George Winston

Pianist George Winston briefly took lessons as a child, but it was the music of The Doors that inspired his interest in keyboards, specifically the organ. ∙ After he first heard pianist Fats Waller in 1971, he turned his attention to solo piano and began playing stride piano. At that time, he came up with his melodic-folk style, complementing the uptempo stride style. ∙ In 1972, guitar legend John Fahey signed Winston as the first-ever solo pianist on his highly regarded indie label, Takoma, and coproduced his debut album, later reissued as Ballads and Blues 1972. ∙ Winston established himself as an essential New Age music artist with Autumn, his 1980 Will Ackerman-produced album. ∙ Starting with 1982’s December through 2019’s Restless Wind, every one of his albums hit the Top 5 of Billboard’s New Age chart—with eight of them reaching No. 1. ∙ Dancing Cat Records, the label he formed in 1983, has become the world’s foremost promoter of Hawaiian “slack key” guitar music. ∙ He was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning once for Best New Age Album with 1994’s Forest.