Veteran Guitarist and Singer Covers Material From Robert Johnson, Son House, Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters & More!

Roots, the album, returns the legendary Johnny Winter to his roots by paying homage to the iconic blues heroes whose pioneering music influenced Winter’s own signature sound. Roots is the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated “I’m A Blues Man”, and includes a host of special guests join Winter trading licks in honoring his idols.

About Johnny: When you talk about Johnny Winter, you are talking about a person who walked with the originators of the artform. A man who played Woodstock, jammed with everyone from Muddy Waters to Jimi Hendrix, Willie Dixon, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan – the list is full of endless icons.

Johnny Winter has been the unofficial torch-bearer for the blues, championing and aiding the careers of his idols like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Johnny had a special relationship with Muddy Waters and is often credited with revitalizing the legendary guitarist, where Winter produced and played on Waters’ Grammy-winning comeback album “Hard Again”, Grammy-winning “I’m Ready” (1978), Grammy-winning “Muddy Mississippi Waters Live” (1979) and also “King Bee” (1980). Johnny was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988.

The veteran guitarist and singer covers material from such artists as Robert Johnson, Son House, Elmore James, Bobby Blue Bland, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Walter Davis. Also, Johnny’s brother Edgar Winter appears on the instrumental “Honky Tonk” (Clarence Brown).

Besides Edgar Winter, guest artists include Sonny Landreth, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Vince Gill, Jimmy Vivino (Conan’s bandleader), and more!

“It’s all old material that I grew up being influenced by,” Winter tells Billboard.com. “I do a lot of songs I grew up loving. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long time. It actually is my manager’s idea, but I love it.”