Raisin' Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter (Kindle Edition) (21 page)

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Authors: Mary Lou Sullivan

BOOK: Raisin' Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter (Kindle Edition)
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Johnny’s fame allowed him to meet and hang out with famous musicians, but it was Steve Paul’s reputation and nightclub that led to a meeting with noted artist Salvador Dali. “A lot of artists came to the Scene,” explained Paul. “Great men fascinate each other and that’s how Johnny got invited to his suite.”
Johnny remembers meeting Dali, accompanied by a small pedigree dog wearing diamonds, during one of the gatherings in the artist’s suite at the St. Regis Hotel on East Fifty-Fifth Street.
“He thought I was a deity and wanted to meet me,” says Johnny. “He asked me to come to his suite in the hotel where he always stayed when he was in New York. He thought it would be a good experience if we could get together. It was like he was holding court—he had people all around him. He gave somebody a chance to speak. Then he went to the next person and asked them what they wanted to say. I saw him once after that in the same hotel. He showed me a photograph of an albino rhinoceros fucking a girl. I guess that was supposed to mean I was a deity. He never showed me his paintings—just showed me the albino rhinoceros fucking a girl.”
When Paul and Johnny were invited to Dali’s suite for lunch, Paul broached the concept of him designing one of Johnny’s album covers. Aggressive in his approach, he soon felt Dali’s scorn.
 
Johnny’s childhood home on 275 West Caldwood Drive in Beaumont, Texas. (Photo by John D. Winter Jr.; courtesy of Johnny Winter)
 
 
Edwina Winter with infant Edgar and little Johnny. “The boys were musical from birth.” (Photo by John D. Winter Jr.; courtesy of Johnny Winter)
 
 
Edgar and Johnny played Everly Brothers songs on ukuleles as a duo. (Photo by John D. Winter Jr.; courtesy of Johnny Winter)
 
 
Edgar and Johnny outside Beaumont TV station KBMT, where they won their first talent contest in 1953. (Photo by John D. Winter Jr.; courtesy of Johnny Winter)
 
 
Marquee at the Beaumont Drive-In for Johnny’s 1958 gig on top of the concession stand. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)
 
 
Johnny’s first business card. He used this at age fifteen. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)
 
 
Johnny and the Jammers (with Edgar on keyboards) at a school dance. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)
 
 
Johnny Winter’s Orchestra with their trademark shades and Edgar on tenor guitar. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)
 
 
Johnny with his first collection of guitars. L-R: early ’60s Fender Precision Bass; late 1950s Les Paul Custom (Black Beauty); early ’60s white Gibson Les Paul Custom, SG body style; 1960s Gibson acoustic J45. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)
 
 
Johnny “Cool Daddy” Winter with his diamond ring and record collection—he still has all his 45s. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)
 
 
Marquee featuring the Gents on Chicago’s Rush Street in 1963. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Drugan)

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