Goldmine Interview John Dawson Winter III was born in Beaumont, Texas, on February 23, 1944. His father was a military man on assignment when Johnny was born. Upon his return the family moved to tiny Leland, Mississippi, a Delta town just east of Greenville, near the river; significantly or symbolically, it was also less than a half hour away from the fabled birthplace of the blues. After a short time, the family moved back to Beaumont, and a second brother, Edgar, was born in 1947. Both children were born albinos, without pigmentation in their hair and eyes. Both would be legally blind and would always be plagued with sometimes poor health;Êlocal ladies in the church used to pray the boys would grow up strong and healthy. Instead, they became superstars in the music business. By the age of five, young Johnny was playing the clarinet; music was a regular feature around the house, and both boys would learn instruments. Johnny moved first to ukulele, then to guitar, while Edgar learned keyboards, horns and anything else he could put his hands on (besides guitar, which was left to big brother), the two began performing around town as a duet, playing Everlys style music. Soon they were winning local talent competitions, and wound up auditioning for Ted Mack's "Original Amateur Hour" in New York. By the time Johnny was 14, he'd formed a band called Johnny and the Jammers, with Edgar on piano, and after winning a local talent show, he had a successful recording audition, which lead to the release of first "School Day Blues" and then "You Know I Love You" on Houston-based Dart Records in 1962. To read the rest of the article, CLICK HERE...