From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
Edgar Winter
American musician (born 1946)
American musician (born 1946)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Edgar Winter |
| image | Edgar Winter 2009 (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Winter performing in 2009 |
| birth_name | Edgar Holland Winter |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Beaumont, Texas, U.S. |
| background | solo_singer |
| genre | |
| instrument | |
| years_active | 1969–present |
| occupation | |
| label | |
| past_member_of | |
| website |
Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their popular songs "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" which remain staple tracks of classic rock radio. He is the brother of blues singer and guitarist Johnny Winter, who died in 2014.
Early life
Winter was born to John Winter II and Edwina Winter on December 28, 1946, in Beaumont, Texas. Both he and his elder brother Johnny were born with albinism. By the time he left the family home, Winter had mastered numerous instruments and reading and writing music.
Career
Winter composed and performed songs of numerous genres, including rock, jazz, blues, and pop. His critically acclaimed 1970 debut release, Entrance, was first to demonstrate his unique style of genre-blending musicianship. His early recording of "Tobacco Road" gained attention. Edgar followed Entrance with two hit albums backed by his group White Trash, a group originally composed of musicians from Texas and Louisiana. White Trash, with Winter and Jerry Lacroix both on lead vocals and sax, released the studio album Edgar Winter's White Trash, in 1971. It reached No. 111 on the charts, and 1972's follow-up album (partially recorded at New York's Apollo Theater) Roadwork achieved gold status.
In late 1972, Winter brought together Dan Hartman, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff to form The Edgar Winter Group, who created such hits as the 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 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. That album contained Winter's third and final Top 40 single "River's Risin, again sung by Hartman. Later albums included Jasmine Nightdreams, The Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer, Together, Recycled, a reunion with White Trash, Standing on Rock, Mission Earth, Live in Japan, Not a Kid Anymore, The Real Deal, Winter Blues and Rebel Road.
Winter also kept busy doing session work, playing saxophone 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.
Major national television and radio campaigns have used Winter's music to advertise their products. Winter has also made frequent television appearances, both to promote his music and to give his opinions, on shows such as Politically Incorrect. Winter also starred with George Hamilton in a commercial for Miller Lite beer. He appeared in the film Netherworld and the TV shows The Cape, Mysterious Ways, Late Show with David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Winter's music has been used in many film and television projects, including Netherworld, Air America, Dazed and Confused, My Cousin Vinny, Encino Man, Son in Law, What's Love Got to Do with It, Wayne's World 2, Starkid, Wag the Dog, Knockabout Guys, Duets, Radio, The Simpsons, Queer as Folk, and Tupac: Resurrection. Tupac: Resurrection, a biography of rapper Tupac Shakur, produced and co-written by Eminem, sampled Winter's song "Dying to Live" as "Runnin' (Dying to Live)," incorporating vocals by the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, and Winter himself. "Runnin peaked at number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Sales chart and the soundtrack was No. 1 for 8 consecutive weeks. Blues performer Jonny Lang also covered "Dying to Live" around this time. Winter performed the song solo at the piano on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Winter's 2003 CD and DVD titled Live at the Galaxy was recorded live at the Galaxy Theatre for Classic Pictures. It features the songs, "Keep Playing That Rock and Roll", "Turn on Your Love Light", "Free Ride", "Texas", "Show Your Love", "New Orleans", "Frankenstein" and "Tobacco Road". In addition, the DVD includes a 30-minute documentary, Edgar Winter: The Man and His Music.
Winter also played with Ringo Starr in the ninth (2006), tenth (2008), eleventh (2010-2011) and fifteenth (2022-) iterations of his All-Starr Band. The band's 2010–11 tour featured the reunion of Winter and Rick Derringer. From August to early-September 2017, The Edgar Winter Band toured as the opening act for both Deep Purple and Alice Cooper as they performed several North American tour dates as part of The Long Goodbye Tour.
In 2017, Cherry Red released a remastered four-CD compilation of all of the Edgar Winter solo albums from 1970 until 1980, entitled Tell Me in a Whisper: The Solo Albums 1970–1980. In 2018, Cherry Red also released a remastered six-CD compilation of Winter's White Trash band and the Edgar Winter Group band albums entitled I've Got News for You: Featuring the Edgar Winter Group & Edgar Winter's White Trash 1971–1977.
''Mission Earth''
Winter also produced, arranged, and performed on the 1986 album Mission Earth. This album's lyrics and music were written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard is said to have left detailed instructions and audio tapes for the musicians and producers to follow when making the album. Winter described Mission Earth as "both a return to rock's primal roots and yet highly experimental." Winter wrote, "Ron's technical insight of the recording process was outstanding." Winter also described Hubbard's delineation of counter-rhythm in rock as something "which was nothing short of phenomenal, particularly in as much as it had then been entirely unexplored and only later heard in the African-based rhythms of Paul Simon's work, some five years after Ron's analysis."
Personal life
Winter and his wife, Monique, live in Beverly Hills, California. The couple have no children. Winter stated in an interview: "I can see how that would be a wonderful rewarding thing, but I think there are enough people in the world" and that "it might have been more problematical if I had children with a career and all of it. I tour all the time. If I were to have children, I would want to be home all the time."
Discography
Solo albums
| Year | Name | US Top 200 |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Entrance | 196 |
| 1975 | Jasmine Nightdreams | 69 |
| 1979 | The Edgar Winter Album | – |
| 1981 | Standing on Rock | – |
| 1989 | Mission Earth | – |
| 1994 | Not a Kid Anymore | – |
| 1996 | The Real Deal | – |
| 1999 | Winter Blues | – |
| 2003 | Live at the Galaxy | – |
| 2004 | Jazzin' the Blues | – |
| 2008 | Rebel Road | – |
| 2022 | Brother Johnny | – |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Edgar Winter's White Trash albums
| Year | Name | Peak chart positions | Notes | US Top 200 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can Top 100 | |||||
| 1971 | Edgar Winter's White Trash | 111 | 82 | ||
| 1972 | Roadwork | 23 | – | ||
| 1977 | Recycled | – | – | ||
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Edgar Winter Group albums
| Year | Name | Peak chart positions | Notes | US Top 200 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||||||
| Can Top 100 | ||||||
| 1972 | They Only Come Out at Night | 3 | 28 | 4 | ||
| 1974 | Shock Treatment | 13 | – | 9 | ||
| 1975 | The Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer | 124 | – | – | ||
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Edgar Winter compilation albums
| Year | Name | Peak chart positions | Notes | US Top 200 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||||||
| Can Top 100 | ||||||
| 1989 | The Edgar Winter Collection | – | – | – | ||
| 2002 | The Best of Edgar Winter | – | – | – | ||
| 2014 | Playlist: The Very Best of Edgar Winter | – | – | – | ||
| 2016 | The Essential Edgar Winter [AKA The Definitive Collection] | – | – | – | 2-CD set | |
| 2017 | Tell Me in a Whisper: The Solo Albums 1970–1980 | – | – | – | 4-CD set | |
| 2018 | I've Got News for You (1971–1977) | – | – | – | 6-CD set |
Albums with other artists
| Year | Name | US Top 200 |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Together with Johnny Winter (live) | 89 |
| 1990 | Edgar Winter & Rick Derringer: Live in Japan | – |
| 2007 | Edgar, Johnny Winter & Rick Derringer Live | – |
| 2010 | An Odd Couple with Steve Lukather (live) | – |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | US | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||||||||||
| CAN | ||||||||||
| GER | ||||||||||
| MEX | ||||||||||
| UK | ||||||||||
| 1970 | "Tobacco Road" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Entrance | ||
| 1971 | "Where Would I Be" | 128 | – | – | – | – | – | Edgar Winter's White Trash | ||
| "Give It Everything You Got" | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| "Keep Playin' That Rock 'n' Roll" | 70 | – | 51 | – | – | – | ||||
| 1972 | "I Can't Turn You Loose" | 81 | – | – | – | – | – | Roadwork | ||
| "Round & Round" | *108** | – | – | – | – | – | They Only Come Out at Night | |||
| 1973 | "Frankenstein" | 1 | 19 | 1 | 39 | 10 | 18 | |||
| "Free Ride" | 14 | 84 | 8 | – | – | – | ||||
| "Hangin' Around" | 65 | – | 39 | – | – | – | ||||
| "We All Had a Real Good Time " | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 1974 | "River's Risin | 33 | – | 61 | – | – | – | Shock Treatment | ||
| "Easy Street" | 83 | – | 79 | – | – | – | ||||
| "Someone Take My Heart Away" | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 1975 | "One Day Tomorrow" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Jasmine Nightdreams | ||
| "Little Brother" | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| "I Always Wanted You" | *129** | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| "People Music" | – | – | – | – | – | – | The Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer | |||
| 1976 | "Diamond Eyes" | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| "Let The Good Times Roll" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Together | |||
| 1977 | "Stickin' It Out" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Recycled | ||
| 1979 | "Above & Beyond" | – | – | – | – | – | – | The Edgar Winter Album | ||
| "It's Your Life to Live" | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 1981 | "Love Is Everywhere" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Standing on Rock | ||
| 1983 | "Frankenstein 1984" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Single only | ||
| 1989 | "Cry Out" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Mission Earth | ||
| 2000 | "Texas" | – | – | – | – | – | – | Winter Blues | ||
| "–" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Producer
- Open Fire – (1978) (Ronnie Montrose) producer, piano, harpsichord
- Crazy from the Heat – (1985) (David Lee Roth)
Awards
- Brother Johnny – (2023) Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album 65th Annual Grammy Awards
References
References
- (2002). "All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul". Backbeat Books.
- Alev, Iklim. (2022-04-29). "Edgar Winter Reflects On David Lee Roth's Early Solo Career".
- "Edgar Winter".
- (December 28, 2020). "Happy Birthday Edgar Winter".
- (1 March 2018). "'Still Alive and Well': Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer to play Honokaa". Oahu Publications Inc..
- (November 27, 2015). "Q&A: Edgar Winter". Future Publishing Ltd..
- Klosterman, Chuck. (August 8, 2011). "Frankenstein's Monster". [[Grantland]].
- (1995). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
- (17 July 2017). "Johnny Winter dies at 70; dazzling blues guitarist". Los Angeles Times.
- "Edgar Winter's BIOGRAPHY".
- "Edgar Winter's White Trash Introducing Jerry laCroix". Netaktion, Inc..
- "Edgar Winter's White Trash". Light In The Attic Records.
- "Chart History Edgar Winter". Billboard Media, LLC.
- "The Twenty-Five Best Rock Instrumentals".
- (17 March 2014). "Edgar Winter still enjoys free-riding rock career". Naples Daily News.
- Murrells, Joseph. (1978). "The Book of Golden Discs". Barrie and Jenkins Ltd.
- "Edgar Winter Group - They Only Come Out at Night - Reviews".
- "About This Artist". Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.
- "'River's Risin' by the Edgar Winter Group at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum (New Haven, CT)". Bill Graham Archives LLC.
- "Edgar Winters Albums and Discography". Netaktion, Inc..
- Aday, Marvin. "Bat out of Hell". Cleveland International.
- (November 18, 2016). "Double-O-Love: SoulMusic, Cherry Red Reissue Dan Hartman's "Instant Replay"".
- "Tina Turner - Simply the Best (CD)". Zink Media.
- (January 28, 2015). "35 Years Ago: David Lee Roth Steps Outside of Van Halen with 'Crazy'". VHND.com.
- (April 22, 2020). "Interview: Rick Derringer (solo, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Ringo Starr)".
- "Johnny Winter - Edgar Winter".
- "Ronnie Montrose: The Official Ronnie Montrose Site". Ronnieland/RoMoCo.
- (June 12, 2014). "Todd Rudgren, Edgar Winter, and Lou Gramm Join All-Star Doors Tribute Album". Townsquare Media, Inc..
- (1982). "Michael McDonald - If That's What It Takes (1982, Los Angeles Pressing)". Zink Media.
- "Edgar Winter - Other Works". Amazon.
- (2008). "Jeff Corbett goes ONE-ON-ONE with Music Legend Edgar Winter". C&K Magazine.
- "The Edgar Winter Interview (2002)".
- "Edgar Winter". Amazon.
- "Edgar Winter's White Trash".
- (May 24, 2019). "Legendary Edgar Winter to perform at The Wolf Den, Mohegan Sun Casino June 22nd".
- ""Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Episode 3.11 (TV Episode 2004)". Amazon.
- "Tupac: Resurrection (2003) - Soundtracks". Amazon.
- "Sample Featuring Edgar Winter".
- "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales". Billboard IP Holdings.
- "Original Versions of Dying to Live by Jonny Lang".
- "Edgar Winter – Live At The Galaxy (CD)". Zink Media.
- "Live at the Galaxy - Edgar Winter - Songs, Reviews, Credits". Netaktion, Inc..
- "The History of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Bands". WFUV Media from Fordham University.
- (June 16, 2011). "Rick Derringer on touring with Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band". Future Publishing, LTD..
- (January 30, 2017). "Deep Purple Launching Its 'Long Goodbye Tour' With Alice Cooper/Edgar Winter Band". Glide Publishing LLC.
- (March 2, 2018). "Edgar Winter – Tell Me In A Whisper: The Solo Albums 1970-1981". N.
- "Edgar Winter Group & White Trash: I've Got News For You, Featuring The Edgar Winter Group & Edgar Winter's White Trash 1971 – 1977, 6CD Clamshell Boxset".
- (1989). "Edgar Winter – Mission Earth (1989, CD)". Netaktion, Inc..
- "Mission Earth - L. Ron Hubbard, Edgar Winter Release Credits". Netaktion, Inc..
- (28 March 2012). "Music Maker, Composer & Performer". Bridge Publications, Inc..
- "Edgar Winter, Scientology Celebrity".
- (February 26, 2018). "A Winter Rock 'n' Roll Love Story". NDSU Spectrum.
- Flaska, Barbara. "In a Stream of Consciousness with Edgar Winter".
- "Edgar Winter - Awards".
- "Gold & Platinum".
- Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
- "EDGAR WINTER GROUP - full Official Chart History".
- (1984). "Edgar Winter - Frankenstein 1984 (1983, Vinyl) - Discogs".
- "Edgar Winter - Cry Out / Joy City (Cassette) - Discogs".
- (2000). "Edgar Winter - Texas (2000, CD) - Discogs".
- Whitburn, Joel. (2015). "The Comparison Book Billboard/Cash Box/Record World 1954-1982". Sheridan Books.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about Edgar Winter — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report