Texas blues icon Johnny Winter has passed, according to a statement from his representative. The Grammy-winning guitarist was 70 years old.

By the age of 15, Winter, a native of Texas, had begun his own band and was a fluent multi-instrumentalist (ukulele and clarinet). With encouragement from his parents, Johnny’s talents were nurtured alongside his brother, Edgar, playing Everly Brothers songs and appearing in various local events.

In 1968, his career took off when he performed at a Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper concert in New York. He caught the eye of a Columbia Records producer who signed him with a unprecedented record advance of $600,000. A series of albums followed, including a brilliant eponymous debut, and an album recorded with close friends and family entitled The Progressive Blues Experiment. In 1969 he performed at Woodstock, and released his second solo album, Second Winter, a unique 3-sided LP.

The next few years saw success for Winter until his battle with heroin addiction put his career on short hiatus. He was incredibly open about this darker period of his life, speaking candidly to the press. He made a return with his album Still Alive and Well in 1973. He accomplished one of his greatest dreams in 1977 when he had the opportunity to work with blues legend Muddy Waters, producing the album Hard Again, which also featured blues harmonica veteran James Cotton. This relationship burgeoned with winter producing I’m Ready, King Bee and Muddy “Mississippi” Waters – Live, a run of albums that resulted in three Grammy Awards.

Now firmly accomplished, Winter recorded for several record labels and continued performing concerts and festivals. The Gibson Guitar Company created the Johnny Winter Firebird Guitar as a tribute. With nearly 20 studio albums under his belt, eight Live albums, and as producer for the likes of Thunderhead, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and James Cotton, an induction to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and listed as one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” he is solidified as one of blues most accomplished icons. He remained active until his death in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday, July 16. He is survived by his brother Edgar.

Here’s a live performance of Johnny’s stellar version of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”: