Edgar Winter‘s latest album, Brother Johnny: An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Winter, is a celebration of his late sibling’s music that features an impressive lineup of guest artists.
Since Johnny Winter was such a venerated blues-rock guitarist, Edgar made sure to invite many acclaimed players to do justice to his brother’s songs. These included ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons and Allman Brothers Band alums Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes.
Gibbons and Trucks both contribute their guitar talents to a blazing version of Johnny’s 1969 song “I’m Yours and I’m Hers,” with Billy also lending vocals to the track.
Edgar tells ABC Audio that he felt “the juxtaposition” of Billy’s and Derek’s playing made the track special, noting, “I love hearing that interplay between the two of them.”
Winter says Trucks’ slide work “was just nothing short of amazing.”
As for Gibbons’ singing on the track, Edgar notes, “I love hearing Billy’s voice. You know, he has such a distinctive voice that you immediately know it’s him…[H]e put a lot of love into it.”
Haynes sings and plays guitar on a rendition of “Memory Pain,” which appeared on Johnny’s third studio album, 1969’s Second Winter. Edgar recalls that Warren immediately insisted on doing “Memory Pain” when asked to take part in the project, noting that Haynes was more than prepared for his session.
“You talk about magical moments in recording,” Edgar enthuses. “He walked up to the mic, he plugged in his guitar and he did that whole song start to finish, singing and playing at the same time. He did the song exactly the way Johnny would have done it with [his] blues trio.”
He adds, “[T]he honesty and sincerity of that just blew me away.”
Here’s Brother Johnny’s full track list:
“Mean Town Blues” — featuring Joe Bonamassa
“Alive and Well” — featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd
“Lone Star Blues” — featuring Keb’ Mo’
“I’m Yours and I’m Hers” — featuring Billy Gibbons & Derek Trucks
“Johnny B. Goode” — featuring Joe Walsh & David Grissom
“Stranger” — featuring Michael McDonald, Joe Walsh & Ringo Starr
“Highway 61 Revisited” — featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd & John McFee
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Hoochie Koo” — featuring Steve Lukather
“When You Got a Good Friend” — featuring Doyle Bramhall II
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” — featuring Phil X
“Guess I’ll Go Away” — featuring Taylor Hawkins & Doug Rappoport
“Drown in My Own Tears”
“Self Destructive Blues” — featuring Joe Bonamassa
“Memory Pain” — featuring Warren Haynes
“Stormy Monday Blues” — featuring Robben Ford
“Got My Mojo Workin'” — featuring Bobby Rush
“End of the Line” — featuring David Campbell Strings
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