He soon had two records in the charts, his eponymous Columbia debut, featuring a storming version of Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl'' that remained a staple of his repertoire, and The Progressive Blues Experiment. 'It was a gigantic moment for me,' he said. His rendition of BB King's 'It's My Own Fault'' brought the house down and was witnessed by Columbia Records head Clive Davis, who signed Winter to a deal reportedly worth $600,000 over five years and gave him carte blanche to record and produce the Johnny Winter album in Nashville. Paul brought Winter to New York, where he guested with Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper at the Fillmore East.

This led to an article in Rolling Stone that called Winter 'the hottest item outside Janis Joplin' and caught the eye of Steve Paul, owner of the hip New York club The Scene who managed the McCoys. Following a spell in Chicago he returned South and began developing a fearsome reputation as the frontman of a power trio with Tommy Shannon on bass and Uncle John Turner on drums. Johnny recorded several singles for local labels, including 'Eternally'', with horn arrangements by Edgar, which was picked up by Atlantic and found favour in Texas and Lousiana. I got a standing ovation, and he took his guitar back!' 'I was about 17 and he asked me for a union card, and I had one,' he remembered. Back in Beaumont, they began sneaking into black clubs, where they stood out because of their albinism, but were welcomed by the clientèle, including a night in 1962 when Johnny got up on stage at The Raven to jam with BB King. By 1959, the brothers were playing talent shows and travelled to New York to audition for The Original Amateur Hour. Johnny and Edgar were keen radio listeners, tuning in to the local station that played rhythm and blues records sometimes introduced by JP Richardson – later The Big Bopper of 'Chantilly Lace'' fame.

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