After spending several years as part of the back up band for his famous sibling, Johnny Winter, Edgar landed a record deal of his own on Epic Records (sister label to Johnny's label, Columbia Records). His initial solo debut, Entrance, in 1970, was praised by critics and had some great material (including his fiery remake of the 1963 Nashville Teens' classic, "Tobacco Road") but failed to make any substantial impact as a big seller.
Winter returned in 1971 with a stunning R&B/rock opus and an eight piece horn-driven band called Edgar Winter's White Trash (a reference to the fact that both he and Johnny are albinos). The group did a solid year of touring, and made one memorable double live album entitled Roadwork, before Edgar Winter decided it was time to get lean and mean.
The solution for Edgar Winter was to re-vamp his set up with down-to-the-bone four piece rock'n'roll machine. Hence, the Edgar Winter Group, which debuted in 1973 with Winter on keyboards, sax and percussion, Dan Hartman on bass, drummer extraordinaire Chuck Ruff, and a sassy Bay Area guitarist named Ronnie Montrose, who had worked with Van Morrison, among others.