The younger brother of blues artist Johnny Winter, Edgar starting racking up some hits with his group in 1972 when "Keep Playin' That Rock 'N' Roll" landed at #70. Their breakthrough hit would arrive shortly thereafter when the classic "Frankenstein" made its way to #1. During its tenure, Winter would work with a number of talented artists who later had successful musical careers of their own. The Edgar Winter Group scored another hit with "Free Ride," which peaked at #13 in 1973. The song was penned by member Dan Hartman, who wrote or co-wrote their remaining chart appearances. Following some personnel changes that put guitarist Rick Derringer (The McCoys) front and center, the group managed one more Top 40 entry before the end of their chart career - that was when "River's Risin'" reached #33 in 1974. Ronnie Montrose was also a member of the group from 1972-1974. The genre-blending anthem "Give It Everything You Got" comes from the band's 1971 effort, "White Trash." After his group's hey day, Edgar Winter did a great deal of session work for artists as diverse as Tina Turner and David Lee Roth.
Dan Hartman is often characterized as a one-hit wonder because of his top 10 smash, "I Can Dream About You," which reached #6 in 1984. The song was included on the soundtrack to the film Streets of Fire, and also used as the title for Hartman's 1984 record. Hartman had a couple other songs from this effort break into the charts: "We Are The Young" landed at #25 and the bouncy "Second Nature" hit #39. 1985's "Second Nature" would be his last charting single. You'd think that after such a successful album, a follow-up would yield at least one more hit. Interestingly, his follow-up record was never released. It was completed in 1986 and entitled "White Boy," but the record company did not feel the songs suited Hartman's image. So it went unheard. Hartman wrote songs for others until he died of a brain tumor in 1994 at 43 years of age. Few realize that Hartman's success in the 80s was actually a career revival. He first hit the chart in 1978 when "Instant Replay" went to #29. He had some lesser charting singles in the interim such as "This Is It" (#91), "Heaven In Your Arms" (#86), and "It Hurts To Be In Love" (#72). Before that, Hartman was a member of The Edgar Winter Group. He usually played bass, but co-wrote and sang their smash hit, "Free Ride," which hit #14 in 1973. "Hear My Song" is a stubbornly happy pop tune from his 1976 album called "Images."
