1. Stephen Lawrence Winwood was born on 12 May 1948 and is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock.
47 Facts About Steve Winwood
1. 2.
Steve Winwood achieved fame during the 1960s and 1970s as an integral member of three successful bands: the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith.
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In 2004, Steve Winwood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic.
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Steve Winwood has won two Grammy Awards and an Ivor Novello Award, and has been honored as a BMI Icon.
5.
Steve Winwood was born on 12 May 1948 in Handsworth, Birmingham.
6.
Steve Winwood's father Lawrence, a foundryman by trade, was a semi-professional musician, playing mainly the saxophone and clarinet.
7.
Steve Winwood began playing piano at the age of four while interested in swing and Dixieland jazz, and soon started playing drums and guitar.
8.
Steve Winwood was a choirboy at St John the Evangelist's Church, Perry Barr.
9.
Steve Winwood attended classes at the Birmingham and Midland Institute to develop his skills as a pianist, but did not complete his course.
10.
At eight years of age, Steve Winwood first performed with his father and elder brother Muff in the Ron Atkinson band.
11.
Muff Winwood later recalled that when Steve began playing regularly with him and his father in licensed pubs and clubs, the piano had to be turned with its back to the audience to try to hide him because he was so obviously underage.
12.
In 1963, Steve Winwood became singer and keyboardist of the Spencer Davis Group, with his older brother Muff Steve Winwood on bass, Spencer Davis on guitar, and Pete York on drums.
13.
The group had two UK No 1 singles in late 1965 and early 1966 with "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me"; the money from this success allowed Steve Winwood to buy his own Hammond organ.
14.
Steve Winwood co-wrote the band's breakthrough hits in America, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man", both of which went Top 10 in the US and UK in late 1966 and early 1967.
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Steve Winwood met drummer Jim Capaldi, guitarist Dave Mason, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Wood when they jammed together at The Elbow Room, a club in Aston, Birmingham.
16.
In 1970, Steve Winwood went into the studio to begin work on a solo album, tentatively titled Mad Shadows.
17.
However, Steve Winwood ended up calling in his former Traffic bandmates Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood to help, with the recording resulting in a Traffic reunion album John Barleycorn Must Die.
18.
In 1966, three years before Blind Faith, Steve Winwood guested with Eric Clapton as part of the temporary group Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse.
19.
In 1968, Steve Winwood was recruited by Jimi Hendrix to play organ for "Voodoo Chile" on the Electric Ladyland album.
20.
Steve Winwood played on their self-titled first album, released in 1970.
21.
In 1972, Steve Winwood recorded the part of Captain Walker in the highly successful orchestral version of the Who's Tommy.
22.
Steve Winwood recorded a 1973 album with Remi Kabaka and Abdul Lasisi Amao, as Third World, Aiye-Keta.
23.
In 1976, Steve Winwood provided vocals and keyboards on Go, a concept album by Japanese composer Stomu Yamashta.
24.
That same year, Steve Winwood played guitar on the Fania All Stars' Delicate and Jumpy record and performed as a guest with the band in their only UK appearance, a sold-out concert at the Lyceum Theatre, London.
25.
Under pressure from Island Records, Steve Winwood released his self-titled first solo album in 1977.
26.
In 1980, Steve Winwood released his second solo album Arc of a Diver, which included his first solo hit, "While You See a Chance".
27.
In 1986, Steve Winwood travelled to New York City for his next album project.
28.
Steve Winwood embarked on an extensive tour of North America in support of the album, and at the end of the tour, he divorced Nicole Weir in England then settled in the Nashville area with his new American wife, Eugenia Crafton.
29.
However, at the peak of his commercial success, Steve Winwood moved to Virgin Records and released the albums Roll with It and Refugees of the Heart.
30.
In 1995, Steve Winwood released "Reach for the Light" for the animated film Balto.
31.
In 1998, Steve Winwood joined Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Ed Calle, and other musicians to form the band "Latin Crossings" for a European tour, after which they split without making any recordings.
32.
Steve Winwood appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000, as a member of the Louisiana Gator Boys, appearing on stage with Isaac Hayes, Eric Clapton, and KoKo Taylor at the battle of the bands competition.
33.
In 2003, Steve Winwood released a new studio album, About Time, on his new record label, Wincraft Music.
34.
In July 2007, Steve Winwood performed with Clapton in the latter's Crossroads Guitar Festival.
35.
Clapton and Steve Winwood released a CD and DVD of their Madison Square Garden shows and then toured together in the summer of 2009.
36.
In 2008, Steve Winwood was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music to add to his honorary degree from Aston University, Birmingham.
37.
On 28 March 2012, Steve Winwood was one of Roger Daltrey's special guest stars for "An Evening with Roger Daltrey and Friends" gig, in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.
38.
In 2013, Steve Winwood toured North America with Rod Stewart as part of the "Live the Life" tour.
39.
On 17 February 2020, Steve Winwood participated in "A Tribute to Ginger Baker", which took place at Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London.
40.
On 7 May 2023, Steve Winwood performed as part of the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle, where he sang "Higher Love" backed by virtual choirs from the Commonwealth realms.
41.
In 2024 Steve Winwood toured North America with the Doobie Brothers.
42.
Steve Winwood has spoken very little publicly about the origin or meaning of the songs he has written.
43.
Steve Winwood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004.
44.
Steve Winwood was nominated twice for a Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: 1988 and 1989.
45.
Steve Winwood's primary residence is a 300-year-old manor house in the Cotswolds, England, where he has a recording studio.
46.
Steve Winwood has a home in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Eugenia Crafton, a Trenton, Tennessee native whom he married in 1987.
47.
Steve Winwood was the opening act and was backing singer for her father's 2018 Greatest Hits Live tour.