The ICONIC Woodstock Lick You Need to Know

[@MarkZabel]

The first 500 people to use my link skl.sh/markzabel11241 will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare premium!

[@Fkku-r6d]

Mt Pleasant here, I never heard your station, i know 101 wrif wllz , 94.9 lansing and 106.1 jackson and here we have nothing good if you call 93.3 in midland good. lol.

[@LoveStreetMike]

I was lucky enough to work at a club in the 60's where Johnny played at least once a month. Great guy! Phenomenan musician.

[@davidtyler3116]

I worked for a concert promoter and supported one of Johnny's shows. I took him around the city and he asked me to get him some whiskey. After he drank so much I thought how can he now play? He killed it. One of the best performances I have ever seen. I have his autograph from that night. A night I will NEVER forget. RIP brother Johnny, you were the best blues player I ever saw.

[@MarkZabel]

Wow, very cool story. Thanks!

[@richardk6659]

Incredible !

[@bayougtr]

Should have had him autograph the empty bottle!😆

[@kevinchristiansen5844]

No doubt. Saw Johnny 3 times in Chicago. Mid 70's. The and live band. They kicked ass.

[@scottkeeler2306]

Johnny Winter set the bar for blues playing the tough way. Kicking ass.

[@licksnkicks1166]

Johnny was amazing. I saw him and Edgar in concert. I saw them play Frankenstein. I will never forget those memories in time. The best!

[@ihatemagas]

Their mother used to come into the nursery that I worked at in High School. They were very famous in my neck of the woods. She would sit and arrange flowers with the owner's daugher. I didn't know who she was until the daughter told me.

[@fredfloyd68]

Oh what a treat...Them boys can throw a party...and Frankenstein...your so lucky..cool..

[@licksnkicks1166]

@ I love your reply. It costs absolutely 0 to be kind to someone. Thank you Fred! ❤️🫶🏻🎸

[@caseykittel]

Love Johnny. Saw him in the late 80s. So good.

[@l6srob990]

Johnny Winter live got me hooked

[@MarkZabel]

Same. He was incredible live. Kind of what he was all about I think.

[@randyc5650]

Johnny got me with 2nd Winter around 1969. I was a senior in HS in New Orleans and was just hearing about Woodstock.

[@fredfloyd68]

Yep you saw the best...and great times..

[@gee7084]

Johnny and Edgar so much talent one family!

[@fw1421]

I grew up in Clearwater Florida and all the big bands came to Tampa or St Petersburg. I saw both Johnny and Edgar several times in the early 70’s. They were must go to concerts,by themselves or together they always put on one hell of a show. I saw Johnny at the House of Blues in Dallas in the early 2000’s. His health was going and had to be escorted out on stage to a chair,but once he started it might have been 1973 all over again. Johnny still had it and whale on his Firebird. He was a great guitarist. Rest In Peace Johnny Winter.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@ub59]

Johnny Winter was not only very skilled but he played so melodically. He started as a kid with finger picking, and that explains some of his speed where he would use his thumb to run bass lines and seamlessly counter with notes using a couple of other fingers in the opposite direction. One of the greats who didn't get the recognition he deserved.

[@johnhess351]

Johnny Winter was spiritually connected to some magical muse. You can hear the muse best on a single 75 year old 12" paper cone Jensen field-coil speaker in a sheet metal box; mono vinyl through an 6sn7/5883-tube PP amp on 10.

[@torytronrud2413]

I first learned about Johnny Winter in the early 1970s and became an instant fan ... bought all his albums and attended his concerts whenever he was in my area. There's a biography of him that's worth reading.

[@HenryMarshall-j4q]

Johnny Winter was the great guitarist the best album captured live one of my favorite albums that got me hooked. 🎸🎶🎶

[@harpman1876]

The first concert I went to was the late great Freddie King. He opened for CCR. 1972. Age 14. That makes me old.

[@zeus-bx9xw]

been listening to Johnny since 70s, Johnny winter Live and...badass..im 67, still love it

[@MarkZabel]

Absolutely!

[@tonetone7572]

appreciate your love for Johnny that i also have seeing him several times and having everything he recorded,.,. however that riff like so many others originates with T Bone who's pet licks are the foundation and cornerstone of the rock blues guitar school,, immerse yourself in his music and you'll hear the roots of where that lick came from..✌

[@BavonWW]

But please remember that Johnny Winter was always active in promoting the original bluesmen and stuck behind them to his dying days.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks. Yeah, even before T-Bone really, but he did a lot with getting electric guitar started. You hear the roots of these ideas in Charlie Patton's playing too. I'm just hypothesizing about where Robben was influenced on this song and describing the experience I had with the song (written by JB Lenoir) - being my first real exposure to someone who called himself a "blues player".

[@33flights59]

I saw Johnny on Don Kirshner's Rock concert. The next day, I ran out and bought Still Alive and Well and then started trying to play my brother's guitar. Eventually, I bought his entire catalog and got my own guitar for Christmas. Thanks, Johnny!

[@rayhillis4150]

Hi mark, it’s Ray H from Maryland and I’ve been following your guitar lessons for about 10 years and you do not disappoint . Your a fabulous guitarist who has helped me to become a better player Thanks you and happy holidays, Ray hillis

[@rayhillis4150]

Ps , I forgot to mention I saw Johnny Winter in 77 at a Blues club in Washington DC with about 500 other fans and he rocked the house for sure. on another note I saw his brother Edgar Winter with Rick Derringer at the Baltimore, Civic Center the same year . What a family of musicians !!!!!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Ray, that's awesome to hear. Happy Holidays to you too!

[@brianjohnson7612]

I was lucky enough to see Johnny Winter at Winterland in San Francisco in 1973. Awesome Concert.

[@georgecovetskie6717]

My original guitar teacher turned out to be best friends since 1976 and we still get together once in a while even though were miles apart today. Thing is, he turned me on to Johnny Winter. We had a band back then and we did a lot of Johnny Winter tunes. I was a bassist in that band. We went to numerous shows to see him and every time he blew us away. Johnny was freakin increasable. Funny how I am turning people on to Johnny that never knew. He was the Best Slide player I ever heard

[@fredfloyd68]

Bout time..Johnny Winter is a guitar god...Now we need you to break down Mean Town Blues...the tuning and especially the intro...Hey great job!!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks

[@PowRKord]

At Woodstock Johnny played "Mean Town Blues" in open G position. However, he tuned B G D up a step rather than dropping E A E down a step - so he was playing in open A.

[@fredfloyd68]

@PowRKord Leave it up to Johnny to do the most unorthodox things..Open A huh...Didnt know...Hes a legend...Has great stuff

[@WJ_RedSG]

Johnny is in my top five!

[@dustyrustymusty3577]

I learned more about playing electric guitar from Johnny Winter than anyone else.

[@davidmckenzie420]

I LOVED Johnny's guitar playing. Thanks for keeping his music alive.

[@MarkZabel]

You bet. An American treasure.

[@PatrickDobak-t7r]

He is my favorite blues guitarist. His technique was so good that even on an electric you could hear his acoustic attack. Never have I seen anyone else so comfortable with the neck of a guitar. Always moving to support intricate melodies. Favorite songs: Dallas for slide and Parchment Farm for an all around song.

[@MarkZabel]

He really was special.

[@chesterproudfoot9864]

Yay, Johnny Winter! He was a fantastic player. I showed my teacher the lick from Edgar's We All Had a Real Good Time and now he says his band jams on it. LOL. I'd love to see you do Louisiana Blues (Savoy Brown's version).

[@roberthamlin6638]

Heard Johnny on the Second Winter album in 72. Memory Pain knocked me out. Have been a big fan since then. Got to see him play three times.

[@Bloozguy]

I got that album in 1970. Memory Pain mesmorized me, lol....about 40 years later, got around to nailing it.....almost! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKa9c2CBYrKIj9k

[@olafbigandglad]

If I had to pick an iconic lick from Woodstock, it would be Alvin Lee's opening to Goin' Home. To be honest, I didn't even remember Johnny Winter played Woodstock.

[@williamickes4648]

Several groups got lost in the shuffle in fact

[@MarkZabel]

It's probably because Johnny didn't wasn't in the movie. He had an AMAZING set. Alvin's part was pretty amazing too. Here's a breakdown of that Alvin Lee lick from Woodstock you're talking about. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHycZIGjnZ19qrs

[@howardgott4946]

Hendrix Star Spangled Banner stands out for me ….don’t remember Johnny Winter being there.

[@Frodojack]

​@@howardgott4946 He wasn't in the movie or the first two soundtracks. In the 1990s he finally got his due. His set was one of the hardest rocking ones at Woodstock.

[@howardgott4946]

@ ok thanks for that I had no idea.

[@sting729]

Your videos are outstanding and I do not understand why you only have 189K subscribers.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks so much!

[@donald-parker]

Back when I started getting serious about playing lead guitar (50+ years ago) a buddy turned me on to Johnny Winter. My first album of his was Johnny Winter And Live. That was my bible for years. Back then there was no internet. No KZbin, No tables. Just records and ears. I learned what I called the "blues good notes" and the "country good notes" (which years later I came to realize were the major and minor pentatonic scales.) But I never really learned them as separate things because Johny switched back and forth seamlessly, and frequently. Almost a "call and response" sort of thing, switching with every phrase. And I never learned the (in)famous pentatonic boxes. I somehow got it in my head that the "goal" was to find places to play these scales up and down the neck so there was always 2 frets between notes, which necessitated "whole neck thinking". Decades later I learned about the boxes, but I still tend to think about "whole neck" patterns vs "positions". And I don't think its a bad thing.

[@andrewgillis8572]

that band could have done anything - plus add Edgar whenever the concept widened - same IMO for White Trash, could have gone on to much greater things/ the most talented brother act in rock history

[@martintramil8084]

IMO Winter had more Licks in one song than some players have in their whole bag. One of the GOATs, RIP Guitar Slinger.

[@brianfoskett4410]

NINETEEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX!, The Year Of The HORSE! I was prevlidge to meet Johnny (on THE TOUR BUS) twice, can you believe it. He was reserved & gracious. His entourage had a real DARK & TOXIC vibe.

[@54fighting5]

Johnny's 1973 release Still Alive And Well is still as much of a slap to the head today as it was back then. He ventures into rock, blues, country and even throws in a couple of excellent JW treatments of Jagger/Richards songs. The recording is top notch with zero unnecessary production filler, and his vocals were on a different level as well. It's the one that made me realize Johnny was so much more than just a machine gun blues guitar slinger.

[@MarkZabel]

Great album!

[@davelouis4004]

My favourite Blues player - Johnny Winter !

[@alexgramm5170]

I wore our Talk to Your Daughter in 88.. when I was in the Air Force. Big JDW III fan from 1980 maybe bit earlier... I'm 57. I owned two LP Deluxes.. sold them some years ago..😢 But 2 yrs ago bought 2001 Limited Edition LP Deluxe... they are cool LP''s with baby humbuckers.

[@ramseyomery]

really like the format, a narrative with tabbed licks was cool.

[@MarkZabel]

Stray Cat Strut is nice. I did a lesson on it a few years back. Maybe I'll update it.

[@hearpalhere]

I think our backgrounds were very similar Mark, I grew up on all the 60's and 70's classic rock because it's what my dad loved listening to. I got into the blues after watching the Blue Brother movie (around the time I started high school if I remember right). John Lee Hooker's voice absolutely grabbed me (when he's playing out in front of the soul food restaurant scene). One of the main radio stations I listened to was 99Rock (99.1FM in CT) and they had a program called Blues Fix at 6. They would play cool old blues tunes for only about 30 minutes or so. I heard Johnny Winter's Mean Town Blues and became an instant fan. That man could play like a demon and sing too! Loved it when he joined BB King on the King Biscuit Flower Hour album too. That's the album I first heard George Benson too. What a classic!

[@MarkZabel]

Yes, I think we probably have similar backgrounds. Fun stuff!

[@cowboygypsey]

You were all so lucky in the U.S with all of these great bands touring regularly, while we saw some bands in the 70s in Australia like Little Feat, and Jeff Beck, etc. I used to frequent a club called " Bondi Lifesaver", and got to see bands like ACDC, and Little River Band, and probably our greatest band "Cold Chisel", just as they were starting out, and at there best., Johny Winter was one of my first albums that introduced me to the blues.

[@michaeljam2132]

Hey Mark you caught the end of the 70's. Great nostalgia. Bring back 70's Rock'n'Roll.

[@Vincent-fo7xp]

I've seen Johnny over 20 times. From 1975-1996

[@fredfloyd68]

Ok you are the real deal...Superfan... They are great....good deal...

[@fleadoggreen9062]

Pretty cool My friend always bugged me to see him, wished I would of went once 😊

[@mofost1]

The greatest 10 yrs after song is “I’m comin home” there are some sick riffs up in that peice

[@MarkZabel]

You mean "I'm Goin' Home" I think. Here's a breakdown of the main riff on that one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHycZIGjnZ19qrs

[@kenforu1531]

Yes..its I'm Goin Home

[@mofost1]

NO! It’s I’m comin on, lol you turkeys thought you had me aye, well not today hombres. 😂

[@davidp7833]

I like playing those, for sure. From Woodstock, i play the Santana stuff. My Dad loves him. Id like to get going on the caged download I received from you (thank you for your generosity), but I'm working 12 hours all the time be cause of the short week we'll have. I'll have time coming up. Thanks, Mark.

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure.

[@TheZipeedoo]

That Gold-Top with the mini humbuckers. One of my best friends from high school had one of those, probably bought new in the early or mid 1970's. He still has it. Have always loved the sound of that instrument.

[@MarkZabel]

They really are cool guitars.

[@PowRKord]

@fredfloyd68 et. al.: At Woodstock Johnny played "Mean Town Blues" in open G position. However, he tuned B G D up a step rather than dropping E A E down a step - so he was playing in open A.

[@lfdimb]

Love your lessons! 🎸🔥

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@WheatonBrad]

Good stuff. Thanks. In the mid-70s, I jocked at WVBR in Ithaca, a true college station then. And yes, I was a student. I'll be up there in mid-January and will tune in to your station. PS Johnny autographed my Firebird V pick guard, and he is always my number one inspiration.

[@MarkZabel]

Drop me a line and we could grab a cup of coffee if you'd like.

[@williamsporing1500]

I saw Johnny at a little place in Cincinnati called bogarts in the 70’s, sat probably 10-15 feet from him. At one point he broke a B string mid solo. He reached up and yanked it off the headstock and didn’t miss a note. I think he played a couple more tunes without it too. Fantastic player. R.I.P. brother.

[@MarkZabel]

Very cool story. Thanks!

[@1961stardust]

Johnny Winter Captured Live is top 3 on my list. Absolutley killer and Floyd Radford..Wow!

[@windslipper]

I saw Edgar at the Poconos Cocert when Frankenstein was released...for Rock&Roll Hoochie...who walks on stage but Johnny and Rick Derringer!!!

[@MarkZabel]

Sweet!

[@clickem2697]

The Bath Blues Festival 1970 was the U.K. equivalent of Woodstock with a very similar bill. Saw Johnny, it’s great hearing the love for him here, along with Canned Heat, John Mayall, Steppenwolf, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Colosseum, Led Zep, Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa and the Mothers, The Byrds, Santana, Dr John, Country Joe and Hot Tuna.. quite a line up over two days all for £2.50!

[@MarkZabel]

Cool!

[@Wuppiedog]

I think that lick is based on the iconic Albert King lick he used in most of his songs honestly. Johnnys version had a rougher rock feel with a couple more notes.

[@MarkZabel]

Could be that's where Johnny got it. I'd bet that it didn't originate with Albert, whom I love, but came earlier in Muddy's music. (I could be wrong, of course. I'll look into it!) Muddy is known to have been a huge influence on Johnny. So Muddy (or whoever played with him at the time, like Jimmy Rogers) may have been the source - for Johnny at any rate. I'm not trying to trace it all the way back, as it probably goes further back than that too. I'm just hypothesizing that Robben was influenced by Johnny's "Talk To Your Daughter" version from the late 60s. Origin is always an interesting question in an art form like the blues. The lick didn't come from J.B. Lenoir (the writer of the song) though. I'm pretty darn sure of that!

[@senorsenior9546]

I've heard that most of his contemporaries claimed that Albert King was always accusing everyone of stealing his licks. It was like he thought no one come up with a lick of their own.

[@MarkZabel]

@@senorsenior9546 that's interesting. I didn't know that.

[@senorsenior9546]

@@MarkZabel yeah. I think Johnny even mentioned it in one of his last interviews when he was having trouble breathing. I think Johnny really liked Albert, but it was just one of Albert's traits.

[@JohnDoe-jp8fx]

Johnny Winter was the best I ever saw bar none!

[@1114gabby]

Johnny Winter was amazing!

[@thsc9119]

I'm 78 and was in college during the British Invasion and the heyday of he great rock and roll guitar bands (Beatles, Stones, The Who, Jimi, Cream, Let Zep, etc.) but my world changed when on a whim I bought the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album. From then on, the blues took precedence over rock. Even today, Larkin Poe is one of my favorite bands, though lately I'm seriously into The Warning, a sisters trio from Mexico who represent the future of guitar band rock and roll. BTW, I saw JW live maybe 15 years ago and it was one of the most memorable concerts of my life. He clearly didn't have a set playlist but just called songs he felt like playing in the moment. What a master player. He's sorely missed.

[@MarkZabel]

I play Larkin Poe often on my weekly radio show. Good stuff.

[@vonzoomtunes9847]

Johnny was my introduction into the Blues.

[@MarkZabel]

Sweet!

[@hishamferzli4133]

Me too it was my first Robben Ford album in 1988, the album had some great songs . Johnny Winter is definitely one the greatest Bluesman ever he was impossible to categorize. He was the reincarnation of the Delta Bluesmen.

[@martyconroy3786]

Love Talk to your Daughter , Robben Ford rocks. Knew about him since Tom Scott and the LA Express.

[@FMorgigno1]

I absolutely LOVE Johnny Winter. So cool that he actually wound up producing his mentor in Muddy Waters. It’s nice to see and hear others who appreciate Johnny. You are an absolute treat, Mark. I’ll appreciate your channel so much. Thank you for the outstanding content.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks so much! That's so cool you got to produce Muddy. I love his early work that doesn't seem to get much airplay. The work Muddy, Johnny, and James Cotton did together was really fun as well.

[@FMorgigno1]

@ the best. I also love the stuff with Rick Derringer and Randy Joe Hobbs. I got to see him at BB Kings in NYC and a second time in Westbury with Leon Russel. Classic!!

[@nolawnnate5934]

Simply incredible thank you, Mark! J Winter was early for me thanks to my teacher. As blues-ual I hear Lightnin' Hopkins under the lick, bravo :) Edit: deploying slides instead of bends helped understand the lesson and improve

[@trusarmor4957]

Radio DJ, huh! ... Now that you mention it, your voice is Butter ! makes perfect sense, tho i always thought you maybe sang.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! My singing is okay, but it's not great for rock and blues. For radio it works pretty well.

[@Bloozguy]

The hours I've spent in life deciphering Johnny Winter licks....lol. Managed to get _Memory Pain_ down.... nearly identical. I loved that tune since age 15 when I first heard it. Took me until nearly 40 years later to getting around to nailing it. But that opening intro to _Mama Talk to Your Daughter_ by johnny is one of my favs.... I break it down note for note if anyone is interested.

[@PaulaHendy-lj1mw]

I saw Johnny Winter play in a bar in Greensboro North Carolina in the summer of '85. He stepped over to microphone and said "Damn it's hot in here!", and then ripped some serious electric blues for the next hour or so. It got even hotter in there, but nobody minded.

[@gumdocga]

Mark, When I heard “I Hate Everybody”, it changed my world. It was Johnny playing the blues, but with Edgar on horn and a definite jazz feel. Amazing to this day.

[@MarkZabel]

Cool!

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

Holy shit, Mark! IC is my alma mater (Physics, Class of ‘71). I was the drummer in an IC-based band (Boffalongo); primary instrument is guitar now. Do they still call Radio/TV majors “Tubes” at IC? That was the joke back then, despite the fact that solid state amplification was well on its way to dominance. Nevertheless, you could still buy McIntosh and Dynaco tube hi-fi amps in the late ‘60s. Great video, bro’. Subscribed! Cheers - Vito 😎

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Vito! That's cool. I also did an undergrad in Physics, though in Detroit. Sorry to say, they've dropped "Tubes" from the lexicon. I could try to bring it back, but the youngsters would think (even more than they do now) what's this old man on about? Cool to meet you. Thanks for subscribing!

[@Al-pd4ib]

Give Winter’s “I Love Everybody” from album Second Winter a listen or two. Gave me the chills when the album was released back in the day and still does today.

[@karmafarbus160]

The "And " Live album . got me Now do Mean town blues from Woodstock

[@dustdevilz4771]

Those mini humbuckers sound great along with your skills of course. I installed one as the neck pickup in a Tele and I love its tone.

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you!

[@pat5882]

Check out Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, at Woodstock, with his ‘54 LP. “Woodstock Boogie”.

[@nikrichter6465]

Hi Mark, i know an early source for the Chuck Berry lick: The first hit of Ray Charles " Mess Around" the piano intro is almost the same !

[@MarkZabel]

Cool.

[@richardsrensen4219]

wow what a coincidence yersterday i was taking with my guitar teacher and he was mention Jonny W as one of the great blues and Rock guitarrist i was about to look for him as i saw your videos !

[@MarkZabel]

Cool!

[@limpusshrimpus9810]

Mark Zabel ladies and gentlemen 🤘

[@MarkZabel]

Ha ha!

[@attentiondeficitsquirrel7660]

Johnny Winter is the reason I bought a Firebird.

[@billsmith2212]

I first saw Johnny Winter And at The Fillmore East . I saw Johnny and Edgar around 1969 -70 at The Hofstra Playhouse . Capacity 1105 . He had 5 Twin Reverbs and turned ALL the knobs on 10 ! The slide was deadly and Edgars sax was equally deadly ! I saw him many times . A true bluesman !

[@HerdingDogRescuer]

Great video. May I suggest/request that you nix the reverb and or delay on tutorial videos. Thanks.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks.

[@stevezapinski7706]

I witnessed Johnny in Detroits Cobo hall in the late 70s, my 1st concert, the house lights were on the entire show due to the rowdy crowd, guys jumping on stage security losing their minds and when it was over I stood up.and remembered I did a hit of acid, also my 1st time 🤪

[@MarkZabel]

My first big concert was at Cobo too ... also 1979 ... Van Halen. Also first contact high!

[@thomasfritsch3536]

❤really nice lesson buddy im sending it out now

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome thank you!

[@christophergallagher531]

Johnny with an E-XII!

[@waynegram8907]

MARK ZABEL, do a lesson about "blues RUBS" what are blue rub notes and blues rub licks. I think blues rubs are either a half-step above or below that are out of key notes that are rubbing against a chord tone. Blue Stabs are considered quick bends?

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@robertsaltzman7979]

is your radio show available on line?

[@MarkZabel]

Yes, but not as an archive. You can listen to it streaming or ... you didn't hear it from me ... can record the stream for later. Check out WICB.org, "Blues Progressions". The show airs Wednesdays at 10:00-12:00 Eastern US Time (UTC - 5:00)

[@danfurr1907]

Check out "Be Careful With A Fool " by Johnny Winters.............I think its the best he ever played..........

[@tommcnally3646]

So true, he kills it

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

Serve me right to suffer, ,,,, bad news,,,,, parchment farm , 🥂

[@williamr6372]

JOHNNY WINTERS... I DON'T KNOW IF HE WAS THE KING, BUT HE WAS ONE OF THE PRINCES FOR SURE...WHEN I THINK OFTHAT ROCKING OUT BLUES STYLE IT'S HARD TO THINK OF ANYONE BETTER... IT WAS FIERCE !! I SAW HIM IN MYRTLE BEACH SC AT THE BAMBOO DECK... IT WAS STRAIGHT UP JOHNNY WINTERS...

[@ImYourOverlord]

Speaking my language with those Rock icons :D

[@rrrayrrray]

You are a master raconteur!

[@MarkZabel]

Why thank you sir!

[@douginny]

Sounds like Clapton's turnaround lick in "Have You Ever Loved a Woman". Also in C

[@MarkZabel]

All I hear at 6:51 in that is an ending chord. You're talking about his version on Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, correct?

[@douginny]

@@MarkZabel Yeah the six fifty one was a typo. Lol

[@MarkZabel]

@@douginny Ah, okay. NP.

[@williamecolemansr1930]

Ya they all talk about, but in back rooms- this man played ANY style blues- ANY style Rock and Absolutely destroyed ANYONE playing slide. Personally I think when he was busted for drugs all the records Company’s just Brushed him off- And that was their mistake for years to come. The most UNDERRATED player of all time- He was the first GOAT

[@joevecchio4687]

1969 I’m 15 walking to penn station to catch the railroad Stop at every record store to check out the albums in the window Saw progressive blues experiment Never heard of this guy Johnny winter Read the liner notes Had to buy it I’m still jamming to that album Saw him live through the years Religious experience Don’t worry We still have Taylor Swift 😩

[@ez7861]

Alvin Lee's "I'm Going Home" also.

[@MarkZabel]

Absolutely! Here's a video I made about *that one* you might enjoy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHycZIGjnZ19qrs

[@PulauSwan]

Without googling it, didn't John Mayall play "Talk to your daughter" in most shows, he idolized JB LeNoir who I believe wrote the song. Mayall wrote one song dedicated to JB after he passed away. JB was handy , there's a good video compiled by a Swedish or Norwegian couple dedicated to JB, well worth viewing. JB had a few nice gjbbo's too

[@jeemjeem6190]

I don't know for sure, but Robbin Ford most likely played the lick independently from anyone. Pentatonic scales are not complicated which makes them adaptable for improv. A feel at the moment may just be similar to another person's feel with same chord progression, even in a different key, without ever hearing the formers music. I am pretty certain it happens.

[@MarkZabel]

I'm not saying he copied it. I'm hypothesizing he was heavily influenced by Johnny's version of the song, which included a remarkably similar first-turnaround lick. It's not so much the notes that matter as the cadence. The timing and phrasing are what tend to separate players more than notes played. Having said that, Robben has a much more fluid style than Johnny. It's smoother. Johnny was a more aggressive player. Both are/were amazing, and in no way do I think influence means Robben "stole" the lick or anything like that. It's how music, particularly blues music, moves forward.

[@jeemjeem6190]

@@MarkZabel Hi Mark. Funny thing is I was about to edit the comment. I play guitar. We all take in music that we love and have many influences. My thought was that both Johnny Winter and Robben Ford had a collection of similar influences that lead them to a similar place.

[@MarkZabel]

@@jeemjeem6190 👍

[@aminahmed2220]

Awesome video Mark have a great weekend also I have a cold ❤😢

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@jrhguitarbassdrums]

Mini humbuckers on a Les Paul. Never seen that before. Interesting and im guessing you used that guitar on purpose first this video, Firebird mini humbuckers tgat johnny used?

[@MarkZabel]

They're standard on the Les Paul Deluxe models of the 70s (and today in re-issue). Yes, it was intentional, though this is my #1 guitar.

[@froter1]

I thought you were going to talk about that lick where he plays the stretch, followed by another stretch ( or bend , we always called them stretches ) I jammed with Johnny many times in the early 70s at a club us musicians went to , after hours ...( Bluebird Lounge, Ft Worth TX) Johnny and I would be laughing, seeing how many times we could throw in a stretch on a fast paced Rock , three chord jam ... The first bend or stretch is on the G string , followed by a straight note to the b string , then on the E string , followed by a bend on the B string ...very fast

[@MarkZabel]

cool

[@jonhart-dj7fn]

Thanks Mark

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome!

[@michaelcantwell3652]

Mark, you you haven’t already, you need to check out the Charles Ford Band featuring Robin Ford. A 70s release.

[@MarkZabel]

Yeah, they're great. I play their Bloomfield tribute and Butterfield tribute albums often on the show.

[@RugbyNo17]

My school radio station!

[@MarkZabel]

Cool!

[@dustinkiel]

What overdrive pedal are you using?

[@MarkZabel]

I think I'm just using the amp on this. But I have a Nobels ODR mini I use once in a while, so that's possible. (I think I have a Tube Screamer and Rat Pedal in the attic somewhere too, but obviously didn't use them here.)

[@trevorgorard4763]

Hey Mark Love your site, stories and teachings. Same year, could this lick have come from Hendrix's take on Johnny B Goode which, I believe, he performed at Woodstock?

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! Sure, it's possible. My hypothesis is that Robben was influenced by Johnny's version of the same song - not that Johnny invented the lick.

[@jbux1983]

Is that Ithaca N.Y.?????

[@MarkZabel]

Yessir.

[@jbux1983]

Im in Fulton NY near syracuse​@MarkZabel

[@2011littlejohn1]

Johnny Winter was so unfairly under rated. How they missed him off the Woodstock movie was a travesty. I know a guy Justin Lavash who played support for him in Europe and he's another unknown virtuoso. There seems to be a rule in music that the guys who influence everybody who play never get known by the public. Terry Pratchett illustrated this in his satirical disc world novel Soul Music. I saw Johnny Winter play in Prague - he had to sit down as he was getting more affected by his condition. He was still blistering.

[@2011littlejohn1]

Ref your DJ job. I'm British and was amused by a US tv show - It was called WKRP Cincinnati. There was an episode where the resident rock DJ - I think he was called Dr John - in perfect time to the cool rock music intro threw a dart at a picture of Barry Manilow. :)

[@nsinc965]

The lick is at 1:11

[@MarkZabel]

No - 5:09

[@nsinc965]

@@MarkZabelty for the correction

[@MarkZabel]

@@nsinc965 NP.

[@rupand1853]

Mama talk to your daughter is an old J.B. Lenoir song!

[@MarkZabel]

"Talk to Your Daughter" is JB's song from 1955. I don't think I said otherwise. Didn't mean to imply it either. I was just describing my experience and my hypothesis that Robben was influenced by Johnny's version. (There are many, many versions of the song.)

[@rupand1853]

@ I might have misunderstood your intensions when you said “that old Robben Ford song” ……

[@MarkZabel]

@@rupand1853 You probably missed the laughing after that, and that I said I had it all wrong. (Which I did at the time.)

[@rupand1853]

@ what about making an episode about J.B. ? He had kind of his own sound with the chords he used, I.e. Slow Down …..

[@MarkZabel]

@@rupand1853 Good suggestion.