<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Blues legend and guitar god Johnny Winter died last night in a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, midway through a globe-trotting tour. He was 70 years old. Also a Grammy-winning producer, Winter, born in 1944 in Mississippi, took up music when he was just five years old, starting with the clarinet but swiftly transitioning to guitar. Winter was known for his cowboy hat, pale visage, and long whitish blonde hair.      With a life rife with addiction issues, from heroin to alcohol, Winter&amp;#039;s story weaves through some of music&amp;#039;s most legendary circles\u2014from dating Janis Joplin to producing Muddy Waters to collaborating with John Lee Hooker. His dedication to the music saw him still tirelessly touring hundreds of days a year and landing him a spot on Rolling Stone&amp;#039;s Best Guitarists list. Winter was in the midst of a comeback. A new documentary premiered at SXSW, and he&amp;#039;d released a celebratory retrospective box-set. With more than 20 albums to his name, seven of which were nominated for Grammys, he had another slated for September 6 featuring a slew of guests including Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, Dr. john, Billy Gibbons, and more. In the pages of Esquire, The Rolling Stones&amp;#039; cover of Winter&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Stray Cat Blues&amp;quot; is dubbed one of the greatest covers of all time, and Winter was considered proof of &amp;quot;a revolution&amp;quot; by Clive Davis. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/news/a29389/guitar-god-johnny-winter-dies/>