Jesse Winchester - Biography
By J Poet
Jesse Winchester has been hailed by his peers as a songwriter’s songwriter, and widely praised for the low key charm of his performances, still he keeps a remarkably low profile, seldom touring and recording only nine albums in a career almost 40 years old. A splendid guitarist and great tunesmith, he’s made a comfortable living on the royalties he garners when other artists cover his songs. The Mavericks did “Oh What a Thrill,” Wynonna included “Let’s Make a Baby King” on her second solo outing and Reba McEntire put “You Remember Me” on one of her multi-platinum albums. He’s also had success with Brewer & Shipley (“Yankee Lady”), Joan Baez (“The Brand New Tennessee Waltz”), Jimmy Buffett (“Defying Gravity”), The Weather Girls (“Well a Wiggy”) and a #1 country hit with Michael Martin Murphy (“I’m Gonna Miss You Girl”).
Winchester grew up in Memphis, in a solid middle-class family, and despite rumors to the contrary, is no relation to the man who invented the rifle that bears the family name. Like many young men, he was partially drawn to music because it attracted members of the opposite sex. His parents got him piano lessons when he was young and he played organ in the local church, but mostly concentrated on honing his guitar playing, hoping to be a session man like his idol Steve Cropper.
Winchester played guitar and keyboards in a succession of rock and R&B bands during his youth and young adulthood, but was also on a rigorous academic track. He studied Latin and English Literature and took a degree in German in 1967. His interest in German philosophers may be reflected in his deeply introspective, slightly pessimistic lyrics, although he has a low-key humor many philosophers lack. When he got drafted, he chose exile in Canada, rather than serving in Vietnam. He first made his living touring Canada in R&B cover bands, but the pay for a touring musician, when he wasn’t cheated out of it, was low, so he started writing songs and playing solo in coffee houses and folk clubs.
Winchester says he started writing out of necessity, because people expected folkies to sing original songs, but whatever the inspiration his heartfelt originals started a buzz, attracting both rabid fans and music business heavies. A friend introduced him to The Band’s Robbie Robertson, who helped get Winchester signed to Bearsville Records. Robertson helped Winchester hook up with legendary business manager Albert Grossman. Robertson produced Winchester’s first album Jesse Winchester (1971, Bearsville/Ampex, 1988 Rhino/Bearsville) and shared production credits on Third Down & 110 To Go (1972, Bearsville) with Todd Rundgren. Robertson also had Winchester open for The Band on their 1973-74 Canadian tour.
The songs on those first two albums were delivered by Winchester’s weary, worldly vocals and ornamented by a superior guitar style that never calls attention to itself. The songs are uncommonly introspective in nature full of the implied struggle between good and evil and the sense that true love and lasting relationships are unattainable. His musical inclinations - a low key mixture of soul, rockabilly and Gospel – can be traced back to nights listening to Memphis radio personality “Daddy-O” Dewey Phillips of WHBQ-AM who played a cocktail of black and white music, rockabilly, blues and R&B, all mixed up. Phillips was also a big influence on Sam Phillips [no relation] and Sun Records.
Learn To Love It (1974, Bearsville) and Let The Rough Side Drag (1976, Bearsville/Warner) continued to show off Winchester’s amazing ability to marry literate, witty lyrics, beautiful melodies and impressive guitar work. Although he became a Canadian citizen in 1972, his status as a draft resister made it impossible for him to tour in the US until President Carter gave amnesty to war resisters in 1977.
Winchester’s next three albums were a bit slicker and more produced. With Winchester willing to do brief US yours perhaps Bearsville was looking for that all elusive “Hit.” Nothing But A Breeze (1977, Bearsville), A Touch on the Rainy Side (1978, Bearsville) and Talk Memphis (1981, Bearsville), produced my Willie Mitchell, architect of the Hi Records sound, were slicker and more commercial than his previous albums. Except for “Say What” on Talk Memphis, nothing hit, and that only grazed the bottom of the Top 40.
Winchester stopped recording for almost nine years and concentrated on his back catalogue, and writing for Nashville’s country music elite. In 1989 bluegrass powerhouse Sugar Hill Records shifted gears and signed Winchester. Humor Me (1988, Sugar Hill) and Gentleman of Leisure (1999, Sugar Hill). Gentleman got so many great reviews that Winchester actually resumed touring, this time alone with his guitar.
Winchester hasn’t made a studio album in almost 20 years, but still tours when the spirit moves him. His recent live recording Live From Mountain Stage (2001, Blue Plate) gives a good overview of his career and subtle charm while Rough Ideas (2001, Great Big Sea) features the demo versions of the songs he cut for Gentleman of Leisure. There are also numerous bootlegs of live Winchester performances currently on the market. On his website Winchester asks fans to avoid buying anything but the Mountain Stage disc. On his website, Winchester puts it this way: “There are two illegal CDs of my music being sold publicly, blatantly. I’m always looking for the best in people, slow to believe the worst, but the crooks who do this threaten to impede my spiritual progress. They undermine my childlike, trusting nature. One is titled Defying Gravity, peddled by a company called AIM, the other on the Acrobat label, is titled Live. Both CDs are of very poor quality, so you’ll be missing nothing if you refuse to reward thievery by buying them.”