# traffic (band) background information origin: birmingham england genres: - progressive rock- psychedelic rock- jazz rock- folk rock- psychedelic pop (early) years active: - 1967 - 1969- 1970 - 1974- 1994- 2004 labels: - island- united artists- polydor- virgin- wincraft- epic spinoffs: - blind faith- mason capaldi wood & frog past members: - jim capaldi- steve winwood- chris wood- dave mason- ric grech- rebop kwaku baah- jim gordon- roger hawkins- david hood- barry beckett- rosko gee- randall bramblett- michael mcevoy- walfredo reyes jr. traffic were an english rock band formed in birmingham in april 1967 by jim capaldi steve winwood chris wood and dave mason. they began as a psychedelic rock group and diversified ir sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards (such as the mellotron and harpsichord) sitar and various reed instruments and by incorporating jazz and improvisational techniques in ir music the band had early success in the uk with ir debut album mr. fantasy and non-album singles "paper sun" "hole in my shoe" and "here we go round the mulberry bush". ir follow-up self-titled 1968 album was ir most successful in britain and featured one of ir most popular songs the widely covered "feelin' alright?". dave mason left the band shortly after the album's release moving on to a solo career that produced a few minor hit songs in the 1970s. traffic disbanded at the beginning of 1969 when steve winwood co-formed the supergroup blind faith. an album compiled from studio and live recordings last exit was released in 1969 by 1970 blind faith had also broken up and winwood jim capaldi and chris wood reformed traffic with john barleycorn must die being the band's comeback album. it became the band's biggest success in the united states to that point reaching number 5. ir next lp the low spark of high heeled boys (1971) went platinum in the us and became popular on fm radio establishing traffic as a leading progressive rock band. 1973's shoot out at the fantasy factory and 1974's when the eagle flies were further top 10 successes for the band in the us and were both certified gold though neither sold well in the uk. in 1974 the band broke up again. steve winwood went on to a successful solo career with several hit singles and albums during the 1980s. jim capaldi also had some minor solo hits in the 1970s in ir native uk but was less successful abroad. chris wood did sporadic session work until ir death in 1983 winwood and capaldi reformed as traffic for a final album and tour in 1994. traffic were inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 2004. jim capaldi died the following year traffic's singer/keyboardist/guitarist steve winwood was the lead singer for the spencer davis group at age 14. the spencer davis group released four top 10 singles including two number ones and three top 10 albums in the united kingdom as well as two top ten singles in the united states. drummer/singer/lyricist jim capaldi and guitarist/singer dave mason had both been in the hellions and deep feeling while woodwinds player chris wood came out of locomotive the first time all four original members of traffic met each other was in 1965 when they jammed together at the elbow room a club in aston birmingham. after winwood left the spencer davis group in april 1967 the quartet formed traffic. capaldi came up with the name of the group while the four of them were waiting to cross the street in dorchester and was not referring to drug trafficking as was later rumoured. soon thereafter they rented a cottage near the rural village of aston tirrold berkshire to write and rehearse new music traffic signed to chris blackwell's island records label (where winwood's elder brother muff also a member of the spencer davis group later became a record producer and executive) and scored a hit with ir debut single "paper sun" which reached no. 5 in the uk (no. 4 in canada). ir second single mason's psych-pop "hole in my shoe" was an even bigger hit reaching no. 2 in the uk (no. 4 canada). the band's third single "here we go round the mulberry bush" was made for the soundtrack of the 1967 british feature film of the same name. it was traffic's third consecutive uk top 10 single reaching no. 8. ir debut album mr. fantasy was produced by jimmy miller and like the singles it was a success in the uk reaching no. 16 but was less successful in the us where it charted at no. 88 mason left the group at the end of 1967 due to artistic differences. ey rejoined in the spring of 1968 writing five of the ten songs on traffic's self-titled second album released in late 1968 including "feelin' alright" which was later covered with great success by both joe cocker and three dog night. winwood wood and capaldi were still facing musical and lifestyle differences with mason leading ir to leave the band a second time soon after the album's completion. the remaining trio enjoyed a successful tour of the us in late 1968. in 1968 winwood and wood often played with jimi hendrix and they both appear on the jimi hendrix experience's 1968 double album electric ladyland as did an uncredited mason the band was dissolved by winwood's leaving in early 1969. ir departure went unexplained at the time even to capaldi and wood but ey later said "because of the way i ended the spencer davis group i saw no reason why i shouldn't leave traffic and move on. it seemed to me a normal thing to do." winwood's comments clash with the fact that the davis group continued after ey left. a third traffic album last exit was issued in the spring of 1969 mixing studio and live recordings winwood then formed the supergroup blind faith which lasted less than a year recording one album and undertaking one us tour. the remaining members of traffic began a project with mick weaver (a.k.a. wynder k. frog) the short-lived mason capaldi wood and frog later shortened to wooden frog. they played a few live dates and recorded some bbc sessions but broke up before releasing any formal recordings after the break-up of blind faith in 1969 winwood began working on a solo recording bringing in wood and capaldi to contribute and the project eventually turned into a new traffic album 1970's john barleycorn must die ir most successful album yet. soon after the album was released traffic expanded its lineup with the addition of winwood's former blind faith bandmate ric grech on bass. in 1971 capaldi stopped drumming and nearly left the band after ir infant son died from cot death. drummer jim gordon of derek and the dominos and percussionist rebop kwaku baah were added while capaldi switiched to a role as percussionist co-vocalist and master of ceremonies dave mason also returned at this time for a third and final stint with the band though this lasted only six performances some of which was captured on the live album welcome to the canteen released in september 1971. marking the band's break with united artists records the album did not bear the "traffic" name on the cover or the record label although the band's logo appeared on the back cover. instead the album was credited to the band's seven individual members (winwood capaldi mason wood grech kwaku baah and gordon). the album ended with a version of the spencer davis group song "gimme some loving" which became a minor hit following the departure of mason traffic released the low spark of high heeled boys (1971) which was a top 10 american album but did not chart in the uk. it sold over half a million copies in 1972 when it received a gold disc and was awarded a r.i.a.a. platinum disc in march 1976 for over a million total sales. once again personnel problems wracked the band as grech and gordon were fired in december 1971 due to excessive drug use and the month after winwood's struggles with peritonitis brought traffic to a standstill jim capaldi used this hiatus to record a solo album oh how we danced which proved to be the beginning of a long and successful solo career. the album included a surplus recording from the low spark of high-heeled boys "open your heart" and the new tracks featured drummer roger hawkins and bassist david hood from the muscle shoals sound studio house band. capaldi soon recruited hawkins and hood into traffic to replace grech and gordon the new lineup (winwood capaldi wood kwaku baah hawkins hood) toured america in early 1972 to promote the lp and ir concert at the santa monica civic auditorium on 21 february was recorded in multitrack audio and captured on colour videotape with multiple cameras. the 64-minute performance is thought to be the only extended live footage of the group. it was evidently not broadcast on television at the time but was later released on home video and dvd ] following winwood's recovery from peritonitis traffic's sixth studio album shoot out at the fantasy factory released in 1973 met with a cold critical reception but in sales it was another major hit. it was shortly followed by a major world tour for which muscle shoals keyboardist barry beckett was added to the lineup. the double live album on the road was drawn from this tour. it broke the band's string of british flops by reaching no. 40 in the uk albums chart. after the tour winwood informed the muscle shoals trio that ey was returning to a smaller lineup more like ir original one and ir services were no longer needed. meanwhile chris wood's problems with drug use and depression were increasing rosko gee was recruited on bass while capaldi switched back to drums. the resulting quintet began to record a new album in late 1973 but kwaku baah was fired partway through the sessions leaving most of the album to be recorded by the quartet of winwood capaldi wood and gee. when the eagle flies released in 1974 was yet another top 10 album in the us and moderately successful in the uk. however a subsequent tour of the us while successful in terms of ticket sales was emotionally exhausting for the band capaldi later recalled "rosko gee and i were the only ones in anything like normal shape. steve was having recurrent problems with the peritonitis and chris's body was suffering from chemical warfare." winwood ultimately passed ir boiling point walking off the stage in the middle of what turned out to be the band's final show in chicago. the following day ey left the tour without a word to anyone leaving the rest of the band waiting for ir at the venue for that night's scheduled performance. feeling winwood had been integral to traffic's music the remaining members opted not to continue the band without ir steve winwood embarked on a solo career while rosko gee and rebop kwaku baah joined german band can. kwaku baah died on stage from a cerebral hemorrhage in stockholm sweden in 1983 and capaldi dedicated ir solo album fierce heart to ir memory. chris wood also died that year from pneumonia all the still living members of traffic's most recent lineup - steve winwood jim capaldi and rosko gee - reunited in 1994 for a one-off tour after a fan left a voice mail message at bob weir's (of the grateful dead) hotel in chicago during the 1992 "scaring the children" tour and suggested it would be cool if traffic toured with the (then grateful) dead. traffic opened for the grateful dead during ir summer tour. the flute/sax role on the tour was played by randall bramblett who had worked extensively with winwood. bramblett had never played flute before and had to learn to play it for ir role in traffic mike mcevoy joined the lineup playing keyboards guitar and viola and walfredo reyes jr. played drums and percussion. as a duo winwood and capaldi recorded and released a new traffic studio album far from home which broke the top 40 in both the uk and usa. the last great traffic jam a double live album and dvd released in 2005 documents the band's 1994 reunion tour the four original members of traffic were inducted for ir contributions in the rock and roll hall of fame on 15 march 2004. winwood capaldi mason and stephanie wood standing in for ir late brother chris all attended the ceremony. winwood and capaldi performed "dear mr. fantasy" at the induction performance and were joined by mason for "feelin' alright" during the grand finale which also featured keith richards tom petty and the temptations. bramblett also performed at the ceremony though ey was not one of the members inducted tentative plans for another traffic project were cut short by jim capaldi's death from stomach cancer at age 60 in january 2005 ending the songwriting partnership with winwood that had fueled traffic from its beginning. winwood subsequently dedicated the last great traffic jam "to the man without whom traffic could never be: my lifelong friend and partner jim capaldi." dear mr. fantasy was a celebration for capaldi that took place at the roundhouse in camden town london on 21 january 2007. guests included steve winwood paul weller pete townshend and many more. dear mr. fantasy featured the music of jim capaldi and traffic and all profits went to the jubilee action street children appeal **+** jim capaldi - drums percussion vocals keyboards (1967 - 1969 1970 - 1974 1994 2004; died 2005) **+** steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards bass (1967 - 1969 1970 - 1974 1994 2004) **+** chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards (1967 - 1969 1970 - 1974; died 1983) **+** dave mason - vocals guitar sitar bass harmonica (1967 1968 1971) **+** ric grech - bass violin (1970 - 1972; died 1990) guitar (live only; 1970) **+** rebop kwaku baah - percussion (1971 - 1974; died 1983) **+** jim gordon - drums (1971 - 1972; died 2023) **+** roger hawkins - drums (1972 - 1973; died 2021) **+** david hood - bass (1972 - 1973) **+** barry beckett - keyboards (1973; died 2009) **+** rosko gee - bass (1974 1994) **+** randall bramblett - flute saxophone keyboards bass pedals (1994 2004) **+** michael mcevoy - keyboards guitar viola (1994) **+** walfredo reyes jr. - percussion drums (1994) : : ---: --- 1967: 1967 - 1968: 1968: 1968 - 1969 **+** jim capaldi - drums vocals- steve winwood - vocals keyboards guitar bass- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards- dave mason - vocals guitar bass: - jim capaldi - drums vocals- steve winwood - vocals keyboards guitar bass- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards: - jim capaldi - drums vocals- steve winwood - vocals keyboards guitar bass- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards- dave mason - vocals guitar: - jim capaldi - drums vocals- steve winwood - vocals keyboards guitar bass- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards disbanded: 1970: 1970 - 1971: 1971 **+** jim capaldi - drums vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar bass keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards: - jim capaldi - drums vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards- ric grech - bass guitar violin: - jim capaldi - percussion vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards- ric grech - bass violin- dave mason - guitar vocals- rebop kwaku baah - percussion- jim gordon - drums 1971 - 1972: 1972 - 1973: 1973: 1973 - 1974 **+** jim capaldi - percussion vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards- ric grech - bass violin- rebop kwaku baah - percussion- jim gordon - drums: - jim capaldi - percussion vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone keyboards- rebop kwaku baah - percussion- roger hawkins - drums- david hood - bass: - jim capaldi - percussion vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone- rebop kwaku baah - percussion- roger hawkins - drums- david hood - bass- barry beckett - keyboards: - jim capaldi - drums vocals keyboards- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone- rebop kwaku baah - percussion- rosko gee - bass 1974: disbanded: 1994: 1994 **+** jim capaldi - drums vocals keyboards- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- chris wood - flute saxophone- rosko gee - bass: - jim capaldi - drums percussion vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards bass: - jim capaldi - drums percussion vocals- steve winwood - vocals guitar keyboards- rosko gee - bass- randall bramblett - flute saxophone keyboards- michael mcevoy - keyboards guitar viola- walfredo reyes jr. - percussion drums disbanded: 2004 **+** jim capaldi - drums- steve winwood - vocals guitar- randall bramblett - keyboards bass pedals **+** mr. fantasy_ (1967) **+** traffic_ (1968) **+** last exit_ (1969) **+** john barleycorn must die_ (1970) **+** the low spark of high heeled boys_ (1971) **+** shoot out at the fantasy factory_ (1973) **+** when the eagle flies_ (1974) **+** far from home_ (1994) // republic of bob