Stephen Lawrence Winwood was born on 12 May 1948 and is an English musician, singer and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock and pop rock.
45 Facts About Steve Winwood
2.
Steve Winwood was an integral member of three groups of the 1960s and 1970s: the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith.
3.
Steve Winwood found the top of the Hot 100 again with "Roll With It" from the album of the same name, with "Holding On" charting highly the same year.
4.
Steve Winwood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004.
5.
Steve Winwood was nominated twice for a Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: 1988 and 1989.
6.
Steve Winwood was born on 12 May 1948 in Handsworth, Birmingham.
7.
Steve Winwood's father Lawrence, a foundryman by trade, was a semi-professional musician, playing mainly the saxophone and clarinet.
8.
Steve Winwood was a choirboy at St John's Church of England, Perry Barr.
9.
The family moved from Handsworth to Kingstanding Birmingham, where Steve Winwood attended the Great Barr School, one of the first comprehensive schools.
10.
Steve Winwood attended the Birmingham and Midland Institute of Music to develop his skills as a pianist, but did not complete his course.
11.
Muff later recalled that when Steve Winwood began playing regularly with them 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.
At age 14, Steve Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group along with older brother Muff, who later had success as a record producer, after Davis saw them performing as the Muffy Wood Jazz Band at a Birmingham pub called the Golden Eagle.
13.
The group had their first number one single at the end of 1965, with "Keep on Running"; the money from this success allowed Steve Winwood to buy his own Hammond organ.
14.
Steve Winwood co-wrote and recorded the chart-topping hits "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man" before leaving the Spencer Davis Group in 1967.
15.
Steve Winwood joined forces with guitarist Eric Clapton as part of the one-off group Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse.
16.
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.
17.
Steve Winwood frequently played bass and percussion, up to and including the recording sessions for their fourth album.
18.
Steve Winwood formed the supergroup Blind Faith in 1969, with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech.
19.
Steve Winwood soon went into the studio to begin work on a new solo album, tentatively titled Mad Shadows.
20.
However, Steve Winwood ended up calling in Wood and Capaldi to help with session work, which prompted Traffic's comeback album John Barleycorn Must Die 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.
In 1976, 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.
Weariness with the grind of touring and recording prompted Steve Winwood to leave Traffic and retire to sessioning for some years.
26.
Steve Winwood continued to do sessions during this period, and in 1983, he co-produced and played on Jim Capaldi's top 40 hit "That's Love" and co-wrote the Will Powers top 20 hit "Kissing with Confidence".
27.
Steve Winwood topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "Higher Love" and earned two Grammy Awards: Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
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 Roll with It and Refugees of the Heart.
30.
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.
31.
In 2013, Steve Winwood toured North America with Rod Stewart as part of the "Live the Life" tour.
32.
On 17 February 2020, Steve Winwood participated in "A Tribute to Ginger Baker", which took place at Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London.
33.
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.
34.
In 1994, Capaldi and Steve Winwood reunited Traffic for a new album, Far From Home, and a tour, including a performance at Woodstock '94 Festival.
35.
In 1995, Steve Winwood released "Reach for the Light" for the animated film Balto.
36.
In 1997, Steve Winwood released a new album, Junction Seven, toured the US, and sang with Chaka Khan at the VH-1 Honors.
37.
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.
38.
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.
39.
In 2003, Steve Winwood released a new studio album, About Time, on his new record label, Wincraft Music.
40.
In July 2007, Steve Winwood performed with Clapton in the latter's Crossroads Guitar Festival.
41.
Clapton and Steve Winwood released a CD and DVD of their Madison Square Garden shows and then toured together in the summer of 2009.
42.
Steve Winwood's primary residence is a 300-year-old manor house in the Cotswolds, England, where he has a recording studio.
43.
Steve Winwood has a home in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Eugenia Crafton, a Trenton, Tennessee native whom he married in 1987.
44.
Steve Winwood's daughter Lilly is a singer; she was featured with him performing a duet of his song "Higher Love" in a Hershey commercial.
45.
Steve Winwood was the opening act and was backing singer on multiple songs during her father's 2018 Greatest Hits Live tour.