Blackwell quickly signed them and released their debut single, "Paper Sun," which peaked in the U.K. In the spirit of the times (and despite Winwood's prominence), the group was intended to be a cooperative, with the members living together in a country cottage in Berkshire and collaborating on their songs. By the time he and his brother quit the group in April 1967, the Spencer Davis Group had amassed four Top Ten singles and three Top Ten albums in the U.K., two of those singles also reaching the Top Ten in the U.S.nn Still not yet 19 years old, Winwood formed Traffic with three 22-year-old friends who had played in lesser-known bands: drummer/singer Jim Capaldi (AugJanuary 28, 2005), singer/guitarist Mason (born May 10, 1944), and Wood (JJuly 12, 1983).
As the band's vocalist, Winwood received the lion's share of attention. They were signed by record executive Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, and began recording in 1964. The result was international success that ended only when Winwood finally decided he was ready to strike out on his own.nn Steve Winwood (born May 12, 1948) first attracted attention when, at the age of 15, he and his older brother Muff formed a band in their native Birmingham, England, with Spencer Davis and Pete York, eventually called the Spencer Davis Group. After Dave Mason, who had provided the band with an alternate folk-pop sound, departed for good, Traffic leaned toward extended songs that gave its players room to improvise in a jazz-like manner, even as the rhythms maintained a rock structure. Beginning in the psychedelic year of 1967 and influenced by the Beatles, the band turned out eclectic pop singles in its native Great Britain, though by the end of its first year of existence it had developed a pop/rock hybrid tied to its unusual instrumentation: At a time when electric guitars ruled rock, Traffic emphasized Winwood's organ and the reed instruments played by Chris Wood, especially flute.
Though it ultimately must be considered an interim vehicle for singer/songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist Steve Winwood, Traffic was a successful group that followed its own individual course through the rock music scene of the late '60s and early '70s.
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