Traffic

Fronted by Steve Winwood, psychedelic rockers Traffic were one of the most musically adventurous outfits to achieve success during the tail end of the original British Invasion. Formed in Birmingham, England in 1967, Traffic's original line-up consisted of Steve Winwood, the vocalist/keyboardist who'd first found fame in The Spencer Davis Group aged just 14, guitarist Dave Mason, woodwinds player Chris Wood and drummer Jim Capaldi. After moving into a country cottage to hone their sound, they landed a deal with the Islands Records label and peaked at No.5 in the UK with their debut single, "Paper Sun." They very nearly reached the top spot with its follow-up, "Hole in My Shoe," and after recording the title track to Swinging Sixties comedy "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (1967), issued their first studio effort, Mr. Fantasy. The group's merry-go-round drama began when Mason quit over creative differences only to return a few months later for 1968's eponymous sophomore, on which he received five writing credits, including the rock standard Joe Cocker would later make famous, "Feelin' Alright." But Mason's fondness for psychedelic pop sat at odds with the rest of Traffic's folk-blues leanings and he was subsequently fired later that same year. The drama continued when Winwood jumped ship in early 1969, going on to front supergroup Blind Faith, while Capaldi and Wood then reunited with Mason to form a short-lived outfit with Mick Weaver. Island hastily assembled a collection of B-sides, outtakes and live recordings for 1969's Last Exit but were gifted a fourth LP proper in 1970 when Winwood teamed up with Capaldi and Wood for John Barleycorn Must Die. The solo affair-turned-Traffic comeback peaked at No.5 on the Billboard 200 and inspired the recruitment of bassist Ric Grech, percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah and drummer Jim Gordon. This new line-up showcased their talents in 1971 on Welcome to the Canteen, a live album which also briefly welcomed Mason back into the fold, and the million-selling The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. By 1972, Grech and Gordon had been replaced by David Hood and Roger Hawkins, and following Winwood's recovery from a bout of peritonitis, Traffic released their sixth album, Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, in 1973. Hawkins, Kwaku Baah and Hood had all departed by the time 1974's When the Eagle Flies arrived, with Rosko Gee replacing the latter, but the group imploded shortly after when Winwood walked off stage halfway during a Chicago gig. Wood sadly died from pneumonia in 1983, while Winwood and Capaldi both pursued successful solo careers before joining Gee and three new members, flutist Randall Bramblett, keyboardist Michael McEvoy and drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr., for a 1994 reunion tour and belated eighth LP, Far from Home. In 2004, Traffic's original line-up were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a year before Capaldi passed away from stomach cancer aged 60.