Steve Winwood: English Soul

Overview

Steve Winwood was 14 when he joined the Spencer Davis Group, which made the fact that he wrote and sang the band's mod anthem "I'm a Man" a little premature. Winwood's career follows a classic British rock star model, with his forming the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith in 1969 before getting it together in the country with Traffic, who melded rock and jazz with a pastoral sensibility that produced a classic version of the pagan ale celebration John Barleycorn. This profile shines a light on a life spent making tasteful, soul-tinged music. From childhood prodigy to veteran master, Birmingham-born Steve Winwood's extraordinary career is like a map of the major changes in British rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues from the 1960s to the present. This in-depth profile traces that journey and reveals a master musician blending Ray Charles and English hymnody into a unique brand of English soul.