Muff Winwood | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Mervyn Winwood |
Born | Erdington, Birmingham, England | 15 June 1943
Genres | Rock, pop |
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the elder brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood played bass guitar. [1] Following his departure from the group he became an A&R man and record producer.
Winwood's father, Lawrence, was a foundryman by trade, who also played tenor saxophone in dance bands and had a collection of jazz and blues records. Winwood attended Cranbourne Road Primary School and the new Great Barr School (one of the first comprehensive schools) and was a choir boy at St John's Church in the Perry Barr neighborhood of Birmingham. He first became interested in the guitar, then the bass. He was nicknamed "Muff" after the popular 1950s children's TV character Muffin the Mule. [2]
His younger brother is Steve Winwood.
The Spencer Davis Group was formed after Davis saw the Winwood brothers (Muff and Steve) at a Birmingham pub called the Golden Eagle, performing as the Muff Woody Jazz Band. [3] The Group made their debut at the Eagle and subsequently had a Monday-night residency there. [4] The Spencer Davis Group had hits such as "Gimme Some Lovin'", "Keep On Running", and "I'm a Man". Steve Winwood left in 1967, and Muff soon followed.
After leaving the Spencer Davis Group in 1967, Winwood moved within the music industry to a position as A&R man at Island Records. [1] He was there until 1978, when he became an executive at the British office of CBS Records (which later became Sony Music), where he remained until well into the 1990s. [5] As part of his A&R duties, Winwood signed Prefab Sprout, Terence Trent D'Arby, Sade, Shakin' Stevens and The Psychedelic Furs amongst others. [1]
In 1974, Winwood produced the Sparks hit album, Kimono My House along with its hit singles, "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" and "Amateur Hour". [1] He also produced their other 1974 album, Propaganda (which included the "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" single). Later, he produced the first Dire Straits album (1978). [1]
His other work included production with The Fabulous Poodles, Marianne Faithfull, Nirvana (the UK band), Sutherland Brothers ("Sailing"), Traffic, Mott the Hoople, Love Affair, Kevin Ayers, Patto, Unicorn, [6] After the Fire and The Noel Redding Band.
Year | Title | Details |
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1965 | Their First LP |
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1966 | The Second Album |
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Autumn '66 |
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Year | Title | Details |
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1965 | You Put the Hurt on Me |
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Every Little Bit Hurts |
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1966 | Sittin' and Thinkin' |
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Year | Single |
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1964 | "Dimples" |
"I Can't Stand It" | |
1965 | "Every Little Bit Hurts" |
"Strong Love" | |
"Keep On Running" | |
1966 | "Somebody Help Me" |
"This Hammer" (Norway and Sweden-only release) | |
"Sittin' and Thinkin'" (Netherlands-only release) | |
"When I Come Home" | |
"Together 'Til the End of Time" (Norway-only release) | |
"Take This Hurt Off Me" (Norway-only release) | |
"Georgia on My Mind" (Netherlands-only release) | |
"Gimme Some Lovin'" | |
"Det war in Schöneberg" (Germany-only release) | |
"High Time Baby" (Norway-only release) |
Traffic were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. They began as a psychedelic rock group and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards, sitar, and various reed instruments, and by incorporating jazz and improvisational techniques in their music.
Stephen Lawrence Winwood 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.
Nicola James Capaldi was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co-wrote the majority of the band's material. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Traffic's original lineup.
"Gimme Some Lovin'" is a song first recorded by the Spencer Davis Group. Released as a single in 1966, it reached the Top 10 of the record charts in several countries. Later, Rolling Stone included the song on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs.
Christopher Gordon Blandford Wood was a British rock musician, best known as a founding member of the rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason.
The Spencer Davis Group were a British blues and R&B influenced rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood and Muff Winwood, and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK No. 1 hits "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me" and the UK and US Top 10 hits "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man".
Spencer Davis was a Welsh musician. He founded the Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and "I'm a Man", all sung by Steve Winwood. Davis subsequently enjoyed success as an A&R executive with Island Records.
Philip Sawyer is an English musician who was a member of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s and later recorded under the alias Beautiful World.
"I'm a Man" is a song written by Steve Winwood and record producer Jimmy Miller. It was first recorded in 1967 by the Spencer Davis Group; Winwood sang lead vocals and played keyboards. The song was a hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, reaching No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. It has been recorded by many other performers over the years, most successfully by Chicago, whose version charted at No. 8 in the UK in 1970 and No. 49 in the US in 1971.
Shot in the Dark is the second studio album by American rock band Great White, released in 1986. It was originally released by Telegraph Records and distributed by Greenworld Entertainment. Later that same year it was picked up and re-issued by Capitol Records. The original issue featured a different intro to "She Shakes Me", a different recording entirely of the song "Run Away", and a different mix of the several tracks. Great White's music in this album shows the transition from the pure heavy metal of the first album to a more blues-influenced style of heavy metal, paying homage to the great rock bands of the 1970s, like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. This was the first album to feature drummer Audie Desbrow.
The Last Great Traffic Jam is a live album and DVD from the English rock band Traffic. The album was recorded on the 1994 reunion tour supporting Far from Home.
Peter York is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s.
"Keep On Running" is a song written and first recorded by Jackie Edwards. It became a hit in the UK for The Spencer Davis Group; their version reached number one in the charts.
With Their New Face On is the fourth studio album by the Spencer Davis Group, the first to be released after the departure of Steve Winwood, and his brother Muff Winwood. The album was released in 1968 in both the UK and the U.S. on the United Artists label.
Winwood is the first compilation album of music featuring Steve Winwood. This two-record set was issued in 1971 by United Artists Records and features music which Winwood performed with The Spencer Davis Group, Powerhouse, Traffic and Blind Faith. UA Records issued this album after Winwood's band Traffic left UA when their home label Island Records set up their own American operation. Issued without Winwood's authorization as catalogue number UAS-9950, it was taken off the market after legal action by Winwood and Island Records. It was then reissued with minor changes as catalogue number UAS-9964. Currently out of print, it was issued on CD by Universal Music of Japan for the Japanese market.
The Second Album is the second album by the British band the Spencer Davis Group, released in 1966. Many of the songs were a slightly experimental blend of beat, folk, jazz and blues. The album included Jackie Edwards' "Keep on Running", which gave the group their first U.K. number 1 single, and the R&B standard "Georgia on My Mind". The album spent eighteen weeks on the U.K. album chart, peaking at number 3. While the album was not released in the US, the single "Keep on Running" was released in February, 1966, and spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at number 74 on March 12. Other tracks from this album were later released in the U.S. on various compilations of the band.
Autumn' 66 is the third studio album by the British rock group the Spencer Davis Group released in 1966. Although the album was not released in the US, the single "Somebody Help Me" was on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts for seven weeks and peaked at number 47 in July, 1967.
"When I Come Home" is a song written by Steve Winwood and Jackie Edwards, first recorded by Winwood's band the Spencer Davis Group in 1966. Released as a single that summer, it reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. The single received mixed reviews upon release, with Penny Valentine deeming it inferior to their previous singles. The band was featured in the movie The Ghost Goes Gear (1966), miming to the track.
The Golden Eagle was a 1930s public house in Birmingham, England, which became known as a venue for live music.
Their First LP is the debut studio album by the Spencer Davis Group, released in the UK and Europe in June 1965. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart. Although never released in its original incarnation in the US, a majority of the tracks from this album were later released in various compilations of the band marketed to US audiences.