Stephen Laurence Winwood was born on May 12, 1948 in Birmingham, England.  As a child, Winwood picked up drums, piano and guitar, and began performing with his older brother, Muff, and their father in the Ron Atkinson Band when he was only 8 years old.

 

Beginning when he was a teenager, Winwood quickly became a skilled organist and guitarist, and played in backup bands for blues greats like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, BB King, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley when they were touring Britain.  He also occasionally played with Muff’s band, the Muff Woody Jazz Band.

 

At age 15, Winwood formed the Spencer Davis Group with Muff and guitarist Spencer Davis.  The group had a number of hit singles, including “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m a Man,” which Winwood wrote and sang.

 

After leaving the Spencer Davis Group in 1967, Winwood formed Traffic with bassist Chris Wood, drummer Jim Capaldi and guitarist Dave Mason.  Creative differences caused the band to break up in 1969 and Winwood formed Blind Faith with guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, formerly of Cream, but Blind Faith lasted less than a year.  Following the group’s split, Winwood briefly played with Baker’s new band, Ginger Baker’s Air Force.

 

A Traffic reunion of sorts occurred in 1970 when Winwood called Wood and Capaldi into the recording studio to help him with a solo album he was recording.  The result of those sessions was Traffic’s John Barleycorn Must Die.

 

The band released a series of albums in the early 1970s; however, tension between the band members finally caused Traffic to disband permanently in 1974.  After three years as a session musician for other artists, Winwood released his first solo album, Steve Winwood, in 1977.

 

On both 1980’s Arc of a Diver and 1982’s Talking Back to the Night, Winwood played all the instruments himself and recorded the albums at his Gloucestershire home.

 

In 1986, Winwood released Back in the High Life, which contained the number-one single “Higher Love.”  The song earned Winwood two Grammy Awards that year: Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Male.

 

Winwood then left Island Records to sign with Virgin and released Roll with It, which produced the number one single of the same title and his biggest hit. 

 

In 1994, Winwood recorded Far From Home with Jim Capaldi, which was released as a Traffic album.  The two embarked on a world tour in support of the record, even playing the Woodstock 25th Anniversary Concert but ultimately Winwood returned to his solo career.  He briefly formed a jazz group called the Latin Crossings, who performed live but did not record any albums.

 

Steve Winwood continues to record and perform.  His most recent release was 2003’s About Time, put out on Wincraft Music, the record label he founded.  In 2004, Traffic was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.