Winter

  When I was a freshman at Anderson College, I had a suitemate named Louis Nexsen.  He was sort of a hippie with long hair and a love for music.  Among the artists he introduced me to was the music of Johnny Winter.  He played rock and the blues.  He also played at Woodstock in 1969.  Louis had the album "Johnny Winter And Live".  We just about wore that album out.  

 In 2006, Johnny was to play at a Blues Festival in Columbia at Martin Luther King park in Five Points.  It was going to be outside.  It rained all day and into the night, but Johnny said he would perform no matter what.  The rain had turned the ground into mud.  It was almost over the top of my shoes.  He was a little late getting to the makeshift stage, but it was so worth it.  He played an electric guitar with no frets.  He was a virtuoso on the guitar.  Healthwise, he wasn't doing too good and had to sit on a stool for much of the performance.  I was standing just three rows from the front.  To see him pick on that guitar was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

 His brother Edgar Winter is probably more well-known that Johnny, but Johnny was the better musician.  Thanks to Louis for sharing that album with me.  He lit the fuse on my appreciation of the Blues.