American blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter died Wednesday in a hotel room in Switzerland , his representative said Thursday . He was 70 . `` His wife , family and bandmates are all saddened by the loss of their loved one and one of the world 's finest guitarists , '' his spokeswoman , Lori Haynes , said . Winter was in Zurich , Switzerland , as part of a tour of Europe , although he was scheduled to return to the United States for shows later in July , according to his official Facebook page . Winter first gained national attention when Rolling Stone magazine featured the the Texas music scene in a December 1968 cover story . It captioned his photo : `` Johnny Winter , Albino Bluesman . '' The article said guitarist Mike Bloomfield considered the young Winter the `` best white blues guitarist he had ever heard . '' Rolling Stone now ranks Winter 63rd on its list of 100 greatest guitarists . Winter 's family moved from Mississippi to Beaumont , Texas , when he was an infant . Johnny and brother Edgar , who was nearly three years younger , both were born with albinism , a melanin production deficiency that left them with little color in their hair , skin and eyes . Winter was just 15 in 1959 when he began playing guitar in Texas clubs . It was also the year he started drinking and smoking . `` It seemed a big year for me , '' Winter told an interviewer for the documentary `` Johnny Winter : Down & Dirty . '' The film was released this year . Another big year for Winter was 1969 , when he played at the Woodstock festival . `` One week we 're playing clubs for about 20 people and in a matter of a few months we 're playing Woodstock , '' bassist Tommy Shannon said in the documentary . Columbia Records won a bidding war for Winter that resulted in a self-titled debut album , followed by a second titled `` Second Winter '' in late 1969 . Though none of his several dozen albums earned a Grammy , he shared three for producing blues legend Muddy Waters in the late 1970s . Winter announced this year that he had another album ready for release in September . `` Step Back '' will include contributions from guests including Eric Clapton , Joe Perry and Dr. John , according to his official website . His summer tour schedule was filled with shows , including 15 concerts planned across the United States in August . Winter was asked in the documentary if he every dreamed that playing a guitar would take him around the world . `` I was almost always sure it would , '' Winter said . `` I was sure I was going to be successful . `` It 's the only thing that I 've really been good at . '' Winter opened up about his heroin , prescription pill and alcohol addictions that derailed his career in the 1980s and 1990s in an authorized biography `` Raisin ' Cain - The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter , '' published in 2010 . His resurgence began after he fired a longtime manager in 2005 and hired fellow musician Paul Nelson to guide his career . `` I think that Johnny now is really coming back to being himself , '' brother Edgar Winter said in the just-released documentary . People we 've lost in 2014 .
A new Johnny Winter album with Eric Clapton , Joe Perry is due in September . Rolling Stone ranks Johnny Winter at 63 on its list of 100 greatest guitarists . Winter was 15 in 1959 when he began playing guitar in Texas clubs . Another big year for Winter was 1969 when he played at Woodstock .