British R&B
Thisquartetenjoyedastringofhugehitsinthemid-60s;theynotonly definedthesoundofBritishR&B,butalsopioneeredanexcitingnew organ-basedrocksoundthatwouldinfluencefuture70ssuperstars.
Phil Capone checks out the Spencer Davis Group’s precociously giften Steve Winwood.
instantlyrecruitedthebrothers, addingPeteYorkondrumsto completetheoriginalline-upof thislegendaryR&Boutfit.Afew monthslater,IslandRecords executiveChrisBlackwellcaught thebandplayinglive,and immediatelysignedthemtohis fledglinglabel.In1964,The SpencerDavisGroupreleased theirdebutsingle,acoverofJohn LeeHooker’sDimples,which failedtochart.Undeterred,during 1965thebandissuedthreefurther 45s,allofwhichonlyjustmanaged toscrapeintothebottomofthe UKsingleschart.
Then,seeminglyoutof nowhere,cameonetheirmost iconicsongs,KeepOnRunning. Thecombinationofinnovative fuzzguitarintro,aninfectious Motown-stylegrooveandSteve Winwood’svocalperformanceto diefor(healsoplayedthecool guitarriffs),sentthesongstraight tothetopoftheUKcharts.
Thesongwaswrittenby JamaicanSkaartistJackie Edwards,andarrangedbySteve onpiano.Furtherhitsand Americanchartsuccessfollowed, butthiswasn’tenoughtoprevent SteveWinwoodquittingtoform Trafficin1967(withhisbrother Muffalsoleavingtopursuea highlysuccessfulcareerasA&Rexecutiveand producerforIsland).
Thefinalsinglethisline-upwouldrelease wasI’mAMan,oneofthefirstorgan-ledrock anthems,precedingProcolHarum’sWhiter ShadeOfPalebysomefourmonths.
TheSpencerDavisGroupwereina differentleaguefromtheirR&Bpeers.These guysweren’tsolelybluesmen;theycouldplay cooljazz,too.Evidenceofthiscanbefoundon theirsingleB-sideswithtrackslikeBluesInF (theflipsideofGimmeSomeLovin’),an up-tempobluesthatnotonlydemonstrated SteveWinwood’sabilitytoplayscorching JimmySmith-styleorgan,butalso highlightedSpencerDavis’jazztechnique,a swinging,melodicstylenodoubtinfluenced byAmericanjazzguitargiantssuchasGrant GreenandKennyBurrell.
Butthetrackthatpacksthemost unexpectedpunchisStevie’sBlues(theB-side ofSomebodyHelpMe)sinceitshowcases SteveWinwood’sincredibleguitartalent.This slow,soulfulbluescouldeasilypassforthe workofEricClaptonorBuddyGuy,and probablyqualifieshimasoneofthemost underratedmusiciansoftheera.Likeother outstandingmulti-instrumentalists,Stevieis oftenaskedhowhecanexcelondifferent instrumentstosuchahighlevel.“IfIpickup theguitar,Ibecomeaguitarplayer;Idon’ttry toplayguitarlikeanorgan–andviceversa whenIplayorgan.It’sadifferentkindofskill. Youjusthavetowearadifferenthat.IfI’m playingbass,I’mabassplayer;ifI’mplaying mandolin,I’mamandolinplayer.”