Johnny Winter’s Step Back Tops Charts

Johnny Winter’s Final Studio Album Step Back (Megaforce)
Marks Highest Career Debut for the Legendary Blues Guitarist

#1 on the Independent Album Chart, #1 on the Blues Chart,
& #17 on the Billboard Top 200

Johnny Winter Remembrance Show Confirmed for Oct 10 @ BB King’s, NYC
Step Back (Sept 2 / Megaforce), the final studio album from Johnny Winter, has earned a career high for the iconic blues guitarist, debuting at #1 on the Independent Album chart, #1 on the Blues chart and #17 on the Billboard Top 200.

“The news of Step Back hitting #1 is just fantastic!” says Paul Nelson, Johnny’s guitarist and producer, in a statement. “Johnny was especially proud of this recording and its production. He was on top of his game, and knew it. He has left us with an album that will forever be a crowning achievement and true final testament to the stunning body of work he left us all. It was an honor to be his guitarist, producer and most of all, his friend. Congratulations, Johnny. Well deserved.”

Completed in early 2014, Step Back, the follow up to 2011’s acclaimed Roots, pairs Johnny with friends and torchbearers Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, Billy Gibbons, Joe Perry, and Dr. John, to name a few.

On October 10, BB King’s in NYC will host the Johnny Winter Remembrance Show with the Johnny Winter Band and special guests, plus a screening of Down and Dirty: The Johnny Winter Story (by Lemmy filmmaker, Greg Olliver). Ticket information can be found here.

“An ambassador to a generation of young fans digging for American music’s roots” (LA Times), Johnny’s mission for Step Back was to introduce “the people of today who haven’t listened to the old music. It’s better than anything they hear today” (Billboard 2014).

“The late Johnny Winter combined flashiness and heart like no other guitarist…a genuine phenomenon…” – David Fricke, Rolling Stone

“I play the way I play because I couldn’t play like Johnny Winter… While simultaneously breaking musical and cultural barriers, he was one of the ordained architects who went on to define the blues not only for generations, but for an entire genre. As an artist, he played and sang with a rare and unparalleled urgency and sincerity that requires musicians of all stature to listen and learn. As a producer, Johnny Winter was the gatekeeper whom Muddy Waters entrusted to further his own sound. That says it all.” – Ben Harper

“The album reflects the legend’s gifts as a blues prodigy.” – Edna Gundersen, USA Today

“One of the most electrifying and competitive blues guitarists…” – Marc Myers, Wall Street Journal

“a musician dedicated to exploring his muse until the end…” – Randall Roberts, LA Times

“[Johnny] played the role of blues proselytizer… his determination to stick with honest, barely adulterated blues earned him legions of die-hard fans and admirers among guitar players.”
– Phil Gallo, Billboard

“He was a Texas fireball, a flaming tumbleweed out of Beaumont who blazed a trail across the world with his incendiary blues.…because of Johnny Winter’s tireless work, the blues found a new voice and a new audience. It was a worthy calling and a fine legacy for a man who went out at the top of his powers, leaving us all wanting more.” – Grant Britt, American Songwriter

“Johnny was unique as Jimi Hendrix in his talent and devotion to the blues.” – Joe Perry

About Johnny Winter:
For well over five decades, John Dawson Winter III produced and played on some of the most exciting blues and rock recordings in the history of both genres. His absolute command of traditional music has earned him the respect of serious musicologists, while his tremendous agility, wicked speed and full-tilt aggression on the electric guitar and acoustic bottleneck has won over several generations of younger rock players looking to cop some the fastest and hottest licks ever committed to tape.

Like his spiritual forefathers—the mysterious country bluesmen of yore—Johnny Winter was the source of much rumor and speculation before he became a national star. In 1968, as if writing about the mythical Big Foot, Rolling Stone magazine reported bizarre sightings in Austin, Texas of a wild fleet-fingered guitarist with translucent white skin and snowy hair, yet who sounded distinctly African American. Johnny’s record deal with Columbia Records in the late 60s is considered the largest of its time. His friend John Lennon wrote “Rock and Roll People” in his honor, and he’s performed at Woodstock and in bands with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Winter revived the careers of his heroes, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker by producing their Grammy-winning comeback albums. The documentary film Johnny Winter: Down and Dirty by Greg Olliver (Lemmy) premiered to critical acclaim at SXSW 2014 (screeners available by request).

Step Back track listing

1. Unchain My Heart – Johnny Winter
2. Can’t Hold Out (Talk To Me Baby) – Johnny Winter with Ben Harper
3. Don’t Want No Woman – Johnny Winter with Eric Clapton
4. Killing Floor – Johnny Winter with Paul Nelson
5. Who Do You Love – Johnny Winter
6. Okie Dokie Stomp – Johnny Winter with Brian Setzer
7. Where Can You Be – Johnny Winter with Billy Gibbons
8. Sweet Sixteen – Johnny Winter with Joe Bonamassa
9. Death Letter -Johnny Winter
10. My Babe – Johnny Winter with Jason Ricci
11. Long Tall Sally – Johnny Winter with Leslie West
12. Mojo Hand – Johnny Winter with Joe Perry
13. Blue Monday – Johnny Winter with Dr. John