Five Must-hear Tracks from Edgar Winter

Younger brother of blues-rock guitar hero Johnny, Edgar Winter has long made music that spans across genres. In his hit singles and deep album tracks, one can find soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. It’s all wrapped in an accessible rock package, and for his efforts Winter has become a Platinum-selling recording artist. Over the years, he has toured under his own name and as a sometime member of Ringo’s All-Starr Band; his most recent studio release is a 2022 tribute to his late sibling, Brother Johnny. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his Gold-selling Shock Treatment LP, here are five notable tracks from the catalog of Edgar Winter.

“Tobacco Road” from Entrance (1970)
Edgar and Johnny had been playing music since they were young boys in Beaumont, Texas. But Johnny Winter – nearly three year his brother’s elder – got a record deal first, his breakthrough self-titled album in 1969. Edgar followed quickly with his own debut, Entrance. His jazz-rock hybrid impressed critics and sold well, though his most high-profile successes were still a few years ahead. Edgar’s reading of J. D. Loudermilk’s oft-covered “Tobacco Road” featured guest guitar work from one John Dawson Winter III.

“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” from Roadwork by Edgar Winter’s White Trash (1972)
A fiery double album set, Roadwork captured White Trash at its peak. Featuring powerhouse vocalist Jerry LaCroix along with former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer on guitar, the albums is a live tour-de-force. And while it’s filled with superb performances like an incendiary reading of Otis Redding’s classic “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” Roadwork is most fondly remembered for this track. Edgar introduces the song by teasing the audience: “People keep asking me, uh, ‘Where’s your brother?’” Johnny Winter walks out on stage, joins the band and turns in a great rendition of this classic. It would be recorded many times, appearing on a Johnny Winter solo LP (Johnny Winter And) and – in its most famous version – on songwriter Rick Derringer’s 1973 All American Boy.

“Easy Street” from Shock Treatment (1974)
The jazzy “Easy Street” was the lead-off single from the Edgar Winter Group’s fourth long-player. Written by the band’s multi-instrumentalist Dan Hartman, the song’s arrangement benefits from ARP 2600 synthesizer doubling Hartman’s bass lines, and Winter’s multiple overdubs of saxophones to create a thick horn section. Edgar’s pair of extended sax solos are pretty ace, too.

“Rock & Roll Medley” from Together: Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter Live (1976)
A testament to their shared rock and roll roots, this six-minute-plus medley of chestnuts from the early days of rock paid tribute to Little Richard, Elvis, Carl Perkins and other music heroes. Together brought together the musicians from Edgar’s band (including Derringer and Hartman) and Johnny’s group (with guitarist Floyd Radford and bassist Randy Jo Hobbs) onstage in California before an enthusiastic crowd. The Winter brothers engage in some soulful harmony lead vocals, and of course Johnny tears out a sizzling guitar solo.

“Frankenstein” from They Only Come Out at Night (1972)
No survey of Edgar Winter’s work can overlook his most popular tune, “Frankenstein.” So named because the recording is a stitched-together work that draws from many jam sessions, “Frankenstein” is also notable as one of very few instrumental tracks to reach the top spot on the Billboard singles chart. A hard rocking number that features Edgar on analog synthesizer, electric piano, percussion and alto saxophone, “Frankenstein” is an exemplar of his pan-genre approach to his art.