The world has lost another rock legend: Johnny Winter, the iconic blues guitarist, has died at age 70, the Associated Press reports. Winter was on tour in Europe with his band when he died in a Zurich hotel room, a rep confirmed to the AP. No cause of death has been given.
Winter was known for his high-energy blues riffs and collaborations with the likes of Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix. He rose to fame in the late 1960s after he was spotted by a Columbia Records executive and signed a contract with a $600,000 advance — a sum that was, at the time, one of the biggest record deals ever. Winter went on to perform at Woodstock and release several Grammy-nominated albums. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988.
"[Winter's] wife, family, and bandmates are all saddened by the loss of their loved one and one of the world's finest guitarists," a rep for Winter said in a statement.
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Watch Winter's rollicking performance at Woodstock below. --Samantha Rollins
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