The Texas guitar tradition runs deep. It's a gutsy school of blues playing, marked by thick tones, aggressive attack and tons of technique, all delivered in a flamboyant, swaggering style that is endemic to the Lone Star State. From T-Bone Walker and Clarence Gatemouth Brown on through Albert Collins and Freddie King, Billy Gibbons and the late Stevie Ray Vaughn, the tradition of the Texas guitar slinger has lived on. One name that ranks high up that exclusive list is Johnny Winter, an international ambassador for rocking Texas blues for the last thirty years. Born in Beaumont, Texas on February 23, 1944 John Dawson Winter III grew up surrounded by blues, country and Cajun music. His brother, Edgar, was born three years later and the two showed an inclination toward music at an early age. As Johnny told Down Beat Magazine, "We sang regularly, because Daddy loved to sing harmony. He sang in a barbershop quartet and in a church choir, so Edgar and I started singing as soon as we were born, almost." Johnny began playing clarinet at age five and switched to ukulele a few years later. NEXT >>