Product Review: Johnny Winter Guitar Gods Bobblehead – Captured Live 1976

In 1976 Johnny Winter was riding high. His initial burst of fame had peaked with an appearance at Woodstock in 1969. The momentum had been severely compromised due to an addiction to heroin afterwards though. Beginning in 1973, an older and wiser Winter left the drugs behind. With the release of the smoldering Captured Live! in 1976, Winter had fully reclaimed his position as one of the greatest blues guitarists alive. Winter’s classic pose on the cover of that album has been captured for posterity in the form of a limited-edition bobblehead doll, from the Guitar Gods company.

Rock and roll dolls have been around since at least the early days of The Beatles, but things have changed considerably over the past 50 years. The Johnny Winter bobblehead is definitely not intended
for today’s teeny-bopper. Guitar Gods are an offshoot of Aggronautix, who have been producing “Throbblehead” dolls since 2009. Their Throbbleheads have honored such punk legends as G.G. Allin, The
Dwarves, and Wendy O. Williams, just to name a few. Evidently they were so successful that the founders decided to branch out into legendary guitar players, hence the Guitar Gods imprint.

This is actually the second Johnny Winter doll the company have produced. Their very first effort came two years ago, in the summer of 2011, with a contemporary Winter figure. Since then, they have produced dolls of two other guitar legends. The second Guitar God bobblehead honored Wayne Kramer of the MC5, and the third featured Iggy Pop’s Raw Power guitar player, James Williamson.

I have been a fan of these dolls from the start, as they are of very high quality, and I have always been impressed with the company’s choices of honorees. The “Captured Live” pose of Winter is classic, and makes for a great-looking piece. The doll comes in a full-color collector’s box, stands seven inches tall, and is made of polyresin. The limited-edition run was of 2,000, and each box is hand numbered. I
can tell you from experience that both the Aggronautix and Guitar Gods bobbleheads sell out very quickly. I have unfortunately missed out on a couple of dolls that I really wanted, by waiting too long.

What makes these collector’s items so special are the details, and the “Captured Live” Johnny Winter is no exception. This one is beautiful, with Johnny accurately sculpted right down to his signature locks,
platform shoes, and red arm bands. In regards to the first Johnny Winter doll, it was said that “Holding his guitar and topped with his familiar black hat, this Johnny Winter figure would look great standing guard by your stereo.”

That description (minus the hat) certainly holds true for the “Captured Live” doll, and I think it is a
must for fans of Johnny Winter.