Johhny Winter: βSome of the old blues songs that Muddy played didnβt change at the right times,β says Johnny. ββRollinβ and Tumblinβ and βI Canβt Be Satisfiedβ are hard songs to follow because they donβt change when you think theyβre going toβthey change at a different point.βBob Margolin, who joined Watersβs band in 1973, agreed that his style could be challenging to follow. βMuddyβs blues in general had a behind-the-beat feel called delay time,β βThe note would come a little later than you would expect it to. A lot of bluesmen had it. I certainly didnβt have it naturally when I got in the bandβI really had to work on playing that way. Johnny was able to get with that too.β Waters used heavy strings with high action on his 1957 or 1958 Telecaster, compared to Johnnyβs thin-gauge strings, and his playing style was sparser than Johnnyβs, who said it felt natural to play more notes. Rather than using a guitar with open tuning for slide and a second guitar, Waters now used a capo on a single guitar with standard tuning. Waters had set the stage for instrumentation with two guitars, bass, piano, drums, and harp; his sound, which combined blues from the Mississippi Delta and the South Side of Chicago, was like no other. βMuddyβs sound was so distinctive that if he stopped playing, the whole feeling would change,β says Johnny. βHis slide was shorter and smaller than most slides. Heβd only get two or three strings at a time, where most guys could get six strings. He never told me why he did that.β
Sullivan, Mary Lou. Raisin' Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter
