For the past 127 years, Gibson--the iconic American instrument brand--has been synonymous with creating and shaping sound across genres of music and generations of players. Today, Gibson Custom Shop is proud to pay tribute to a true guitar hero with the release of the Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V, based on Johnny’s personal and most well-known Firebird guitar. It’s not often that a guitar captures the essence of an artist, but Johnny Winter’s 1964 Firebird V perfectly matched his style and persona. Only a guitar as cool as the Firebird could keep up with the rip-roaring power and lightning-fast licks of the legendary guitarist Johnny Winter. The Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V has been meticulously crafted for fans to experience worldwide at authorized Gibson dealers and on www.gibson.com.
The Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V isn’t just a reissue, it’s a complete replication of an iconic guitar. From the plugged holes and removed Maestro Vibrola, to the faded Firebird logo on the pickguard, right down to the missing reflector on the rhythm tone knob, this 1964 Firebird V in Murphy Lab custom-aged Polaris White finish brings Johnny’s original 1964 Firebird V to life for a new generation of players.
For the release, Gibson teamed with legendary, late photographer Mick Rock to include key photos in the guitar package. Mick provided iconic Johnny Winter photos, as well as the cover art for Winter’s Captured Live album. In honor of Mick Rock, each Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V guitar will come with a signed Johnny Winter print, see image above.
American singer and guitarist Johnny Winter was renowned across the globe for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances. Johnny Winter played Woodstock and jammed with everyone from Muddy Waters to Jimi Hendrix to Willie Dixon to Albert Collins to John Lee Hooker to Janis Joplin to Steve Ray Vaughan and many more. The unofficial torchbearer for the blues, Johnny Winter also championed and aided the careers of his idols Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Winter both created and produced multiple GRAMMY Award-winning blues albums and revitalized the career of legendary blues artist Muddy Waters producing and also playing on Waters’ GRAMMY-Award winning albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978), and Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). Several of Winter's own albums were also nominated for GRAMMY Awards – Guitar Slinger (1984) and Serious Business (1985) Let Me In (1991) and I'm a Bluesman (2004). For his 19th and final studio album Step Back (2014), Winter collaborated with a number of guest musicians including Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Joe Perry, Leslie West, Dr. John, Brian Setzer and more. Johnny Winter posthumously won the GRAMMY Award for “Best Blues Album” for Step Back (2014)—produced by Paul Nelson--and Winter was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988.
