Steve Winwood was born in Birmingham, England in 1948. His family was very musically-inclined; Steve’s father and brother Muff both performed in local jazz outfits. Steve quickly took to playing the piano and guitar, soon joining his family in performances.

The Spencer Davis Group was launched after guitarist Spencer Davis watched the Winwood brothers performing as part of the Muff Woody Jazz Band at the Golden Eagle in Birmingham, England. Impressed with their musical versatility, Davis recruited Muff to play bass and Steve to play keyboards and guitar. Pete York later joined on drums. The band signed a contract with Island Records soon thereafter, and the band’s first single “Dimples,” a John Lee Hooker cover, hit the charts. The band built its fan base through constant touring, but did not break through until it released “Keep on Running,” the band’s first big hit. “Somebody Help Me” and “When I Come Home” followed and achieved big sales.

Steve took some time off from the Spencer Davis Group for a brief stint with Eric Clapton’s Powerhouse side project. Powerhouse featured Cream’s Jack Bruce on bass, the Spencer Davis Group’s Pete York on drums, Ben Palmer on piano, and Manfred Mann’s Paul Jones on harmonica. Their efforts yielded three tracks “I Want to Know,” “Steppin’ Out,” and “Crossroads”—later included on the British blues collection What’s Shakin’.

Re-joining the Spencer Davis Group, Steve enlisted producer Jimmy Miller to help with the recording of two originals: “I’m a Man” and “Gimmie Some Lovin’.” Local musicians Dave Mason and Jim Capaldi helped out on vocals and percussion. Both songs were international smashes; the Spencer Davis Group was poised for massive fame, but Winwood wanted to strike out on his own and explore new musical directions. He left the Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic with Mason, Capaldi, and Chris Wood.

Traffic’s first singles, “Paper Sun” and “Hole in My Shoe,” were instant successes. The band subsequently recorded their first album Mr. Fantasy in the English countryside. The band’s sound was an eclectic, progressive mix, featuring Steve on guitar and organ, Capaldi on drums, Wood on flute and saxophone, and
Mason on bass and guitar. The band released Traffic in 1968 and Last Exit in 1969; the albums featured Mason’s work to a much greater extent. Clearly, though, there wasa divide among the band’s creative forces; half the songs were Winwood/Wood/Capaldi creations,the others were solo Mason contributions. Mason left the band amidst charges that his songs did not fit the Traffic mold. The remaining three members toured in support of the albums, but Steve concluded the band’s time had come to an end and he left to form Blind Faith with Eric Clapton.

Their only album, Blind Faith, released in 1969, featured Steve’s classic “Can’t Find My Way Home,” but the subsequent tour degenerated into concerts featuring the greatest hits of Traffic and Cream, so the band members gave up on the experiment. After Blind Faith folded, Ginger Baker assembled a “dream” band,

Air Force, that included Steve, Graham Bond, Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and later of Paul McCartney’s Wings, Chris Wood of Traffic, Rick Grech of Blind Faith, Remi Kabaka, Phil Seamen, and three backup singers. The band released a self-titled double live album in 1970. Steve contributed vocals to “Man of Constant Sorrow,” “Do What You Like,” and “Doin’ It.” The band’s enormous sound, though, triggered its own downfall. Steve left after only a few performances.

After the Blind Faith and Air Force experiments failed, Steve began work in Mad Shadows, a solo album that ultimately evolved into John Barleycorn Must Die, a Traffic album featuring Capaldi and Wood.

Faced with the limitations of three players on stage, Traffic recruited bassist Rick Grech, percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah, and drummer Jim Gordon. This unit joined Dave Mason for a tour in the fall of 1971 that was captured on the live album Welcome to the Canteen. The Mason reunion was short-lived, and the band recorded The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys in 1972 without him. While touring in support of the new album, Steve developed peritonitis. Part of his recovery included production and low-key projects. In 1973, Steve collaborated in the studio with Remi Kabaka and Abdul Lasisi Amao of Air Force. The three released the album Aiye-Keta (Third World), featuring the classic “Happy Vibes.” Steve then returned to Traffic, travelling to Jamaica to record Shootout at the Fantasy Factory, which featureda new lineup—Roger Hawkins on drums and David Hood on bass. The live album On the Road documented the subsequent tour. That same year, Steve, Capaldi, Rebop, and Grech joined Eric Clapton for his Rainbow Concert; Steve also joined the star-studded cast of the Who’s Tommy. Traffic returned to the countryside to record When the Eagle Flies in 1974; the lineup consisted only of Winwood, Capaldi, Chris Wood and Rosco Gee on bass.

Tired of the album/tour treadmill, Steve finally left Traffic. In 1976, Steve joined an informal group called Go. The band featured Yamashta on keyboards and percussion and Mike Shrieve on drums. A self-titled album released in 1976 boasted a progressive synthesized sound with spacy lyrics from Yamashta and other writers. Former bandmates Rebop Kwaku Baah and Rosco Gee contributed to the sessions. Supported by Klaus Schulze on synthesizers, Al DiMeola on guitar, Jerome Rimson on bass, Pat Thrall on guitar, Brother James on congas, and Karen Friedman on vocals, Go recorded a live album entitled Go Live From Paris.

The band parted ways after the tour.

Following his departure from Traffic and his brief stay with Go, Steve began his solo career in 1977 with a Traffic-esque album entitled Steve Winwood. The album sold poorly in the days of punk. Steve grew tired of the music industry and considered quitting it entirely. He decided to give it one more try and set about recording Arc of a Diver, an album produced and performed entirely by Steve. Co-writer Will Jennings captured Steve’s feelings on many of the tracks, and the hopeful “While You See a Chance” catapulted Steve back onto the charts. Steve returned the following year with another completely solo effort, Talking Back to the Night, but it failed to hit the charts. Steve took four years to record his next album, forsaking the solo approach and instead enlisting the help of musicians such as Joe Walsh and James Taylor. Back in the High Life, released in 1986, was a smash. Four hit singles and a Grammy for Record of the Year re-established Steve as a force in the music industry. Chronicles, a hits compilation, whetted fans’ appetites until Roll With It was released. This R&B album hearkened back to Steve’s early work with the Spencer Davis Group. Buoyed by the renewed appeal of Traffic, Steve recorded Refugees of the Heart in 1990, hoping to capture the band’s eclectic feel. A tour followed, and the enormous response to the Traffic tunes led to his reunion with Jim Capaldi. He and Capaldi reunited in 1994 to record Far From Home, a new Traffic album.

A tour followed, including an appearance at Woodstock II. After a few years off, Steve has returned with Junction 7, a new album that energetically combines many of the influences reflected in the various stages of Steve’s career, including blues, Latin, world beat, and rock music.