Traffic (band)
Encyclopedia
Traffic were an English
rock band
whose members came from the West Midlands
. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood
, Jim Capaldi
, Chris Wood
and Dave Mason
. They began as a psychedelic rock
group whose early singles were influenced by The Beatles
, and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards
like the Mellotron
, reed instruments, and by incorporating jazz
and improvisational
techniques in their music. Their first three singles were "Paper Sun
", "Hole in My Shoe
", and "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
".
After disbanding in 1969, during which time Winwood joined Blind Faith
, Traffic reunited in 1970 to release the critically acclaimed album John Barleycorn Must Die
. The band's line-up varied from this point until they disbanded again in 1975, although a partial reunion, with Winwood and Capaldi, took place in 1994.
was the frontman of the Spencer Davis Group
at age 15. The Spencer Davis Group released four Top Ten singles and three Top Ten albums in the United Kingdom, as well as two Top Ten singles in the United States. Drummer/vocalist/lyricist Jim Capaldi and guitarist Dave Mason had both been in the Hellions and Deep Feeling, while woodwinds player Chris Wood came out of Locomotive.
Winwood, Capaldi, Mason, and Wood met when they jammed together at The Elbow Room
, a club in Aston
, Birmingham
. After Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967, the quartet formed Traffic. Jim Capaldi came up with the name of the group while the four of them were waiting to cross the street in Dorchester. Soon thereafter, they rented a cottage near the rural village of Aston Tirrold
, Berkshire
to write and rehearse new music.
The use of this cottage would prove to be important in the development of the band.
Traffic signed to Chris Blackwell
's Island Records
label (where Winwood's elder brother Muff
, also a member of the Spencer Davis Group, later became a record producer
and executive), and their debut single "Paper Sun
" became a UK hit in mid-1967. Their second single, Mason's psych-pop "Hole in My Shoe
", was an even bigger hit, and it became one of their best-known tracks. The band's third single, "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush", was made for the soundtrack of the 1967 British feature film of the same name. Their debut album was Mr. Fantasy
, produced by Jimmy Miller, and like the singles, was a hit in the UK but not as big elsewhere, although it did reach number 88 in the US.
Mason had already quit the group by the time Mr. Fantasy was released, but rejoined for a few months of 1968, long enough to contribute to a slim majority of the songs on their second album, Traffic. Released in 1968, it included the original version of Mason's "Feelin' Alright
", which was later recorded with great success by Joe Cocker
and Three Dog Night
. Winwood, Wood, and Capaldi wanted to take the group in a different direction, opting for a folk/blues style rather than their earlier psychedelic/eclectic rock sound, while Mason was oriented towards psychedelic pop. Mason also cited discomfort with the Traffic lifestyle. The band toured the US as a trio in late 1968, which led to the following year's release of Traffic's next album, Last Exit, one side of which was recorded live. During 1968 Winwood and Wood often played with Jimi Hendrix
, and they both appear on The Jimi Hendrix Experience
's 1968 double album Electric Ladyland
, as did an uncredited Dave Mason.
The band was dissolved by Winwood's leaving in early 1969. His departure went unexplained at the time, even to Capaldi and Wood, but he later said "Because of the way I ended the Spencer Davis Group, I saw no reason why I shouldn't leave Traffic and move on. It seemed to me a normal thing to do."
Winwood then formed the supergroup
Blind Faith
, which lasted less than a year, recording one album and undertaking one US tour. The remaining members of Traffic began a project with Mick Weaver
(a.k.a Wynder K. Frog), the short-lived Mason, Capaldi, Wood and Frog (later shortened to Wooden Frog), which played a few live dates and recorded some BBC sessions, but broke up before releasing any formal recordings.
After the break-up of Blind Faith in 1969, Winwood began working on a solo recording, bringing in Wood and Capaldi to contribute, and the project eventually turned into a new Traffic album, John Barleycorn Must Die
, their most successful album yet. Traffic went on to expand its lineup late in 1970, adding Ric Grech
on bass. The group further expanded in 1971 with drummer Jim Gordon
of Derek and the Dominos
and percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah
. The live album
Welcome to the Canteen
was released in September and marked the band's break with United Artists Records. It did not bear the "Traffic" name on the cover, and instead was credited to the band's individual members including Mason, who returned for his third and final spell with the band. The album ended with a version of The Spencer Davis Group song "Gimme Some Loving", which became a minor hit.
Following the departure of Mason, Traffic released The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
(1971), which was a Top 10 American album but did not chart in the UK; the LP is also notable for its striking die-cut cover. It sold over half a million copies in 1972 when it received a gold disc
, and was awarded a R.I.A.A. platinum disc
in March 1976 for over a million total sales. Once again, however, personnel problems wracked the band as Grech and Gordon left the band in December 1971, and the month after, Winwood's struggles with peritonitis
brought Traffic to a standstill. Jim Capaldi used this hiatus to record a solo album, Oh How We Danced
, which would prove to be the beginning of a long and successful solo career. The album included a surplus recording from The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, "Open Your Heart", and the new tracks featured drummer Roger Hawkins
and bassist David Hood
, from the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
house band. Capaldi soon brought them on board to replace Grech and Gordon.
The new lineup (Winwood, Capaldi, Wood, Kwaku Baah, Hawkins, Hood) toured America in early 1972 to promote the LP, and their concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
on 21 February was recorded in multitrack audio and captured on colour videotape with multiple cameras. The 64-minute performance is thought to be the only extended live footage of the group. It was evidently not broadcast on television at the time, but was later released on home video and DVD.
Following Winwood's recovery from peritonitis, Traffic's sixth studio album, Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
, released in 1973, met with a cold critical reception but in sales, it was another major hit. It was shortly followed by a major world tour, from which the double live album, On the Road
, was drawn. It broke the band's string of British flops by reaching number 40 in the UK Albums Chart
. However, these successes were soured by the departure of Hawkins, Hood, and Kwaku Baah at the end of the world tour, and by Chris Wood's increasing problems with drug use and depression.
Bassist Rosko Gee
replaced David Hood, while Capaldi switched back to drums. When the Eagle Flies
, released in 1974, was yet another Top Ten album in the USA, and moderately successful in the UK. However, a subsequent tour of the USA, while successful in terms of ticket sales, was emotionally exhausting for the band. Capaldi later recalled "Rosko Gee and I were the only ones in anything like normal shape. Steve was having recurrent problems with the peritonitis, and Chris' body was suffering from chemical warfare." Winwood ultimately passed his boiling point, walking off the stage in the middle of what would prove the band's final show, in Chicago. The following day he left the tour without a word to anyone, leaving the rest of the band waiting for him at the venue for that night's scheduled performance. Feeling Winwood had been integral to Traffic's music, the remaining members opted not to continue the band without him.
Traffic's break-up was followed by two compilations from United Artists (Heavy Traffic and More Heavy Traffic), both of which only drew from the first half of their output.
Steve Winwood embarked on a solo career, while Rosko Gee and Rebop Kwaku Baah joined German band Can
. Kwaku Baah died in 1983, and Capaldi dedicated his solo album Fierce Heart
to his memory. Chris Wood died later in 1983, from pneumonia
.
All the still living members of Traffic's most recent lineup reunited in 1994 for a one-off tour, after a fan left a voice mail message at Bob Weir
's (of the Grateful Dead
) hotel in Chicago during the 1992 "Scaring the Children" tour, and suggested it would be cool if Traffic toured with the (then Grateful) Dead. Traffic opened for The Grateful Dead during their summer tour. The flute/sax role on the tour was played by Randall Bramblett
, who had worked extensively with Steve Winwood. Michael McEvoy joined the line up playing keyboards, guitar and viola, and Walfredo Reyes Jr. played drums and percussion. Winwood and Capaldi recorded and released a new Traffic album, Far From Home
, with no involvement from the other four members. It broke the top 40 in both the UK and USA.
The four original members of Traffic were inducted for their contributions in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
on 15 March 2004. Winwood, Capaldi, Mason, and Stephannie Wood (standing in for her late brother Chris) all attended the ceremony, though only Winwood and Capaldi took part in the induction performance.
Tentative plans for another Traffic project were cut short by Jim Capaldi's death at age 60 in January 2005, ending the songwriting partnership with Winwood that had fueled Traffic from its beginning.
Dear Mr. Fantasy was a celebration for Capaldi that took place at The Roundhouse
in Camden Town
, London on 21 January 2007. Guests included Steve Winwood, Paul Weller, Pete Townshend, and many more. Dear Mr. Fantasy featured the music of Jim Capaldi and Traffic, and all profits went to The Jubilee Action Street Children Appeal.
and Santana
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
whose members came from the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, Jim Capaldi
Jim Capaldi
Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
, Chris Wood
Chris Wood (rock musician)
Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
and Dave Mason
Dave Mason
David Thomas "Dave" Mason is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic...
. They began as a psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
group whose early singles were influenced by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
like the Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, reed instruments, and by incorporating jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and improvisational
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
techniques in their music. Their first three singles were "Paper Sun
Paper Sun
"Paper Sun" was the British band Traffic's debut single, released in May 1967. It was a number 5 hit in the United Kingdom. It is famous for its time-typical sitar riff, played by Dave Mason, and its soulful vocals by composer Steve Winwood....
", "Hole in My Shoe
Hole In My Shoe
"Hole in My Shoe" is a song by Traffic which as a single release reached number 2 in the UK charts and number 22 in the German charts in 1967. Composed by guitarist Dave Mason, it was disliked by the other three members of the group, who felt that it did not represent the band's musical or lyrical...
", and "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (Traffic song)
"Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" is a single by Traffic. It is the title song to the film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. The single used an edited version of the song, with the intro removed.-References:...
".
After disbanding in 1969, during which time Winwood joined Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
, Traffic reunited in 1970 to release the critically acclaimed album John Barleycorn Must Die
John Barleycorn Must Die
John Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth album by the English rock band Traffic, released in 1970, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, and United Artists in the United States, catalogue UAS 5504. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, their highest charting album in the US, and has been...
. The band's line-up varied from this point until they disbanded again in 1975, although a partial reunion, with Winwood and Capaldi, took place in 1994.
History
Traffic's singer, keyboardist and sometimes guitarist Steve WinwoodSteve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
was the frontman of the Spencer Davis Group
Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group was a mid-1960s British beat group from Birmingham, England, formed by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood...
at age 15. The Spencer Davis Group released four Top Ten singles and three Top Ten albums in the United Kingdom, as well as two Top Ten singles in the United States. Drummer/vocalist/lyricist Jim Capaldi and guitarist Dave Mason had both been in the Hellions and Deep Feeling, while woodwinds player Chris Wood came out of Locomotive.
Winwood, Capaldi, Mason, and Wood met when they jammed together at The Elbow Room
The Elbow Room
The Elbow Room is a traditional nightclub in the Aston area of Birmingham, England. It played a significant part in the formation of the rock band, Traffic, in the late 1960s.-External links:*...
, a club in Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. After Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967, the quartet formed Traffic. Jim Capaldi came up with the name of the group while the four of them were waiting to cross the street in Dorchester. Soon thereafter, they rented a cottage near the rural village of Aston Tirrold
Aston Tirrold
Aston Tirrold is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs about southeast of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Origin of the name:...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
to write and rehearse new music.
The use of this cottage would prove to be important in the development of the band.
Traffic signed to Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
's Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
label (where Winwood's elder brother Muff
Muff Winwood
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood is an English songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were formerly members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood played bass guitar...
, also a member of the Spencer Davis Group, later became a record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and executive), and their debut single "Paper Sun
Paper Sun
"Paper Sun" was the British band Traffic's debut single, released in May 1967. It was a number 5 hit in the United Kingdom. It is famous for its time-typical sitar riff, played by Dave Mason, and its soulful vocals by composer Steve Winwood....
" became a UK hit in mid-1967. Their second single, Mason's psych-pop "Hole in My Shoe
Hole In My Shoe
"Hole in My Shoe" is a song by Traffic which as a single release reached number 2 in the UK charts and number 22 in the German charts in 1967. Composed by guitarist Dave Mason, it was disliked by the other three members of the group, who felt that it did not represent the band's musical or lyrical...
", was an even bigger hit, and it became one of their best-known tracks. The band's third single, "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush", was made for the soundtrack of the 1967 British feature film of the same name. Their debut album was Mr. Fantasy
Mr. Fantasy
-Original US album :# "Paper Sun" – 3:26# "Dealer" – 3:13# "Coloured Rain" – 2:46# "Hole in My Shoe" – 3:04# "No Face, No Name, No Number" – 3:38...
, produced by Jimmy Miller, and like the singles, was a hit in the UK but not as big elsewhere, although it did reach number 88 in the US.
Mason had already quit the group by the time Mr. Fantasy was released, but rejoined for a few months of 1968, long enough to contribute to a slim majority of the songs on their second album, Traffic. Released in 1968, it included the original version of Mason's "Feelin' Alright
Feelin' Alright
"Feelin' Alright" also known as "Feeling Alright" is a song written by Dave Mason of the English rock band Traffic from their eponymous 1968 album, Traffic...
", which was later recorded with great success by Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
and Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
. Winwood, Wood, and Capaldi wanted to take the group in a different direction, opting for a folk/blues style rather than their earlier psychedelic/eclectic rock sound, while Mason was oriented towards psychedelic pop. Mason also cited discomfort with the Traffic lifestyle. The band toured the US as a trio in late 1968, which led to the following year's release of Traffic's next album, Last Exit, one side of which was recorded live. During 1968 Winwood and Wood often played with Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, and they both appear on The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
's 1968 double album Electric Ladyland
Electric Ladyland
Electric Ladyland is the third and final album of new material by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in October 1968 on Reprise Records, catalogue 2RS 6307. It is the only Hendrix studio album professionally produced under his supervision. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks in...
, as did an uncredited Dave Mason.
The band was dissolved by Winwood's leaving in early 1969. His departure went unexplained at the time, even to Capaldi and Wood, but he later said "Because of the way I ended the Spencer Davis Group, I saw no reason why I shouldn't leave Traffic and move on. It seemed to me a normal thing to do."
Winwood then formed the supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
, which lasted less than a year, recording one album and undertaking one US tour. The remaining members of Traffic began a project with Mick Weaver
Mick Weaver
Mick Weaver is a session musician best known for his playing of the Hammond B3 organ and is a much respected exponent of the Blues and Funk styles.-Career:...
(a.k.a Wynder K. Frog), the short-lived Mason, Capaldi, Wood and Frog (later shortened to Wooden Frog), which played a few live dates and recorded some BBC sessions, but broke up before releasing any formal recordings.
After the break-up of Blind Faith in 1969, Winwood began working on a solo recording, bringing in Wood and Capaldi to contribute, and the project eventually turned into a new Traffic album, John Barleycorn Must Die
John Barleycorn Must Die
John Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth album by the English rock band Traffic, released in 1970, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, and United Artists in the United States, catalogue UAS 5504. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, their highest charting album in the US, and has been...
, their most successful album yet. Traffic went on to expand its lineup late in 1970, adding Ric Grech
Ric Grech
Richard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
on bass. The group further expanded in 1971 with drummer Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon (musician)
James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
of Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...
and percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah
Rebop Kwaku Baah
Anthony "Reebop" Kwaku Baah was a Ghanaian percussionist perhaps best known for working with the 1970s rock groups Traffic and Can.-Biography:...
. The live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Welcome to the Canteen
Welcome to the Canteen
Welcome to the Canteen is the fifth album by English rock band Traffic. It was recorded live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon and the Oz Benefit Concert, London, July 1971 and released in September of that year...
was released in September and marked the band's break with United Artists Records. It did not bear the "Traffic" name on the cover, and instead was credited to the band's individual members including Mason, who returned for his third and final spell with the band. The album ended with a version of The Spencer Davis Group song "Gimme Some Loving", which became a minor hit.
Following the departure of Mason, Traffic released The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (album)
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys is the sixth album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1971. As with other Traffic albums, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys featured different forms and offshoots of rock including jazz rock, progressive rock, as well as classic rock and roll. The title of...
(1971), which was a Top 10 American album but did not chart in the UK; the LP is also notable for its striking die-cut cover. It sold over half a million copies in 1972 when it received a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
, and was awarded a R.I.A.A. platinum disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in March 1976 for over a million total sales. Once again, however, personnel problems wracked the band as Grech and Gordon left the band in December 1971, and the month after, Winwood's struggles with peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
brought Traffic to a standstill. Jim Capaldi used this hiatus to record a solo album, Oh How We Danced
Oh How We Danced
Oh How We Danced is the debut studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi.The album was recorded while Traffic was on hiatus due to Steve Winwood's struggles with peritonitis, and released by Island Records in 1972...
, which would prove to be the beginning of a long and successful solo career. The album included a surplus recording from The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, "Open Your Heart", and the new tracks featured drummer Roger Hawkins
Roger Hawkins
Roger G Hawkins , is an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama...
and bassist David Hood
David Hood
David Hood , is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame....
, from the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio...
house band. Capaldi soon brought them on board to replace Grech and Gordon.
The new lineup (Winwood, Capaldi, Wood, Kwaku Baah, Hawkins, Hood) toured America in early 1972 to promote the LP, and their concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multipurpose convention center in Santa Monica, California owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket....
on 21 February was recorded in multitrack audio and captured on colour videotape with multiple cameras. The 64-minute performance is thought to be the only extended live footage of the group. It was evidently not broadcast on television at the time, but was later released on home video and DVD.
Following Winwood's recovery from peritonitis, Traffic's sixth studio album, Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, released in 1973, was the seventh album and sixth studio album by English rock band Traffic. It followed their 1971 hit The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and contained only five songs...
, released in 1973, met with a cold critical reception but in sales, it was another major hit. It was shortly followed by a major world tour, from which the double live album, On the Road
On the Road (Traffic album)
On The Road is a live album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1973. Recorded live in Germany, it features the Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory lineup plus extra keyboardist Barry Beckett....
, was drawn. It broke the band's string of British flops by reaching number 40 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. However, these successes were soured by the departure of Hawkins, Hood, and Kwaku Baah at the end of the world tour, and by Chris Wood's increasing problems with drug use and depression.
Bassist Rosko Gee
Rosko Gee
Rosko Gee is a Jamaican bassist who has played with the English band Traffic on their albums When the Eagle Flies and The Last Great Traffic Jam , with the supergroup Go conceived by Stomu Yamashta, which also included Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze and Michael Shrieve, and with the...
replaced David Hood, while Capaldi switched back to drums. When the Eagle Flies
When the Eagle Flies
When the Eagle Flies was the ninth and final album released by English rock band Traffic, in 1974, until their 1994 reunion Far From Home. The album featured Jim Capaldi on drums, keyboards and vocals; Rosko Gee on bass guitar; Steve Winwood on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; and Chris Wood on flute...
, released in 1974, was yet another Top Ten album in the USA, and moderately successful in the UK. However, a subsequent tour of the USA, while successful in terms of ticket sales, was emotionally exhausting for the band. Capaldi later recalled "Rosko Gee and I were the only ones in anything like normal shape. Steve was having recurrent problems with the peritonitis, and Chris' body was suffering from chemical warfare." Winwood ultimately passed his boiling point, walking off the stage in the middle of what would prove the band's final show, in Chicago. The following day he left the tour without a word to anyone, leaving the rest of the band waiting for him at the venue for that night's scheduled performance. Feeling Winwood had been integral to Traffic's music, the remaining members opted not to continue the band without him.
Traffic's break-up was followed by two compilations from United Artists (Heavy Traffic and More Heavy Traffic), both of which only drew from the first half of their output.
Steve Winwood embarked on a solo career, while Rosko Gee and Rebop Kwaku Baah joined German band Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
. Kwaku Baah died in 1983, and Capaldi dedicated his solo album Fierce Heart
Fierce Heart
Fierce Heart is the eighth solo album by British musician Jim Capaldi. The album has a far more synth-heavy approach than any of his previous albums, though the songs are mostly in the same aggressive rock/pop vein that Capaldi had long been associated with...
to his memory. Chris Wood died later in 1983, from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
All the still living members of Traffic's most recent lineup reunited in 1994 for a one-off tour, after a fan left a voice mail message at Bob Weir
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
's (of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
) hotel in Chicago during the 1992 "Scaring the Children" tour, and suggested it would be cool if Traffic toured with the (then Grateful) Dead. Traffic opened for The Grateful Dead during their summer tour. The flute/sax role on the tour was played by Randall Bramblett
Randall Bramblett
Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood,...
, who had worked extensively with Steve Winwood. Michael McEvoy joined the line up playing keyboards, guitar and viola, and Walfredo Reyes Jr. played drums and percussion. Winwood and Capaldi recorded and released a new Traffic album, Far From Home
Far from Home
Far From Home, released in 1994, was the final studio album released under the name Traffic, and the first in two decades since the release of When the Eagle Flies in 1974....
, with no involvement from the other four members. It broke the top 40 in both the UK and USA.
The four original members of Traffic were inducted for their contributions in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
on 15 March 2004. Winwood, Capaldi, Mason, and Stephannie Wood (standing in for her late brother Chris) all attended the ceremony, though only Winwood and Capaldi took part in the induction performance.
Tentative plans for another Traffic project were cut short by Jim Capaldi's death at age 60 in January 2005, ending the songwriting partnership with Winwood that had fueled Traffic from its beginning.
Dear Mr. Fantasy was a celebration for Capaldi that took place at The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
in Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, London on 21 January 2007. Guests included Steve Winwood, Paul Weller, Pete Townshend, and many more. Dear Mr. Fantasy featured the music of Jim Capaldi and Traffic, and all profits went to The Jubilee Action Street Children Appeal.
Legacy
Winwood is currently playing some Traffic songs, such as "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Pearly Queen", at concerts alone and with other musicians, such as Eric ClaptonEric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
.
Members
- Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
- vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass (1967–1969, 1970–1974, 1994) - Dave MasonDave MasonDavid Thomas "Dave" Mason is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic...
- vocals, guitar, sitar, bass (1967–1968, 1971) - Chris WoodChris Wood (rock musician)Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
- flute, saxophone, keyboards (1967–1969, 1970–1974) - Jim CapaldiJim CapaldiNicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
- drums, percussion, vocals (1967–1969, 1970–1974, 1994) - Ric GrechRic GrechRichard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
- bass (1970–1972) - Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
- drums (1971–1972) - Rebop Kwaku BaahRebop Kwaku BaahAnthony "Reebop" Kwaku Baah was a Ghanaian percussionist perhaps best known for working with the 1970s rock groups Traffic and Can.-Biography:...
- percussion (1971–1974) - Roger HawkinsRoger HawkinsRoger G Hawkins , is an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama...
- drums (1972–1973) - David HoodDavid HoodDavid Hood , is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame....
- bass (1972–1973) - Barry BeckettBarry BeckettBarry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...
– organ (1973) - Rosko GeeRosko GeeRosko Gee is a Jamaican bassist who has played with the English band Traffic on their albums When the Eagle Flies and The Last Great Traffic Jam , with the supergroup Go conceived by Stomu Yamashta, which also included Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze and Michael Shrieve, and with the...
- bass (1974, 1994) - Randall BramblettRandall BramblettRandall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood,...
- flute, saxophone (1994) - Michael McEvoyMichael McEvoyMichael Stephen Anthony McEvoy is an Indian-born former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket between 1976 and 1990, with the bulk of his career being between 1980 and 1984....
- keyboards, guitar, viola, harmonica (1994) - Walfredo Reyes Jr. - drums, percussion (1994)
Studio albums
- Mr. FantasyMr. Fantasy-Original US album :# "Paper Sun" – 3:26# "Dealer" – 3:13# "Coloured Rain" – 2:46# "Hole in My Shoe" – 3:04# "No Face, No Name, No Number" – 3:38...
(first US pressing issued with title Heaven Is In Your Mind) – 1967 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#8, USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#88 - Traffic – 1968 UK #9, US #17
- Last Exit (side 2 live at The Fillmore WestThe FillmoreThe Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
) – 1969 US #19 - John Barleycorn Must DieJohn Barleycorn Must DieJohn Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth album by the English rock band Traffic, released in 1970, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, and United Artists in the United States, catalogue UAS 5504. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, their highest charting album in the US, and has been...
– 1970 UK #11, US #5 - The Low Spark of High Heeled BoysThe Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (album)The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys is the sixth album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1971. As with other Traffic albums, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys featured different forms and offshoots of rock including jazz rock, progressive rock, as well as classic rock and roll. The title of...
– 1971 US #7 - Shoot Out at the Fantasy FactoryShoot Out at the Fantasy FactoryShoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, released in 1973, was the seventh album and sixth studio album by English rock band Traffic. It followed their 1971 hit The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and contained only five songs...
– 1973 US #6 - When the Eagle FliesWhen the Eagle FliesWhen the Eagle Flies was the ninth and final album released by English rock band Traffic, in 1974, until their 1994 reunion Far From Home. The album featured Jim Capaldi on drums, keyboards and vocals; Rosko Gee on bass guitar; Steve Winwood on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; and Chris Wood on flute...
– 1974 UK #40, US #9 - Far from HomeFar from HomeFar From Home, released in 1994, was the final studio album released under the name Traffic, and the first in two decades since the release of When the Eagle Flies in 1974....
– 1994 UK #29, US #33
Live albums
- Welcome to the CanteenWelcome to the CanteenWelcome to the Canteen is the fifth album by English rock band Traffic. It was recorded live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon and the Oz Benefit Concert, London, July 1971 and released in September of that year...
– 1971 USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#26 - On the RoadOn the Road (Traffic album)On The Road is a live album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1973. Recorded live in Germany, it features the Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory lineup plus extra keyboardist Barry Beckett....
(live on tour in Germany) – 1973 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#40, US #29 - The Last Great Traffic Jam – 2005