Prog-Watch 1110
This week on Prog-Watch I’m digging into some of the vast Musical World of Steve Winwood! From his early days in the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith, through to his chart topping solo years in the 1980s, Steve has had a long and diverse career! I hope you will join me in exploring some of it!
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter with a long and storied career which spans 7 decades! Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player and vocalist, Winwood plays other instruments proficiently, including drums, mandolin, bass and saxophone.
Winwood rose to fame during the 1960s and 1970s as an integral member of three major bands: the Spencer Davis Groups (which he joined when he was only 14 years old!), Traffic, and Blind Faith. During the 1980s, his solo career flourished and he had a number of hit singles including While You See A Chance, Arc Of A Diver, and Holding On to name a few. His 1986 album Back in the High Life seemingly marked his career zenith, with hit singles including Back in the High Life Again, The Finer Things, and the US Billboard number one hit Higher Love. He found the top of the Hot 100 again with Roll with It (1988) from the album of the same name, with Holding On from that same album also charting highly the same year. Although his hit singles seemed to cease after the 1980s, he continued to release new albums up to 2008, when Nine Lives, his latest, was released.
In 2004, Winwood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic. He has won two Grammy Awards and an Ivor Novello Award, and has been honored as BMI Icon. In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Winwood number 33 on its list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Music with some meat to it!
Prog-Watch is a weekly podcast and internet radio program dedicated to bringing the listener contemporary Progressive Rock music from around the world. Your big, hairy host, the “Prog-Squatch” wanders the woods of the world, beats the bushes, and digs in the dirt to bring the best Prog back for YOU! Sometimes solo and sometimes with a guest host, the Prog-Squatch will bring you new and interesting artists in each episode, and give you some background info and a taste of their music.