Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their popular song, "Free Ride". He has albinism. Note Derringer playing the famous "LoBue" Guitar as built by custom guitar builder (http://Lobueguitrs.com)
Winter was born to John Winter II and Edith Winter on December 28, 1946, in Beaumont, Texas. Both he and his brother Johnny have albinism, and both were required to take special education classes in high school. Winter states, "In school I had a lot of friends. I wore a lot of white shirts to, like, blend in I guess. No one really gave me a hard time about being albino or taking special education classes. Then again, I wasn't really popular."
By the time Edgar Winter left his hometown of Beaumont, Texas, in the 1960s, he was already technically proficient in every aspect of music. A child prodigy who achieved international success early on, Edgar has found an audience in every major entertainment medium—music, film and television.
A prolific writer, Edgar's music encompasses many different genres, including rock, jazz, blues, and pop. From his critically acclaimed 1970 debut release, Entrance, he has demonstrated his unique style and ability to cross the genre lines and do the unexpected. His early recording of "Tobacco Road" is a powerful, emotionally devastating masterpiece that propelled him into the national spotlight. Edgar followed Entrance with two hit albums backed by his group White Trash, a group originally composed of musicians from Texas and Louisiana. White Trash enjoyed huge success, both with the 1971 release of the studio album, Edgar Winter's White Trash, and with 1972's follow-up live gold album, Roadwork.
In late 1972, Winter brought together Dan Hartman, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff to form The Edgar Winter Group, the legendary band that created such hits as the number one "Frankenstein" and the ever popular "Free Ride". Released in 1973, They Only Come Out at Night peaked at the number 3 position on the Billboard Hot 200 and stayed on the charts for an impressive 80 weeks. It was certified gold in April 1973 and double platinum in November 1986.
Winter invented the keyboard body strap early in his career, an innovation that allows him the freedom to move around on stage during his multi-instrument high-energy performances. He was also the first artist to feature a synthesizer as the main instrument in a song. "Frankenstein" revolutionized rock and roll and opened up a whole new world of possibilities with experimentation and sound.
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