Stephen Lawrence Winwood born 12 May is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul , rhythm and blues , blues rock , and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his distinctive soulful high tenor voice, Winwood plays other instruments proficiently, including drums, mandolin, bass, and saxophone. Winwood achieved fame during the s and s as an integral member of three major bands: the Spencer Davis Group — , Traffic — and — , and Blind Faith During the s, his solo career flourished and he had a number of hit singles, including " While You See a Chance " from the album Arc of a Diver and " Valerie " from Talking Back to the Night "Valerie" became a hit when it was re-released with a remix from Winwood's compilation album Chronicles.
Although his hit singles ceased after the s, he continued to release new albums up to , when Nine Lives , his latest album, was released.
Winwood was born on 12 May [ 1 ] in Handsworth, Birmingham. Steve Winwood began playing piano at the age of four while interested in swing and Dixieland jazz , and soon started playing drums and guitar. He was also a choirboy at St. John's Church of England, Perry Barr. The family moved from Handsworth to Atlantic Road, Kingstanding Birmingham, [ 4 ] where Winwood attended the Great Barr School , one of the first comprehensive schools.
He also attended the Birmingham and Midland Institute of Music to develop his skills as a pianist, but did not complete his course. At eight years of age, Winwood first performed with his father and elder brother Muff in the Ron Atkinson band. King , Chuck Berry , and Bo Diddley on their United Kingdom tours, [ citation needed ] the custom at that time being for US singers to travel solo and be backed by pick-up bands. Winwood modelled his singing after Ray Charles.
He's a musical genius and because he was with Island all the other talent really wanted to be with Island. Early in Traffic's formation, Winwood and Capaldi formed a songwriting partnership, with Winwood writing music to match Capaldi's lyrics.
