Johnny Winter 'Crossroads'

[gracenoj]

wow!

[RBELLOUS]

Thank God for recordings like these. Johnny will always be alive and well.

[lklkhjhjdfs]

at the end , jeff ganz begin Badge

[DeanLisi]

Saw him last year.....so sad.... I was embarrassed for him. It was awful...almost like he was playing a different song than the band...he needs to stop. Love him. But he needs to retire.

[Dogheadj]

Saw Johnny about 3 months before this gig, but with the same bass player and drummer at the Zeyphr Club in Salt Lake City. Johnny's always been one of my guitar idols, so I stood, literally, 3 feet in front of him all night, just watching his technique. I was flat out mesmerized.

I've seen him several times since then, and I'm sorry to say that as his health (and addictions) have got worse, so has his playing. In one concert I saw, JW was about a half beat behind his band. Sad. Very sad.

[conspiraful]

Johnny was the great innovator of finger pluckin fast lead and roarin' fast slide guitar leads back in '65!

[Thebluesrockmusic]

Poor Clapton.

[johnnybeabad]

The Govenor General Of Guitars, Baron of Blues, Most underrated guitarest in history of music. When he and Hendrix jammed in NY Jimmy played Bass!!!!!! That says what Hendrix thought of Johnnys' skill!!!!! Trinity of the guitar:Johnny, Jimmi, Stevie-Ray. Listen to their works, without Johnny and Jimmi Stevie would only have had a little lamb!

[TheStampedehero]

He has the longest ring finger attached to a guitarist ever. His style is sick. No body can dupplicate.

[quikvmax]

I absolutely love Clapton's music,but when it comes to hardcore blues he's like a cultured beautiful woman you take out to a nice place to eat and get a peck on the cheek at the end of the night...JOHNNY'S blues is like a smoking hot trailer park queen who's getting naked before she gets in your truck,screws you going down the road and then drinks you under the table and steals your truck,wallet and cowboy boots while you are passed out and when you wake up in the morning you dont miss any of it

[creecat24]

@quikvmax that was the most weirdly poetic comment i have ever read on youtube to date....bravo!!

[quikvmax]

@creecat24 LOL..TY very much...I have a screwed up picture show going on in my little pea brain all the time...sometimes others see it a bit with me. : )

[5jerry1]

I just watched the "Crossraods 2010" clip of him and it was one of the worst things I've ever seen/heard. I'm glad I watched this next. I feel good again.

[radpcdrums]

Was this at The Bachannal in Kearny Mesa? I think I was there. Still the greatest guitarist I've ever seen live.

[hyjyljyj]

Man you gotta be that good a bass player to qualify to stand on the same stage as Johnny Winter...this guy actually is pushing Johnny's jam...awesome

[TheRollinstoney]

j Jon Paris,. he's still playing and has a steady gig at BB KIngs bar in NYC plays ther all the time Jon does.

[TheRollinstoney]

j Jon Paris,. he's still playing and has a steady gig at BB KIngs bar in NYC plays ther all the time Jon does.

Look up BB Kings scheduale in NYC ,. Jon Paris can play the lead and sound just like Johnny also :)

[tataso]

fucking yeahh !!! winter rules !!

[ArtofDreaming1]

even though Mike Bloomfield is the BEST

[ArtofDreaming1]

all this comparing talk just gives me memory pain, their all great and have their own places love them all and listen to all of them guess what I don't have to choose, I grew up on johnny winter but I love srv

[bengreens]

he is really tearin' it up on this one . . .

[jefrexbodine]

someone stated that srv created texas blues. srv is great but johnny winter is texas blues style all the way and started his career way before srv. srv had the same bass player johnny recorded his first albums with. texas blues started wayyyy before srv...ask jimmie lee vaughan. freddie king and guitarists the generation before freddie like lightnin' hopkin's. both srv and johnny winter got a lot of their ideas from him. rude mood is a very close take on a ligtnin' hopkin's tune.

[heuteschongefickt]

there is the good,

there is the better and and now you got the best.

It's gonna be always that way!!!

[gblueslover2]

@heuteschongefickt Spot on. brother !

[mcgaheefamily]

JOHNNY HAS BEEN INTHE MUSIC IT SEAMS FOREEVER

[TheoBurke]

No one touches Johnny Winter on the blues guitar.

[aspirepacman1972]

Just enjoy the music. What's wrong with guitarists that they're always saying X is better Y? They're just different! I never hear trombonists talking like this.

[davemooreblues]

JOHNNY WINTER *IS* GOD!!!

[winterguitarking]

For Nits ... Johnny Winter is the Greatest Guitar Player Blues Rock Star of all Time the Best of the Best ... Has jammed more concerts than about anyone on the planet ... If you don't get it, you're not very bright ... Thanks Johnny Dawson Winter for kicking ass for 50 years, one of you're fans here ...

[5jerry1]

@winterguitarking

Agreed.

[FrancescoTNM]

Johnny knows. 

[mamasboy815]

I tell you what! J.W. is the king!!!!! argue with that! Cant neither one of YOU match it I bet!!!!!!!!!!!! J.W. give's a gift everytime he picks up his guitar.I'll bet you my favorite dog cant any one commenting bad on this song know's there ass from a hole in the ground.

[larken558]

Good exchange between the bas and guitar. I hate the way the drumming pauses at the end of each line.

Johhny has played with many other guitarists, he has no problem sharing the stage.

[JohnnyBootsBand]

Why is it so important to choose favorites and make comparisons? Music is not a competition.

[yoch3]

I think we should not compare Johnny and Eric but since you guys started it! ;-)

I think Eric's style is more Bach and Johnny's style is more Beethoven. So there...  Just sounds good all the way around to me. and yes that bass playing is awesome.

[8aPeach2]

wish Johnny would start pumping some iron so he could hold up his old Firebird again..

[zagroscpu]

This is great!

[guitarajs22]

why do people hate on other blues guitarist? SRV was good and so was johnny winter they both have good feel and have tons of soul its just a preference of style and tone which you like more. There is also a difference between a blues player and a rock player who plays blues. Though there times when these two artists played blues they are both under more of the blues-rock category

[TheKmbt]

Winter was also one of the best slide players. You can't say that about Clapton or Stevie.

[TheKmbt]

Anyone can play Albert King licks. Try playing Johnny's-not!

[btflash55]

@TheKmbt anybody can play johnnys as well. basic blues licks! nothing special.

[TheKmbt]

@btflash55 Not!

[oeyesea]

Johnny Winter could not share the stage with other fine musicians? Rick Derringer.

[627257stingray]

man this brutha is off the planet johhny is fuckin on it

[thallassocracy]

Nobody can play like Johnny Winter, but then nobody can play with Johnny Winter either (at least, not without being made to look incompetent).

In one sense, Johnny is probably better than Clapton. But Clapton had the ability to share a stage with other musicians as fine as himself.

You can't really compare Johnny Winter with Clapton. Clapton was at his best as an ensemble player - the one skill Johnny Winter never had.

[toobtyme]

a drum machine would have been better than Compton (crapton)

[JohnnyBuff]

This is a lesson for Eric.

[TheKmbt]

Winter played twice as fast as everyone else in the seventies and 80's. SRV had a great sound and played Albert King real well. Most blues players play Albert and Freddie King licks. No one can play Winter's licks but Winter!

[btflash55]

@TheKmbt no he wasnt!there were plenty of guitar players who could blow him away.i saw him play with rick derringer many times and derringer was twice as fast as him and i always felt he was the better player.

[TheKmbt]

@btflash55 Derringer is and was also a fine player-he played second to Johnny!

[btflash55]

@TheKmbt no, he played rhythm for johnny . big diifference!im a gutarist with over 35 yrs of studio experience and also a teacher of over 30 yrs.derringer is by far a better guitar player.johnny plays very basic blues riffs while derringer plays sweep arpeggios,fridgian and dorian model phrasings, thirds ,finger tapping . all techniques that im sorry to say johnny cannot do.ive seen both up close and personal. theres no comparison. derringer is by far superior!

[guitarajs22]

@btflash55 you spelled phrygian and modal wrong lol

[BloatedSensations]

@btflash55 Guitarists aren't engineers. They're artists. If you want to make value judgments based solely on technical proficiency then, I'm sorry to say, you are completely clueless regarding music, or any manner of artistic creation. Sure, someone like Malmsteen, and a thousand 18 year old, snotty-nosed kids who don't matter and have never left their bedroom can play rings around someone like, say, B.B. King, from a purely technical standpoint - But, nobody who's worth a damn cares.

[btflash55]

@TheKmbt i dont even think hes as great a blues player as others out there. remember the words of the blues master bb king who has played with johnny winter. he says in his opinion the greatest blues guitarist he has ever seen is eric clapton not johnny winter! i agree 100%.

[5jerry1]

@btflash55

B.B. King said Peter Green was the best white blues player he had ever seen.

[btflash55]

@5jerry1 not according to the interview he did in guitar player magazine! he said clapton was the "best" blues player he ever heard ,black or white!

[5jerry1]

@btflash55

I had a book about Fleetwood Mac, history of the band and such, and in it there was a picture of Peter Green and B.B. king, and the caption had a quote from King, saying Green was "...the only white blues player who made me sweat."

He obviously has tremendous respect for both.

[btflash55]

@5jerry1 well, i guess after he saw clapton he changed his mind.

[quikvmax]

@5jerry1 I have watched B.B.King several times from just a few feet away and I can tell you truthfully the list of guitar players who could "make him sweat" is infinite...He's got the voice,he's dang sure got that awesome,unique tone,but his playing is his own thing.

[5jerry1]

@quikvmax

He definitely has his own thing. You can always tell it's him. King probably has an energy or vibe coming from the stage; all the greats do.

[mik661]

@5jerry1 I would have to disagree and say Stevie.

[btflash55]

@TheKmbt if you think hes fast then you never heard ingwie malmsteen . hes about 10 times faster than winters. he would blow if right off the stage.

[TheKmbt]

@btflash55 Apples and Oranges! Winter is a blues player-wing way is a shredder!

Totally different styles. I'll take Winters style any day!

[btflash55]

@TheKmbt then dont make blanket statements like "hes twice as fast as anyone in the seventies or eighties" since that is just wrong. btw malmsteen also plays blues!

[TheKmbt]

@btflash55 Please wing way is a total waste! Winter respects his music-that's why he's a GOD! 

[TheOriginalBartCross]

@btflash55

"btw malmsteen also plays blues!" and he really sucks at it, his version of Red House is disgraceful.

[SubliminalAttraction]

Such a load of Nasty comments here!

If you don't like someone's music go listen to something else.

OK?

[lazer70]

Johnny is the best, Jimi? everybody say hes the best coz if u not say that u know nothing, SRV? well he died to early to be compared. the only one who can bluesrock like Johnny is Gallagher rip, well almost like Johnny.

[NOmeansnoFAN]

srv? Hendrix died earlier and no one states srv was better. Cream's version is the best version of this ever. Clapton plays circles around winter.

BTW Robert Johnson wrote this song, not "the cream" as stated in the title.

[fangjangler]

@NOmeansnoFAN He plays the Cream cover version though, so it's mostly right.

[NorthTulsaBoy]

This isn't Johnny at the peak of his powers..

[timothycooper123]

@NorthTulsaBoy so what it still rocks look at his age

[NorthTulsaBoy]

@timothycooper123

So what ?

So he can do/has done a lot better, and I wanted to point that out for the sake of younger people (or whoever) who aren't familiar with Johnny's playing, and may not realize how great of a guitar player he is / was.

I don't want them to sell Johnny short, because he is worthy of respect.

And he's not that old. It was drugs & poor health that compromised his ability. I hear he's trying to come back.

[timothycooper123]

@NorthTulsaBoy fucking die please

[timothycooper123]

@NorthTulsaBoy 

[timothycooper123]

@NOmeansnoFAN

[btflash55]

@NOmeansnoFAN so true!

[sensai61]

ah youtube comments, the battle of the "superior" opinions...everyone just shut the fuck up and watch. thank you (:

[ixion58]

Winter get Bruce/Baker playing up your ass and you will sound like Clapton.

[jackgingeranderic]

@ixion58 LOL, yeah let him try to do Spoonful or I'm So Glad. In fact take anyone else and let them try to reproduce those 2 songs live and improvised and come up with something close. Good Luck.

[mcul2112]

bass player is over playing.

[NOmeansnoFAN]

w/e! never too much bass. try the who or nmn and if you think this is too much they will make you cry.

Rob Wright does solo shows with bass only and there is nothing missing. look for "Mr Wrong"

[mcul2112]

@NOmeansnoFAN wrong. love the who and specifically Entwistle. prolly my fave. with everything he did, he also held it down. not this guy...sorry.

[NOmeansnoFAN]

Entwistle played the bass like moon did the drums, a fill every chance. perhaps I don't get what you mean by "over-playing"

[Waszma]

OMG!!! Sorry man, how could I have forgotten about Miley and her band??!!!??!! I am so ashamed.....

[Blueshenry]

fits to my crossroad collection. many thanks

[piplime]

your all wrong

rory gallagher is by far the best

[jessaamur]

for this genre, i completely agree. SRV is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but rory is just incredible.

[Bopalena]

Yer all nuts! The best guitarist in the world is Nunzio Q. Bustafemente. I have charts and graphs to prove this and if any of you mugs wanna make somethin' of it I'll meet you all in the back of Scapazzicapellofunicullifunicu­llabebopalula's pizzaria on 199th Avenue at 11:47 tonight and we'll see who's left standing!

[jannethegun]

Sorry xkecoupe this old blues is original made by the late Roberth johnson

[RonnieCoffman]

robert johnson king of the delta blues

[FranciscoBonito]

funny thing : srv,clapton and JW believe hendrix to be the greatest :) since they more about guitar than those arguing here about who´s better, I'll take their word :)

[4Dragons]

Funny thing is that actually all those people plus EVH all say that Jeff Beck is the greatest guitarist and rightfully so because he is. That being said Johnny Winter smokes just about everyone when it comes to blues. He's half dead in a lot of his stuff but just check out Sweet Papa John and then you'll know what time it is.

[FranciscoBonito]

yeah,thats why jeff beck wanted to quit after watching hendrix live : ) clapton said nobody has done with a guitar what hendrix did and since him nobody has even come close,u can look it up,clapton on larry king. Hendrix made clapton,beck,townshend,page,ri­chards wanna quit because he was overwhelming... :)

[grga888]

Two corrections:

1. They all said that Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitar player of all time, rightfully and correct cause he totally 100% is.

2. Stevie Ray Vaughan is the one who smokes everybody when it comes to blues, not Johnny Winter.

[mcul2112]

@grga888 agree Jimi was the best. but think SRV and Johnny are apples and oranges.

and i wouldn't slam anyone for not being better than srv...if ya know what i mean.

[dorian411]

@grga888 hmm, one of the greats, but certainly not the greatest --he did play out of tune on many a bootleg, and his voice sounded like "geesefarts on a muggy day".

[Waszma]

Johnny has sick chops...no doubt about it, but Stevie Ray is the best blues/rock player of all time. Re: this song, honestly, Eric's version is way better. Chops is one thing, but how good do you sound? That's the most important thing. Gimme the Rev. Willy G. or Robin Trower man....

[grga888]

Totally true, Stevie Ray is the best blues/rock player ever.

[MileyCyrusTrueLove]

Bull... Miley Cyrus & her band kill just about anyone, from the 60's onward... Just listen to "Party in the USA" & you'll see what I mean!

[Thralllinian]

hes playing creams adaptation of "Crossroads Blues" Robert never wrote a song simply called "Crossroads" so technically it's correct

[matty8371]

he looks more like hank williams III than his daddy does.

[FIRECRACKER392]

It was the size of that guy`s Bass when he started !

[FIRECRACKER392]

JUST LOOK ! He wears his Guitars down to a nub !!!

[FIRECRACKER392]

2`ND  TO NONE !

[fjansz]

Oh dear, poor Clapton.... ;-)

[nlc3000]

Ha ha! How true! After seeing Johnny, poor Eric truly is a Slowhand!

[MrMattTheKnife]

@fjansz This doesn't come near the Cream version!

[btflash55]

@MrMattTheKnife 100% right!

[Feelyman]

@fjansz Cream`s version is much better

[rmgj]

@Feelyman Says you, if you paired Johnny with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker then you could compare, and my guess is the only winners would be us in the audience.

[drilledtooth]

@fjansz clapton would wipe his ass with this guys social security card

[theyfreedbarrabas]

SRV never really impressed players as much as wannabees

[philippo54]

Crossroad Blues was a Robert Johnson tune, one crucial to his legend, but what JW plays here is the Cream riff from "Crossroads" on Wheels of Fire - Live at the Fillmore, so calling it Crossroads by Cream isn't totally inaccurate.

[srvtrouble]

Winter and SRV forever!!

[rouse77]

Johnny's playing is stellar here, it never mattered to him much if he was playing in a large stadium or a small bar, he always gave it his all. He's all about the music. A true proffesional.

[sgpnc]

Mr. Winter plays the Carolina Theatre 3/13/09. Woohoo!

You might check out Live Bootleg Series Vol 2 Friday Music FRM 1083, which has substantially the same version of Crossroads. From the first bars, Johnny is covering the Cream version. Quite the compliment. Crossroads was written by Mr. Robert Johnson in 1936.

[asmetuyasiempre]

mark4tk its right grga888 steve only play some one also music i never heard one of his own production.,so bet it,.steve play good but thas it and jhonny its a master of masters and i know alot of masters

[mark4tk]

stevie ray vaughan overachieved , tried too hard

johnny winter makes it appear effortless

SRV tried to be everything to everybody

JW just does his thing

it ain't a competition boys

[grga888]

Hahaha... You obviously don't play guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan is the greatest guitar player ever to emerge from Texas and is the greatest white blues guitar player of all time. A fact.

[Nickovitch2370]

Obviously you are an idiot if you are trying to force you opinion on someone. SRV was good but shit not everybody thinks that. Rory Gallagher was WAY better than SRV and mark4tk is right, Winter does make it look effortless.

[sam19851]

I agree lol. But if your aged 14 yrs i can see why you would think SRV is the ' iomg the best thats ever lived '. haha.

Need i say Bloomfield

Peter Green

Buddy Guy

BB King

Otis Rush

List is endless who o would put ahead of Srv.

But hey!! Thats MY opinion...

[grga888]

Those are all nothing compared to SRV, SRV is the best blues guitar player of all time, a fact you douchebag!

[grga888]

SRV is the best, you are fuckin idiot. Rory who, Johnny who? Haha... You sick fuck!

[Crossrhoads2768]

that's opinion my friend there alot of people who agree from you but nobody's the best there all unique and special in there own way.

[luckeyeth]

Hard to deny Johnny Winter as the whitest great blues guitar player to emerge from Texas though!

[theriffer]

It's probably just me, but Johnny can take almost any tune and make it way better than the original. I noticed very sublty he sitcks in some Clapton licks.....love it. I'd bet he could play Clapton better than Clapton can play himself...lol, does that make any sense? :) I think Johnny was at his all time best during this time period. No doubt due in part to Jeff's amazing bass playing. But I still prefer Jon Paris. He's not as good techincally, but he played with more balls, I think. :)

[grga888]

Yeah Johnny is great, but let's not forget one thing. SRV is still the best white bluesman of all time. A huge fact.

[theriffer]

SRV was NOT well recieved at first. His 'blues' is modern blues. Johnny is well versed in traditonal blues as well as modern blues. Your'e just a kid posting shit all over youtube that nobody agrees with. SRV ushered in the modern blues age and why he gets & deserves all the accolades....but, he's not in the same league as Johnny Winter!

You fail to understand what is meant by 'traditional' blues and why that makes J.W. stand above all others. SRV was limited in blues playing to one style.

[rorygg1]

@theriffer you're so right. stevie ray was a one trick pony. jw plays delta national, electric slide and ass kicking leads. give me rory gallagher, johnny, and duane allman. stevie ray is just a white boy acceptable to the masses

[Freddyguitarslim]

@theriffer  Thank you...well said..

[mamasboy815]

@theriffer The man has stayed true to the blues through thick and thin.That is what makes J.W.

[ZeppelinFan6980]

@theriffer I would not say JW stands above all others. You are being very biased towards traditional blues. Besides, SRV was an innovator in Texas blues. He practically, along with guys like his brother, invented the style and made it very popular. JW simply played in a style that was very common, albeit better than most others, however he is not as unique as guys like SRV. Not to hate on JW, he is a great player. I wouldn't say nobody agrees with him. An SRV video would be the opposite of this.

[jgraham140]

Maybe. Listen to Peter Green.

[Diizel]

After bottle of AbsolutVodka he still can play so good and rockin Hell out! :-)

[Mrfishface]

Can anyone post a clip of Johnny doing "Come On Part 1", the Earl King song Hendrix covered on his "Electric Ladyland" album? I've seen Johnny do it before and I know there's some videos of it. Thanks.

[fleckfor]

Check out the Ed Fleck Group doing come on

[samalini]

Yes, I've heard of him, exellent guitarist from Georgia I think...that was back in seventies .

[thaibites]

Awesome jam!!!!!!

Anyone ever heard of Robert Johnson?

[vuduchild27]

Is that a joke?...