Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player and vocalist, prominent for his distinctive soulful high tenor voice, Winwood plays other instruments proficiently, including drums, mandolin, bass and saxophone.
At eight years of age, Winwood first performed with his father and elder brother Muff in the Ron Atkinson band.[7] Muff Winwood later recalled that when Steve began playing regularly with him and his father in licensed pubs and clubs, the piano had to be turned with its back to the audience to try to hide him because he was so obviously underage.[8]
Winwood on organ with Spencer Davis Group (Amsterdam, 1966)
At age 14, Winwood (then known as "Stevie" Winwood) became singer and keyboardist of the Spencer Davis Group,[9] with his older brother Muff Winwood on bass, Spencer Davis on guitar and Pete York on drums. Davis had been impressed by the Winwood brothers after he saw them performing as the Muffy Wood Jazz Band at the Golden Eagle in Birmingham.[10] The Spencer Davis Group made their debut at the Eagle and subsequently had a Monday-night residency there.[11] Winwood's distinctive high tenor singing voice and vocal style drew comparisons to Ray Charles.[12]
In 1964, the Spencer Davis Group signed their first recording contract with Island Records. Producer and founder Chris Blackwell later said of Winwood, "He was really the cornerstone of Island Records. He's a musical genius and because he was with Island all the other talent really wanted to be with Island."[13] The group's first single "Dimples" was released 10 days after Winwood's 16th birthday.[14] The group had two UK No. 1 singles in late 1965 and early 1966 with "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me";[15] the money from this success allowed Winwood to buy his own Hammond organ.[4] Winwood co-wrote the band's breakthrough hits in America, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man", both of which went Top 10 in the US and UK in late 1966 and early 1967.[16][17][18] Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967.
Winwood met drummer Jim Capaldi, guitarist Dave Mason, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Wood when they jammed together at The Elbow Room, a club in Aston, Birmingham.[19][20] After Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967, the quartet formed Traffic.[21] Soon thereafter, they rented a cottage near the rural village of Aston Tirrold, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), to write and rehearse new music.[19][20][22] This allowed them to escape the city and develop their music.[23][22]
Early in Traffic's formation, Winwood and Capaldi formed a songwriting partnership, with Winwood writing music to match Capaldi's lyrics. This partnership was the source of most of Traffic's material, including popular songs such as "Paper Sun", "No Face, No Name, No Number", "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys", and outlived the band, producing several songs for Winwood and Capaldi's solo albums. Over the band's history, Winwood performed the majority of their lead vocals, keyboard instruments, and guitars (the latter more so after Mason's departure in 1968). Traffic disbanded in early 1969 after two albums, Mr. Fantasy (1967) and Traffic (1968), with a third album, Last Exit, being issued later that year.
Winwood with Blind Faith (1969)
Following Traffic's split, Winwood formed the supergroupBlind Faith, along with former Cream members Eric Clapton (guitar) and Ginger Baker (drums), and former Family member Ric Grech (bass).[24] The band produced only one album, which reached No. 1 in both the UK and US, and included "Can't Find My Way Home". The band was short-lived owing to Clapton's greater interest in Blind Faith's opening act on tour, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends; Clapton left the band at the tour's completion, bringing Blind Faith to an end.
Winwood on stage with Traffic (1973)
In 1970, Winwood went into the studio to begin work on a solo album, tentatively titled Mad Shadows. However, Winwood ended up calling in his former Traffic bandmates Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood to help, with the recording resulting in a Traffic reunion album John Barleycorn Must Die.[25] Traffic would continue for another five albums, Welcome to the Canteen (1971), The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971), Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory (1973), On the Road (1973) and When the Eagle Flies (1974). Weariness with the grind of touring and recording prompted Winwood to break up Traffic in 1974 and retire to session work for several years.[26][22]
Following the end of Blind Faith, Winwood and Ric Grech continued working with Ginger Baker, as part of Ginger Baker's Air Force, who also featured Winwood's Traffic bandmate Chris Wood.[25] Winwood played on their self-titled first album, released in 1970.
In 1972, Winwood recorded the part of Captain Walker in the highly successful orchestral version of the Who's Tommy. He recorded a 1973 album with Remi Kabaka and Abdul Lasisi Amao, as Third World, Aiye-Keta. Later, after the unrelated reggae group Third World had formed, the album was re-released and identified by the band members' names. In 1976, Winwood provided vocals and keyboards on Go, a concept album by Japanese composer Stomu Yamashta.[30] That same year, Winwood also played guitar on the Fania All Stars' Delicate and Jumpy record and performed as a guest with the band in their only UK appearance, a sold-out concert at the Lyceum Theatre, London.[31][32]
In 1980, Winwood released his second solo album Arc of a Diver, which included his first solo hit, "While You See a Chance". This was followed by Talking Back to the Night in 1982,[34] which featured the song "Valerie", which would eventually become a hit single upon re-release in 1987. Both Arc of a Diver and Talking Back to the Night were recorded at his home in Gloucestershire with Winwood playing all instruments.
In 1986, Winwood travelled to New York City for his next album project. There, he enlisted the help of a coterie of stars to record Back in the High Life. The album went triple platinum in the US, with its first single "Higher Love" reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning Winwood Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He embarked on an extensive tour of North America in support of the album,[35] and at the end of the tour, he divorced Nicole Weir in England then settled in the Nashville area with his new American wife, Eugenia Crafton.[36]
With the exception of 1969's Blind Faith, Winwood had been with Island Records since the Spencer Davis Group's first single in 1964. However, at the peak of his commercial success, Winwood moved to Virgin Records and released the albums Roll with It (1988) and Refugees of the Heart (1990).[37]Roll with It and its title track hit No. 1 on the US album and singles charts in the summer of 1988.
In 1994, Winwood and Jim Capaldi reformed as Traffic for the album Far from Home. Despite lacking a significant hit, it broke the top 40 in both the UK and US.[38][39] The band toured that year, which included a performance at the Woodstock '94 Festival. That same year, Winwood appeared on the A Tribute To Curtis Mayfield CD, recording Mayfield's "It's All Right".[40]
In 1998, Winwood joined Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Ed Calle, and other musicians to form the band "Latin Crossings" for a European tour, after which they split without making any recordings. Winwood also appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000, as a member of the Louisiana Gator Boys, appearing on stage with Isaac Hayes, Eric Clapton, and KoKo Taylor at the battle of the bands competition.[43][page needed]
In 2003, Winwood released a new studio album, About Time, on his new record label, Wincraft Music. In 2004, Eric Prydzsampled Winwood's 1982 song "Valerie" for the song "Call on Me". After hearing an early version, Winwood not only gave permission to use his song, he re-recorded the samples for Prydz to use. The remix spent five weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.[44]
In 2005, Winwood's Soundstage Performances DVD was released. That same year, he appeared on Grammy Award winner Ashley Cleveland's album Men and Angels Say, a mix of rock, blues, and country arrangements of well-known hymns, including "I Need Thee Every Hour", which featured a vocal duet and organ performance. On her 2006 record Back to Basics, Christina Aguilera featured Winwood (using the piano and organ instrumentation from the John Barleycorn Must Die track "Glad") on her song "Makes Me Wanna Pray".[45]
Winwood's next studio album Nine Lives was released in 2008.[48][49][better source needed]Nine Lives opened at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[50] his highest US debut ever.[citation needed] On 19 February 2008, Winwood and Clapton released a collaborative EP through iTunes titled Dirty City. Clapton and Winwood released a CD and DVD of their Madison Square Garden shows and then toured together in the summer of 2009.[51] On 19 February 2008, Winwood and Clapton released a collaborative EP through iTunes titled Dirty City. Clapton and Winwood released an album and DVD of their Madison Square Garden shows and then toured together in the summer of 2009.[51]
In 2013, Winwood toured North America with Rod Stewart as part of the "Live the Life" tour.[citation needed] In 2014, Winwood toured North America with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.[53]
On 17 February 2020, Winwood participated in "A Tribute to Ginger Baker", which took place at Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London. Other participants were Ron Wood, Roger Waters, and Eric Clapton. The concert was held in honour of Ginger Baker, his former band member in Blind Faith, who had died the previous year.[54]
Winwood has spoken publicly very little about the origin or meaning of the songs he has written. He has said that "When I write a song, I don't like to have to explain it afterwards. To me, it's like telling a joke, then having to explain it. The explanation doesn't add to the song at all."
[57]
Between 1978 and 1986, Winwood was married to Nicole Weir (d. 2005), who had contributed background vocals to some of his early solo work. The two married at Cheltenham Register Office.[68]
Winwood's primary residence is a 300-year-old manor house in the Cotswolds, England, where he also has a recording studio. Winwood also has a home in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Eugenia Crafton, a Trenton, Tennessee, native whom he married in 1987. They have four children.[69][70][71]
In 2011, one of Winwood's daughters, Mary Clare, married businessman Ben Elliot, later Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party between July 2019 and September 2022.[72] The couple have two sons.[73] Another daughter, Lilly, is a singer; she was featured with Winwood performing a duet of his song "Higher Love" in a Hershey commercial.[74] She was the opening act and was backing singer for her father's 2018 Greatest Hits Live tour.[75]
^"100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2017. (Winwood exploded onto the London music scene as a teenager with his powerful, soulful tenor). "I thought he had the greatest voice," said Billy Joel, "this skinny little English kid singing like Ray Charles."
^ ab"Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at the Bowl". Los Angeles Times. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009. The stairway to classic-rock heaven extended straight into Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night as '60s British rock heroes Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood closed their all-too-quick 14-city, three-week U.S. tour with a nearly 2½-hour excursion through the music they created, individually and collectively, three and four decades ago.
^"The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009. Steve Winwood exploded onto the London music scene as a teenager with his powerful, soulful tenor—notably on "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man" with the Spencer Davis Group.