The Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group were a British blues and R&B influenced rock band[1] formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), 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".[2]
The Spencer Davis Group
Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
- 1963–1969
- 1973–1974
- 2006–2020
- Europe:
- Spencer Davis
- Miller Anderson
- Colin Hodgkinson
- Steff Porzel
- United States:
- Spencer Davis
- Ed Tree
- Taras Prodaniuk
- Jim Blazer
- Tom Fillman
- Steve Winwood
- Muff Winwood
- Pete York
- Eddie Hardin
- Phil Sawyer
- Ray Fenwick
- Dee Murray
- Dave Hynes
- Nigel Olsson
- John Hitchcock
- Charlie McCracken
- Jim Blair
Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form rock band Traffic.[3] After releasing a few more singles, the band ceased to be active in 1969. Davis revived the group on two more occasions, without the involvement of the Winwood brothers, first in 1973–1974 for two more albums, and again from 2006, since when they had primarily been a touring act. Davis died on 19 October 2020, effectively ending the band.
History[edit]
Formation[edit]
The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in Birmingham after the Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis encountered vocalist and organist Steve Winwood (then aged 14 and still at school),[4] and his bass playing brother Muff Winwood performing at a pub, the Golden Eagle, as the Muff Woody Jazz Band. He recruited them and Pete York on drums[5] to form the Rhythm and Blues Quartette, which performed regularly in the city.[6] In 1964, they signed their first recording contract after Chris Blackwell of Island Records saw them at an appearance in a local club; Blackwell also became their producer.[7] (Island was then a small independent label with UK Fontana contracted for distribution.) Muff Winwood came up with the band's name, reasoning, "Spencer was the only one who enjoyed doing interviews, so I pointed out that if we called it the Spencer Davis Group, the rest of us could stay in bed and let him do them."[8]
Breakthrough success[edit]
The group's first professional recording was a cover version of "Dimples", released as a single in 1964. In late 1965, they gained their first No. 1 single with "Keep On Running", written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards.[9] In 1966, they followed this with another Jackie Edwards-written No. 1 hit "Somebody Help Me" and the Top 20 hit "When I Come Home", this song a collaboration between Edwards and Steve Winwood.[9] "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me" were issued as singles in the US on Atco during 1966, but due to lack of promotion, neither of them gained airplay or entered the American charts.
For the German market, the group released a medley of "Det war in Schöneberg, im Monat Mai" and "Mädel ruck ruck ruck an meine grüne Seite" (the first is from a 1913 Berlin operetta, the second is a Swabian traditional) as a tribute single for that audience, Davis having studied in West Berlin in the early 1960s.
During late 1966 and early 1967, the group achieved two more hits with "Gimme Some Lovin'", which went Top 5, and "I'm a Man", which went Top 10.[9] Both of them sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold record status. "Gimme Some Lovin'" was written by Davis and the Winwood brothers, while "I'm a Man" was written by Steve Winwood and the group's producer Jimmy Miller.[10] These tracks proved to be their breakthrough in the US, where they were now signed to United Artists Records, both going Top 10 there.
In 1966, the group starred in The Ghost Goes Gear,[9] a British musical comedy film, directed by Hugh Gladwish, and also featuring Sheila White and Nicholas Parsons.[11] It was not well received and Winwood later considered it a career mistake.[12]
Cover versions of songs[edit]
The Spencer Davis Group – particularly its incarnation with Steve Winwood – proved to be influential, with many of the band's songs being recorded by other artists over the years. Among these are Chicago's cover of "I'm a Man"; The Allman Brothers Band's version of Davis and Hardin's "Don't Want You No More" (both 1969); Three Dog Night's recording of "Can't Get Enough of It" (1970); and The Blues Brothers' "Gimme Some Lovin'" (1980). The Grateful Dead also covered Spencer Davis Group material in live performance on occasion, and Spencer Davis himself performed "I'm a Man" with the Grateful Dead in a 1989 performance at Los Angeles' Great Western Forum.