Jun7

bye, george.

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one of my all-time favorite musicians, george winston, has passed away
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i first ‘discovered’ george many years ago when on a road trip to toronto and heard one of his beautiful songs on the radio. i had no idea what the song was, or who the musician was, but i wanted to find out. when i arrived in toronto, i asked my friend who worked for a record company to help me figure it out. i tried to describe what i had heard, but i’m sure it didn’t translate, and we never figured it out. before i left. she gave me a pile of cd’s  to listen to on the way home, that different record company reps had given her. imagine my surprise, when his song was featured on a windham hill compilation cd she had given me, and i found that it was george winston playing ‘thanksgiving,’ the very music i had heard and loved. from then on i was hooked, and listened to everything i could get my hands on.
years later, i finally had the opportunity to see him play in person and it was the most amazing thing. the stage was silent, he walked out quietly in his socks, made a gentle bow to the audience, sat at his piano and played incredibly beautiful music for the next two hours. a shy and humble man, a natural talent, and a very generous and giving soul, even when quietly fighting his own battles. he will be greatly missed by many, but his music will live on.
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Notes from his site:
*We are deeply saddened to share the news that George Winston has passed away after a 10-year battle with cancer. George quietly and painlessly left this world while asleep on Sunday, June 4, 2023. George courageously managed serious cancers, including having a successful bone marrow transplant for Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) in 2013 at City of Hope, in Duarte, California, that gratefully extended his life by 10 years. Throughout his cancer treatments, George continued to write and record new music, and he stayed true to his greatest passion: performing for live audiences while raising funds for Feeding America to help fight the national hunger crisis along with donating proceeds from each of his concerts to local food banks. Across an illustrious career spanning more than 50 years, George’s music first became known and loved by his fans with the release of his two most iconic albums, Autumn (1980) and December (1982). George’s recordings evolved with the times while garnering a GRAMMY Award for Forest (plus five GRAMMY nominations) and selling over 15 million albums. George touched the hearts of generations with his acclaimed solo acoustic piano compositions. From his early days in Montana, Mississippi and Florida, to his later life living in the San Francisco Bay Area and touring to cities worldwide, America’s beautiful landscapes and natural seasons shaped his singular instrumental folk piano. With 16 solo piano albums to his name, George recorded brilliant piano music, which includes tribute recordings for Vince Guaraldi, The Doors, a Hurricane Katrina relief benefit, Gulf Coast and Louisiana Wetlands benefits, September 11 benefit, a cancer research benefit for City of Hope, the Peanuts episode “This Is America Charlie Brown: The Birth Of The Constitution,” among others. George’s legacy includes his beloved catalog as well as an archive of his own acoustic guitar and harmonica recordings, and albums by an array of Hawaiian slack key artists on his own record label, Dancing Cat Records. George is pre-deceased by his parents, George and Mary Winston, and is survived by his sister, niece and nephew.
The family of George Winston will hold a private memorial service. For donations in memory of George Winston, please visit:
Feeding America:
City Of Hope Cancer Center:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center:

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56 responses »

  7. I never knew George, Beth, but he played my kind of music, the soft, soulful kind; he was a warrior; and he kept it together all that time; music touches us in magical ways; condolences, Beth —

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  8. Oh! i missed that bit of news and I am so very sad. I loved his music for as long as I can remember and have half a dozen of his CDs. One of my favourite figure skating pieces was Torvil & Dean’s “Encounter”, skated to January Stars by George. Sigh. Now I have to go and watch it. And especially, to listen.

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  12. George Winston was my introduction to what was then called “new age” music. The CD called December became my go-to whenever my anxiety was in full gear, and it always worked to bring me back to a level of calmness. I’m sad that he suffered with cancer for such a long time and send my condolences to his family. His music will continue to live on!

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  16. My own memories of George are from Crested Butte, Colorado. He had friends there and visited every summer. He always gave a free concert, unadvertised, for us locals. Admission was cans and boxes of food for the food bank there. The venue was small, and always packed with people like him — musicians, artists, old hippies, passers by, dreadlocked young folks. I feel the peace of these evenings as I write this.

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  18. I don’t recognize the name but I’d probably recognize his music and will check YouTube. It’s so sad to lose the artists we love and who have meant so much to us.

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  31. He is definitely one of my favorites too.
    I discovered him while having Sunday brunch at Richard and Reis in Birmingham, long long ago.
    I was saddened to hear the news.

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  37. He was and is one of my favorite musicians. Like you, I discovered his beautiful piano music accidentally. His CD’s are among my favorites, especially December. I’m glad you got to hear him perform. R.I.P. George Winston.

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