True To The Blues also draws tracks from Winter's two Grammy Award®-nominated albums:
The first three of those titles won consecutive Grammy Awards® as "Best Ethnic Or Traditional Recording," namely Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978), and Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979).) (It is noted that Johnny Winter produced and played guitar on the final four LPs recorded by his hero Muddy Waters after he left Chess Records.
It was Winter's first trip to New York City, on the heels of a Texas music scene survey on the newsstands that week in Rolling Stone magazine (not yet one year old!). Guests abound throughout True To The Blues, starting with the third track as fellow blues guitar giant Michael Bloomfield introduces Johnny Winter to the Fillmore East audience in December 1968, during a "Super Session" live concert date with Al Kooper.
These range from his independently recorded and released The Progressive Blues Experiment of 1968 ("Bad Luck And Trouble," "Mean Town Blues") up through 2011's all-star duets project, Roots ("Maybelline" with Vince Gill, "Dust My Broom" with Derek Trucks). The contents are sourced from no less than 27 separate albums on the Imperial, Columbia, Blue Sky/Epic, Alligator, Point Blank (Virgin), Friday Music, Megaforce, and Columbia/Legacy labels. True To The Blues: The Johnny Winter Story lives up to its title with a chronological track sequence of studio and live material that underscores Johnny Winter's hard-won reputation as an American blues master. Juke joints and cotton fields, rotgut whiskey and back alley crap games, lowdown, lonesome, trifling women and hard times. "A lot of people play the blues," said Charlie Daniels, "but there's only a handful who can reach deep into the music and make it real. "If it was not for Johnny Winter," said Joe Perry of Aerosmith, "I would have never picked up the guitar!" The testimonial is one of nearly 20 that accompany the box set, from such guitar luminaries as Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young, Pete Townshend, Carlos Santana, Steven Tyler, Billy Gibbons, Joe Satriani, Derek Trucks, Gregg Allman, Leslie West, Vince Gill, Glenn Tipton, Mark Knopfler, and many more. Tickets are available for $30 in advance and $35 day of show. King Blues Club & Grill at Times Square in New York City on Sunday, February 23, 2014. The two-time Grammy Award®-nominated, perennially touring Johnny Winter will play a special birthday night performance at the B.B. This deluxe 4-CD box set, includes 56 tracks that span his major label career from 1968 until his most recent album of 2011, will be available everywhere February 25, 2014, through Columbia/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - The extraordinary four decade-plus recording career of seminal Texas blues-rocking guitar legend Johnny Winter, who celebrates his 70 th birthday on February 23, 2014, will be commemorated with the release of True To The Blues: The Johnny Winter Story.