesis. It can sound like anything, you can introduce modulations, like vibrato, pitch, bend, brow, things that the human voice would do. It's a much more flexible, and, and for that reason, a much more human instrument to me. So. So there you have that, like, you're asking about things that stand out, playing with Leon Russell, playing with Michael McDonald and playing with Ringo Starr.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, you're gonna be touring with him this summer again,

Edgar Winter:

with Ringo again. And yeah, like, the Beatles Come on. I mean, they're in a class bunted themselves. The Beatles are bigger than music, what they did transcended music to me. They changed the mindset of an entire generation. They brought about a revolution without having to fire a single shot because it was the revolution of the mind, of the spirit of the heart. You know, peace and love. And Ringo just exemplifies that. Like, like what we were talking about at Woodstock. First of all, like, just, I never dreamed when I was a kid that I would get to meet these people, much less get to share the stage with a lot of such great musicians. I mean, whoever would have thought an albino kid from Texas would end up playing with one of the Beatles and one on one moment that stands out in my mind was 2010 and it was Ringo 70th birthday and we were playing Radio City Music Hall. And there was this big surprise that Ringo was completely unaware of. And we had, we had, we had finished the show, we walk offstage, and we were walking back on to do the Encore walking on stage. And then coming toward me is Sir Paul McCartney and Joe watch. And then Paul straps on his Hofner don't know, don't say it's your birthday, you know, and I had this cool that cool underwater slavery's? Oh, all that piano power. It just sounded so cool. And I said, I can't believe this is happening. I'm actually onstage with Paul McCartney. Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh. It was just like, amazing. That is, my mind was blown.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. How did how did Ringo that he recruit you? Or how did that initially? Did you meet him somewhere? Or how did he find you? Or does he call you? Or does he have an agent or somebody?

Edgar Winter:

Yeah. There was a guy, Dave Hart, who is now currently my manager, he helps Ringo put those bands together. And, and I heard from him first to see. He was just sort of testing the waters to see if, if I would be interested at that. Are you kidding, man? Of course, that would be such an honor. And then I did get to talk to Randall after, but it did happen through Dave Hart. So and he's a great guy and books to tours. And, you know, I'm so glad to have I and I should have mentioned Dave, in terms of he was all for making the Johnny tribute album and helped in every way possible, as well. So, you know, I heard I heard about the tour this summer through once again, through your day days. And hey, are you ready to play with Ringo? Again? Oh, you know it.

Chuck Shute:

Who else is in the band now? Because it's like, it really is like an all star lineup of all these people who have their own hits. And then you guys play like the hits of all the people that are in the band, in addition to Beatle songs.

Edgar Winter:

That's, that's the way it works. So Colin Hay from men at work, you know, way down under. And let's see, Hamish Stuart, from the average white band is on base. So you get to do all those, like pick up the pieces and cut the cake and work to do great average white band song. Let's see who else is Rick Derringer

Chuck Shute:

still on it or

Edgar Winter:

no? No, Rick is not. Rick is not in it. So Oh, Steve Lukather from Toto. Oh, that's a big one. Yeah. Steve is the guitarist, and I'm on keyboards. That's basically and then Greg Visionnaire. But yeah, the first year I did it, it was Sheila E playing drums. And then let's see rod Argent from the zombies with keyboard. And Billy scryer was on guitar. Then Richard Marx was in it for a while. Wow. Wildly POM from the romantics. So you're right. And Ringo is a great model. And what Ringo, he wants everybody to know the song. So when, like, He wants your hits. So I will do I'll do Frankenstein and freeride. And I think I'm going to do Johnny be good from the record from the brother Johnny record. And I'll just say a few words about Johnny be good. Like you would think, Oh, well, that's it's a Johnny Winter tribute, Johnny. Johnny be good. But that song has a great backstory as well. When we were kids. Our first band was Johnny into jammas. And that's the Johnny was maybe 15. And I was 12. And there were this local talent contest. In our hottest song that we knew was Chuck Berry Johnny be good. And, you know, when I think of rock and roll to this very day, I think of Chuck Berry. And, you know, to me, is like Chuck Berry and Little Richard really started they created rock and roll. So anyway, we entered this contest. We went on we played that song and we won and the first prize was you get to make your very own on record. So, you know, had it not been for Johnny be good. Who knows that was, you know, that song was responsible for starting our professional career, we went on and recorded our first record. And, you know, it's just it's a classic song. And I feel like it's not only Johnny's story, but it's every kid's story who comes from humble beginnings and picks up a guitar and dreams of being a star, just like Johnny did. And Johnny recorded the song, obviously, for for those same reasons. So I couldn't I had to have that. So on Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

I always think of a to from Back to the Future. I can't not Yeah, that's amazing. And that movie, so yeah. Sorry, go.

Edgar Winter:

I know, that I just wanted to mention in the making of the album, I never thought of any specific artists in relation to a thumb. But the one that I did, I for some reason I had in my mind, I would like to do this on whichever watch. So Joe, and I go way back. We played shows together, when when it was James Gang back in the 70s. Like you were talking about, fight just virtually every. I remember doing shows with Ozzy and all those crazy guys and Alice Cooper, like you mentioned, but when I asked Joe, he, like I think of Joe is a rocker, you know, and I wanted to do that song with somebody. The way I used to do it with Johnny. So Joe said, I don't know that that's it's that classic Chuck Berry. I don't know what I can bring to the what, what else do you have? So I played him a bunch of other songs. And he picked the heat exchanger, which is a beautiful ballad and sound that I never would have expected to him to pick because I thought he would pick it up tempo rock kind of thing. And I said, Well, that's at least why don't you sing it with me? You don't want to do that guitar? You know, they Oh, yeah. So, you know, we had arms around each other. We were, you know, I went over to his place and go go Johnny go Johnny Vega. There was it was such a warm, great feeling. And it just reminded me of when I used to sing that song with Johnny. And then Ross suggested David Grissom, he's a great Texas guitar player. And he like he, he had that perfect synthesis of the hate us into the way Johnny played it. And everybody knows the way Chuck did it. And he went right down right down the middle, and was just very cool. But that was how Joe, that was how Joe got on the phone, stranger. And that led to getting Ringo to play drums on it because I I wanted to have I thought how cool would it be if I could actually get Ringo to play on a sound nobody would expect to hear? We're gonna go on a blues record like this. And while he's, he has those classic Ringo. Tom fields don't don't don't. And I thought, well, stranger would be the perfect song to give him that is very open and give him all that space to do that. But a lot of people aren't aware of the fact that Ringo is married to the lovely Barbara Bach. And Barbara's sister, Marjorie, is married to Joe Walsh. So So Ringo and Joe are brothers in law. And I thought now that I've got Joe on stranger that might help. I would be so cool to have them both on the same track. And I called you know, I said, I finally got up the nerve to call Ringo. And Edgar, I'll do it for you. Ah, I just, I mean, I'm Delta, he plays on that many people's records. No, it just touched my heart. And I sent it over to him. He did it at home. Of course, he's got all his drum set up, you know? And it was just like, I was just over the moon. And you know, having Ringo and Joe on the thing caught, and then we were listening to it. And my wife Monique said, you know, Michael MacDonald's voice would just sound perfect on This song. And as soon as she said, I just said, Wow, I, I could just hear like, Hello food history you just that haunting quality that Michael, like you said it's pretty good. Oh, yeah. You heard it, you know, you know, you're just instantaneously and it's just such a magical. And so you look at that someone like Michael McDonald, Joe Walsh and Ringo Starr What an unusual array of people are be on the thing. So that's just one

Chuck Shute:

song. I mean, the whole album just one chock full of stars. It's amazing and love it. It's great. How come now how come you and John, I know you don't really pray, pray care about these accolades kind of things. But do you think you and Johnny should be in the Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Edgar Winter:

Well, Johnny should for sure. And and yeah, I think I always I talked, Frankenstein should have gotten the Grammy that year. Which would have helped. But yes, in a word. I'm hoping that this album, we'll help along those lines. Because certainly Johnny deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see if we can make that happen. Yeah, love it. That'd be

Chuck Shute:

really cool. You have I mean, like I said, You've toured all these people. And then it's so funny, because I was looking on your I actually was trying to get you to do the show, like two years ago, and I was on your Instagram. And I'm looking and you have like Fogg had and Mark Farner follow you. But then you have a couple of big icons from the 80s, Sebastian Bach and Nicky six. follow you. I was like, Do you know those guys? Were they just fans?

Edgar Winter:

I guess they're just fans, because I didn't even know I'm hearing this. I didn't even know they were on Instagram. That's

Chuck Shute:

yeah, they were I guess I'm big fans of them. And it'll tell you on Instagram, you know, if you're following somebody else, this these people also fall at your winter. And I was like, Oh, wow, that's, that's pretty cool that they're the, you know, big enough fans to follow you on Instagram and know what you're up to. So

Edgar Winter:

yeah, thanks for making me aware of that. I had no idea. There must

Chuck Shute:

be a lot of that kind of stuff, though. Where there's people that you meet that, that you're a fan of? And they say, Well, I'm a fan of your music too, or? Right.

Edgar Winter:

Yeah, of course. And one of the things I love about music is you just stick around long enough, you eventually come across all of these people, the that have helped, you know, for me, like, like I was saying, people that I never expected to me, much less get the opportunity to play with. And it's just, you know, it's been so rewarding for for me. And so unexpected. And, like, you echoed what, a lot of people people don't seem to be able to accept the fact that they think, well, you must have wanted this to happen you in order for it to have happened. But it I you know, I just have to all I can say is it just literally fell into my lap. And you know, had it not been for Johnny, you know, I don't have any idea what would have happened, I might have been like a struggling jazz musician, or maybe a music teacher or engineer, or, you know, I would have been in music I would have been playing. There's a that is an absolute certainty. But as far as, you know, being you know, having any degree of fame and success, I don't know. Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

I don't know. Yeah. Seems like the cream always rises to the top. Like, even if you didn't know, Johnny, you're playing in some bar. somebody discovers you, you meet this person than that. I feel like it just it just happens. Like, I don't know. I mean, I guess it's possible. Yeah.

Edgar Winter:

I'm just saying, I don't know. Yeah, something something would have happened. But, you know, this being the thing that happened. And, you know, I can remember back when we were kids, and I've like I've mentioned this before, but I remember one afternoon, we were sitting up in in treehouse in our backyard that our dad built for us. And Johnny was kind of staring up into the branches and us say, you know, I'm gonna make it one of these days and, and you might not believe it, but you are too. And he said he really he looked at me said Don't Don't forget this day and remember what I said and I, I still remember that to this very day. And, and when I thought of when I thought about it, like for days after that, and I thought, well, you know, no matter how old I get, or how many years go by, or what I end up having gone through how far I end up from home, there's one person that I know, in life will always understand what I've been through. Because like Johnny, Anna, we not only had that musical bond, but both being albino, we had a kind of a different world view. And we were really inseparable as kids and we learned, we learned to play together, and we had almost a kind of telepathic, new that musical communication going on. And, and, you know, I still remember, I still remember those times. And it's, it's funny how, like, just moments in your life are so vivid, and, you know, I can't remember anything else from those periods of my life. But But I remember those specific things. And, you know, that's what I was thinking about when I recorded this album. And it's like, the other thing that I thought which should I just make a straight ahead blues record. And you tribute to Johnny's the great legacy that he left, or should it be a more kind of personal dedication for me to my brother, and based on a lot of my own personal preferences. And I decided it should be it should be both. And that's what I tried to, I tried to make it both is very personal, very personal, to me, one of the most personal albums I've ever made. That's what I was thinking about, if it's not the album Johnny would make, but I think it is the album that he would want me to make for him. He and he always encouraged me to, to follow my heart and play the music that I do. Like, don't be afraid to play jazz, like in Frankenstein is a great example of that as being such a weird, crazy song with all of these different elements and and taking free ride would be the here, the obvious here, it's the irony is that after, you know that album being released, we released free rod and went nowhere, then Frankenstein was like, the D side of the third or fourth single, and just got picked up by college FM underground radio stations. And, and just really grassroots kind of thing. And then finally crossed over to a, you know, Top radio. But we weren't, we never intended to put that song on the album we just had. And as I said, I felt the strength of the Edgar Winter group lay and the CO writing between Dan Hartman and myself. And so whenever anybody asked me, Do you have any advice, I always say, just play the music that you really have fun playing that, you know, follow your heart. And don't pay any attention to what trends are popular at the time or what anybody in a professional capacity tells you, Oh, this is what you want to do to be successful or be commercial, just play what you honestly like. And that's what happened with Frankenstein. We just We didn't record that. That was what what went on in those days, like bands would come into the studio with three or four songs. And you would actually write you would actually create an album in the studio. And in with it was very immediate. It was right now, and we were just so the cardinal rule was tape is always rolling. And so we'd come in, and a lot of times, it was fun, would warm up playing Frankenstein just because it was so much fun. It's a good way to loosen up. So we just accidentally happened to have three or four of these long half hour versions. And then toward the end of the project I was talking to Rick about it needs to go maybe we could edit that into something. You mean put that on the record He thought it was a crazy idea. But I love crazy ideas. I love this. I don't I think well, why not? I mean, what, we got all these other things on there, you know, why not have this, we'll, we'll end the album with that and it will be the, the, you know, the wild, crazy lives. And that's why we never thought of recording it because it was just a killer live so, but then 2020 to 30 minutes long, you know, songs couldn't be more than four minutes at the most. So we never, you never even considered recording it that, you know, that it just goes to show how things have a way of the you know, the thing that you would never expect, you know, comes comes to pass. So,

Chuck Shute:

yeah, just being genuine and being true to yourself.

Edgar Winter:

That's it. That's it. That's all that's yeah.

Chuck Shute:

Well, I gotta ask you to because you said I mean, you mentioned that a couple times with your wife, 43 years. What's your secret there? Because there's, I feel like there's so many other marriages in the entertainment business that that don't work out for whatever reason? How did you find a way to make it successful?

Edgar Winter:

Well, you if you're, if you're truly in love, I just not my my parents were, you know, together, you know, till till one of them, you know, till my dad passed away, you know, I don't know how many years 5070 years. But, you know, that's such a such an odd question. I don't like I really value my relationship with money. The most highly of anything in in my life, it means more to me, even, like, music has been a great part of my life. But I just think of us together as one indivisible unit. And I don't really think a lot of people like the idea of being married. And I think that I think that they marry married for a lot of a lot of weird reasons, out of convention to please parents, or they think it's just the right thing to do. But I really do believe in that in that fairy tale image of, of love. And it's, it's spiritual. You know, to me, is, like, if you want to say that, that Monique and I are soulmates, but we just, I just felt when I met her, I had that feeling, I knew that this is the person that I was destined to be with for the rest of my life. And I just I, I can't imagine any other way. But to me, it's just putting the other person's their their wants and needs before your own and just thinking, thinking that way thinking of yourself this together, rather than thinking, well, this is what I want. And I hope, I hope, I hope what this other person wants, you know, is compatible

Chuck Shute:

with. Okay, no, that's really good advice. You got some really good wisdom here from this episode. I'm loving this is great stuff. Well,

Edgar Winter:

thank you. Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

Is there anything else you want to promote here at the end? I know, whatever happened to this, like, I thought you were like doing like some short stories or a musical comedy that whatever happened with that stuff? Did that ever come out

Edgar Winter:

of that stuff? That's, that's ongoing. I have a Broadway musical kind of version of Frankenstein. And this series of I love those. I remember my mother reading from the Bible and from like, the Lord of the Rings, and that no, the Chronicles of Narnia, those those kinds of books, and I love that style of writing. And eventually, so I've got this series of short stories that occur in this mythical realm called the Shadow Lands. Yeah, and, and then I've got all this poetry collection of poems that I'm going to call the songs that never were because a lot of them started out as song lyrics that I never got around to writing the music to. But most all of our things that I wrote for Monique and and I think that that's what makes them so beautiful and so personal. And now, hopefully, maybe this album will help gain little visibility and maybe give me a publishing deal for some of that stuff. So yeah, I'm gonna do and I've got a shadow lens, I've got music to those short stories called Shadow doubts, oh, eventually released. That's sort of not really a soundtrack, but it is. I would be a cool package, I'd like to, I'd like to, I'll probably do audio versions of them as well read the stories, read the poems, and you know, but like, the poetry has a visual component as well like that, that they are. I mean, they're gonna have illustrated or have a photographer, but I have definite visual imagery in mind. For the poetry I want it to be a big, like, coffee table.

Chuck Shute:

Oh, wow, that sounds really exciting. Very cool. Well, people can get the new album out, Brother Johnny, it's out now. And then is there a chair I was in with a charity of the guests choices or charity you want to promote or just give a quick shout out to here at the end.

Edgar Winter:

I don't my wife Monique knows all about that stuff. But we support like, you know, we, we love animals. So do what you can to help the animals.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, I'll put something in the notes for that if people have a few extra bucks after they buy your album, of course, and come see on tour this summer with Ringo. And yeah.

Edgar Winter:

And before I go, like, I just like to thank all of our fans that have followed my career as well as that of my brother Johnny, throughout all of these years, and we love you all we could not have done what we've done without you. And it's meant the world to us to be able to do what we most love. And see you all out there rockin and having a great time. So please take off Oh, the actual, I don't know if you can see this, but this is the vinyl cover. Oh, cool. Yeah, I can see that a 3d holographic. We which changes from Johnny's image to mine, and it's going to be coming. The vinyl is going to be coming out in mid June. Okay. And there. There's also a 32 page booklet that I wrote liner notes that detail the whole making of the album. So it'll be it's 180 gram like real, like highest quality vinyl that's not going to warp and wobble. And so if for all you all you vinyl people out there, you know, pick up a vinyl copy. That's that's the real deal. I can't wait to hold one in my hands and look at that cover. And that's I used to love. I used to love albums and, and still do. But that'll be a beautiful addition, you know, to anybody's collection. But, you know, I just I hope that this album will make you if you follow Johnny's career, you're gonna love the album. And if you just love if you just love the blues, or just love music, I think that you'll really appreciate brother Johnny. So I hope to see you all somewhere down the road sometime soon. And get ready to rock and roll. All right.

Chuck Shute:

Thank you so much, Edgar. I'll see you later. All right. Bye. Fascinating stuff from Edgar Winter. What a nice guy and such a talented musician. Check out the new album, Brother Johnny. It's great music. If you like the blues and blues rock, you're gonna love it. And if you're not real familiar with the blues or blues rock, then this is a great way to discover it. Also, check out at you're on tour this summer with Ringo Starr and his All Star band. Fall Edgar on social media or check his website for updates. And if you want to support my show, you can follow me on social media, all your likes, comments and shares on there, and YouTube and all that stuff. Help me out a lot. And of course, make sure to subscribe to the show so that you'll be notified of new episodes. And if you want to go all out, you can write me a review, or give me a rating on Spotify. reviews on Apple podcasts. I think Google will let you do reviews. Wherever you listen to would really appreciate that. I'm very appreciative of all your support. We only grow the show through you. And with your help, we can make the show bigger and get great guests like Edgar Winter, and hopefully we're going to make a very entertaining enjoyable podcast for people. Thanks again for listening. Have a great rest of your day. And remember to shoot for the moon