Johnny Winter Woodstock
In it’s December 7, 1968 issue, Rolling Stone magazine’s Larry Sepulvado and John Burks wrote in an article titled “Tribute to the Lone Star State: Dispossessed Men and Mothers of Texas” :
The hottest item outside of Janis Joplin, though, still remains in Texas. If you can imagine a hundred and thirty pound cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest fluid blues guitar you have ever heard, then enter Johnny Winter. At 16, Bloomfield called him the best white blues guitarist he had ever heard.
Winter reportedly received $600,000 for signing with Columbia Records in 1969. That was a huge sum of money for that time.
The band started at midnight; played a little over an hour.
Personnel:
- Johnny Winter: vocals, guitar
- Edgar Winter: keyboards
- Tommy Shannon: bass
- “Uncle” John Turner: drums
Setlist:
- Mama, Talk to Your Daughter
- Leland Mississippi Blues
- Mean Town Blues
- You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now > Mean Mistreater
- I Can’t Stand It*
- Tobacco Road*
- Tell the Truth*
- Johnny B. Goode*
* with Edgar Winter
Johnny Winter Woodstock
Mama, Talk to Your Daughter
The band starts minus brother Edgar Winter. JB Lenoir wrote the song. The song would appear on Winter’s third album and the third Columbia Records release for Winter in 1969!
Mama, mama please talk to your daughter ’bout me
Mama, mama please talk to your daughter ’bout me
She made me love her and I ain’t gonna leave her be
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
She made me love her and I ain’t gonna leave her be
I ain’t gonna stand no quitting and she won’t have me aroun
I ain’t gonna stand no quitting and she won’t have me around
If she got me a ride, she’d be six feet in the ground
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
She made me love her and I ain’t gonna leave her be
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
You should talk to your daughter (talk, talk)
She made me love her and I ain’t gonna leave her be
Johnny Winter Woodstock
Leland Mississippi Blues
Written by Johnny Winter, the song appeared on The Progressive Blues Experiment, his first album. Austin’s Sonobeat Records label originally issued the album in 1968, but when Winter signed to Columbia Records, the rights were sold to Imperial Records who reissued the album in 1969.
I’ve been in Texas, I’ve been on the run
I’ve been in Texas, I’ve been on the run
I’m going to Leland, Mississippi, mama
You all know that’s where I come from
Right down on the Delta, man
Well, I’m alone, I’m free from my home
You know I was sittin’ right down people
On my daddy’s cotton farm
Ah, come here, woman, let your hair down
I want you to love me with a feeling
‘Cause I’m Mississippi bound
The best woman, the best waist in town
Oh yeah
‘Cause I have a travellin’ mind
Johnny Winter Woodstock
Mean Town Blues
Johnny Winter wrote it and it also appeared on his first Columbia Records album.
Lord my mother she done told me and my
Father done told me
Grandfather told me too
My mother she done told me
And my father done told me
Grandfather told me too
It’s a mean old town to live in by yourself
Yeah, I worked for a dollar could not
Save a lousy
Could not save a dime
You know I worked for a dollar could not
Save a lousy
Could not save a dime
Ain’t nobody worried, man, ain’t nobody crying
Everybody’s got a hand out trying to
Get a hold on
Trying to get some of my cash
Everybody’s got a hand out trying to
Get a hold on
Trying to get some of my cash
Smiling great big smiles, man, keep on talking trash
You know I packed up my suitcase and I
Moved on down the
Hit that lonesome road
You know I packed up my suitcase and I
Moved on down the
Hit that lonesome road
I’m still trying to make it, man, when the day is done
Johnny Winter Woodstock
You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now > Mean Mistreater
BB King and Joe Josea wrote You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now and had been on his 1960 album. Written by Jimmie Gordon, “Mean Mistreater” appeared on Winter’s second album. My Kind of Blues.
Oh, baby you done lost your good thing now
Oh, baby you done lost your good thing now
Well the way I used to love you baby
Baby that’s the way I hate you now
You used to say that you loved me
But baby I believe you’ve changed your mind
You used to say that you loved me
But baby I believe you’ve changed your mind
Well I don’t blame you baby
Because you ain’t what you used to be
Let me love you just one more time
Yes let me love you just one more time anyway
Oh, let me love you, let me love you, let me love you
One more time baby
Let me love you just one more time anyway
Oh you can’t quit me now baby
Because you didn’t mean me no good anyway
Well you know where I’m from baby
So please don’t try to mistreat me
Yes you know where I’m from baby
So please don’t try to mistreat me
Yes because I’ll make your mother a present
Baby of you and your casket too
Oh you once said you loved me
And you would do anything I said
Oh you once said you loved me baby
And you would do anything I said
Oh but the way you treat me now baby
I just soon rather be dead
Oh, baby you done lost your good thing now
Oh, baby you done lost your good thing now
The way I used to love you
Baby that’s the way I hate you now
And she don’t mean me no good
She’s a mean mistreater,
Well you know I don’t blame you baby,
I’d be the same way if I could
And the girl mistreats me all the time
She’s a mean mistreater,
Well you know you just wants to quit me darlin’,
Because you got that on your mind
You had the nerve to tell me that you didn’t love, me no more
Can’t you remember baby,
When I knocked up on your door
Didn’t love me no more
Well you know it’s lonesome you know it’s lonesome,
When you sleepin’, all by yourself
She lovin’ someone else
And it’s lonesome,
Sleepin’ by yourself
She is loving someone else
Johnny Winter Woodstock
I Can’t Stand It
Brother Edgar Winter now joined Johnny, who explained that they’d just finished cutting their next album in Nashville and that I Can’t Stand It was one of the tracks from it. That album would be Second Winter, but the song does not appear on it and will not appear on any album until Columbia Legacy released Winter’s complete Woodstock set as part of the The Woodstock Experience album in 2009.
Johnny Winter Woodstock
Tobacco Road
By John Loudermilk the song has become especially associated with Edgar more than Johnny. In fact, Edgar is the vocalist on this song.
Mama died and my daddy got drunk
Let me hear two dying crows
In the middle of tobacco road
All I owned was hanging on my back
Only lord knows how I loved tobacco road
But the lord knows how I loved
Tobacco road
With the help of the treesome god
Save my money, get rich enough
Bring it back to tobacco road
Blow it up and start all over again
Build a town be proud to show
Give the name tobacco road
I despise you cause you’re filthy
But I love you cause you’re home
Blow it up start all over again
Build a town be proud to know
This place called tobacco road
But the lord knows how I love
Tobacco road
Johnny Winter Woodstock
Tell the Truth
By Lowman Pauling wrote it and it was supposed to be included on Winter’s next album, but wasn’t released until a 2004 re-release.
Tell the truth
You know you can make me do what you want me to
Tell the truth
You know you can make me do what you want me to
But, I’m goin’ to stop it
I would roll up around you
If I thought it would do any good
Tell the truth
Well you know you can make me do what you want me to
But, I’m goin’ to stop it
I would roll up around you
If I thought it would do any good
Tell the truth
Well you know you can make me do what you want me to
(Tell the truth)
And I know, I know, baby
(Tell the truth)
Every day, every night
(Tell the truth)
Whooah, hold me tight
(Tell the truth)
And I know, and I know
(Tell the truth)
You ‘oughta, you ‘oughta
(Tell the truth)
Stop Lying
(Tell the truth)
Stop Lying, whooh
(Tell the truth)
Whoooh
(Tell the truth)
Whoooh
(Tell the truth)
Oh baby
(Tell the truth)
Now tell the truth
(Tell the truth)
Every day of your life, tell the truth little girl
(Tell the truth)
What about that man you were with last night
(Tell the truth)
I want to know
(Tell the truth)
Come on baby
(Tell the truth)
Hey hey
(Tell the truth)
Every day of your life, you ‘oughta
(Tell the truth)
Johnny Winter Woodstock
Johnny B. Goode
The crowd called for more and Johnny Winter gives Chuck Berry’s classic composition a great treatment. It did appear on Second Winter.
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens…
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy name of Johnny B. Goode…
He never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play the guitar like ringing a bell.
Go Johnny Go
Go Go
Johnny B. Goode
And sit beneath the trees by the railroad track.
Oh, the engineers used to see him sitting in the shade,
Playing to the rhythm that the drivers made.
People passing by would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play
And he would be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around
To hear him play his music when the sun go down
Maybe someday his name would be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.
Johnny Winter Woodstock
The next act was Blood, Sweat and Tears.