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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTRAFFICVersatile UK rock group formed mid-'60s: Steve Winwood, vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, bass; Dave Mason, vocals, keyboards, guitar, sitar, tambura, bass; Jim Capaldi (b 8 February 1944, d 28 January 2005), vocals, drums, percussion; Chris Wood (b 24 June 1944; d 12 July 1983), vocals, sax, flute, keyboards. Winwood had been the star of the Spencer Davis Group with his keyboards and bluesy voice; the new band found a communal retreat in a cottage in Aston Tirrold, reflected in songs like 'Berkshire Poppies', 'House For Everyone', 'Little Woman'. They signed to Island and had single hits in UK and USA beginning with 'Paper Sun' '67; played in soundtrack of Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush '67 (title song a UK hit); first album was Mr Fantasy '67, and a different edition in USA was first titled Heaven Is In Your Mind on United Artists, and garbled in order to include the hit. Traffic epitomized psychedelia, with sound effects, the obligatory sitar, unusual lyric twists. Mason contributed to Traffic and Last Exit '68 (top 20 LPs in USA), then left. Winwood recorded with the abortive Blind Faith supergroup; another group called Mason, Capaldi, Wood and Frog ('Frog' being Mick Weaver) was in a sense an answer to that. Traffic re-formed to work on John Barleycorn Must Die '70, which began as a Winwood solo LP, its title track a ritual allegory inspired by traditional Fire And Frost (the Watersons): at no. 5 it was their best chart entry in USA; unable to reproduce its sound on stage, the trio was augmented with bassist Rick Grech, drummer Jim Gordon, Anthony Reebop Kwaku Baah on percussion, sometimes Mason; this lineup made the lacklustre live Welcome To The Canteen and the more successful Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys '71. Grech worked on Capaldi's first solo album Oh How We Danced at Muscle Shoals, whose musicians Barry Beckett (keyboards), Dave Hood (bass), Roger Hawkins (drums) joined on Traffic's Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory '73. On The Road '73 was a two-disc set of German tour recordings, When The Eagle Flies '74 a mostly doleful swansong and their fourth top ten US album, including 'Dream Gerrard', in which lay the seed of future Winwood work with ex-Bonzo Viv Stanshall. Traffic were more successful in the USA than at home and albums more successful than the live act, where the desire to innovate led to meandering solos. Capaldi went on to a successful solo career; his Whale Meat Again and Short Cut Draw Blood '74-6 on Island made US top 200 LPs, Fierce Heart '83 on Atlantic made the USA top 100 with a rare guest appearance from Van Morrison and reunited him with Winwood. Traffic (Winwood and Capaldi) re-formed for Fra From Home '94; Capaldi's 13th solo album was Poor Boy Blue 2004; he and Winwood were talking about another reunion when Capaldi's stomach cancer was discovered. See entries for Grech, Mason, Winwood. |