New Age pianist and composer George Winston died June 4, 2023 at the age of 73 after a long battle with cancer. According to the message written on his website, Winston died peacefully in his sleep.
Winston has earned a Grammy Award and has seen four of his albums be certified gold; three of them went on to be certified platinum with “December” earning triple platinum status for selling three million copies in the United States.
Winston continued to work and record even while dealing with cancer treatments. His final album “Night” was released last year. Over the course of his career, Winston released over a dozen albums.
While he took influences from a variety of musical genres; Winston referred to his style as “rural folk piano”. He was passionate about performing and raising money for Feeding America. A portion of the proceeds from every concert went to the local food bank.
He was born George Otis Winston III on February 11, 1949 in Hart, Michigan; but grew up living all over the U.S. A young George found influences from Fats Waller to The Doors. He began his musical journey on the organ but later switched to the piano.
He is survived by his sister, a niece, and a nephew.
George Winston discography:
“Autumn”
“Winter into Spring”
“December”
“Summer”
“Forest”
“Linus & Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi”
“Plains”
“Night Divides the Day – The Music of The Doors”
“Montana – A Love Story”
“Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions – A Hurricane Relief Benefit”
“Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions 2 – A Louisiana Wetlands Benefit”
“Remembrance – A Memorial Benefit”
“The Velveteen Rabbit”
“This is America Charlie Brown: The Birth of the Constitution”
“Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes”
“Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Vol. 2”
“Spring Carousel – A Cancer Research Benefit”
“Night”
feature photo taken from George Winston’s website