Follow Me may refer to:

Film and television[link]

• Follow Me! (1972 film), a drama directed by Sir Carol Reed
• Follow Me! (BBC television series), a BBC-produced English-language TV course for the international market
• Follow Me TV, a Taiwanese digital television channel
• Follow Me (film), a 2006 short film featuring John Boyd
• Follow Me, a 1969 surfing documentary scored by Stu Phillips
• "Follow Me", an episode of Beavis and Butt-head

Music[link]

• Follow Me (Do album), or the title song originally by Melanie C (see below)
• Follow Me, an album by Kimiko Itoh
• "Follow Me" (Amanda Lear song)
• "Follow Me" (Antique song)
• "Follow Me" (Atomic Kitten song)
• "Follow Me" (Melanie C song), also covered by Do
• "Follow Me" (Thirteen Senses song)
• "Follow Me" (Uncle Kracker song)
• "Follow Me" / "I Won't Play the Fool", a single by Wild Orchid
• Follow Me (musical), a 1916 Broadway production
• "Follow Me", a song by ApologetiX from Grace Period, parodying the Uncle Kracker song (see above)
• "Follow Me", a song by Beat Crusaders, a B-side from the single "Girl Friday"
• "Follow Me", a song by Gamma Ray from No World Order
• "Follow Me", a song by Jamie Lynn Spears from the soundtrack album Zoey 101: Music Mix
• "Follow Me", a song by John Denver from Take Me to Tomorrow
• "Follow Me", a song by Johnny Mathis from Faithfully
• "Follow Me", a song by Pain from Cynic Paradise
• "Follow Me", a song by Pat Metheny Group from Imaginary Day
• "Follow Me", a song by Paul McCartney from Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
• "Follow Me", a song by Rory Gallagher from Top Priority
• "Follow Me", a song by Savatage from Edge of Thorns
• "Follow Me", a song from the musical Camelot
• "Follow Me", a song from the anime Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, originally by Demis Roussos
• "Follow Me (Theme of Team Rose)", a song in the video game Sonic Heroes

Other uses[link]

• Follow Me (sculpture), a U.S. Army memorial statue
• Follow Me (printing) or pull printing, a printing feature
• Follow Me! (book), a children's book by Mordicai Gerstein
• Follow-me, a private branch exchange telephone-system feature

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974) is an American rock musician known as Uncle Kracker. His singles include "Follow Me", "Smile", and "Drift Away". His music was more rap rock-based at the start of his career before turning in a more rock influenced direction on later releases.

Biography[link]

Shafer was born in Mississippi but raised in Harrison Township, Michigan. In 1987, with his brother Mike Shafer, he visited a nightclub in Clawson, Michigan where a turntables competition was occurring. His older brother was competing against a then-unknown musician, Kid Rock. Shafer then spent a lot of time with Kid Rock, and they became "best friends". In those times, he was mainly rapping. He went to L'Anse Creuse High School.^[1] In 1994, Kid Rock asked Shafer to play turntables for his band called Twisted Brown Trucker. Shafer knew nothing of using turntables, but since his brother was an experienced DJ, he agreed. He only performed at live shows at the time, until he began recording for Rock's album, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp; Shafer was a featured vocalist on some of the tracks. He then began working on a solo album, but he continued being the DJ for Kid Rock. Upon the release of Rock's multi-platinum album, Devil Without a Cause, Shafer decided that it was time to release his first solo album, Double Wide, adopting the stage name Uncle Kracker from his favorite snack producer, the Kraft Cracker Company of Flint, Michigan.

Shafer has been married to his childhood sweetheart, Melanie Haas, since 1998. They have three daughters.

Music career[link]

[edit] Double Wide

Double Wide was Uncle Kracker's first solo album. Released on June 30, 2000, it peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart and is Shafer's most successful and highest-selling album. "Double Wide" was produced by Kid Rock, with mixing additional production by Michael Bradford. The first single taken off the album was "Follow Me", which was co-written with Bradford, and peaked at Number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2001. The album spent the next ten months on the Billboard 200, and "Follow Me" also had a long chart run. His second single, "Yeah Yeah Yeah", failed to hit the Hot 100 chart. Double Wide was certified 2× Multi-Platinum on November 29, 2001.^[2]

[edit] No Stranger to Shame

After a great deal of touring to promote the first album, he began to work on a follow-up album. Entitled No Stranger to Shame, it was released on August 27, 2002. The album reached #43 on the Billboard albums chart. A hit single was released, a cover version of Dobie Gray's 1973 Top 5 hit, "Drift Away" - also including Gray as a guest vocalist. Kracker's version of this song peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it set a record for most weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, remaining atop this chart for 28 nonconsecutive weeks. Other singles released from No Stranger to Shame include "In A Little While", which peaked at #59 on the Hot 100 and #26 on the Adult Contemporary charts. A third single was released, "Memphis Soul Song", which charted on the Adult Top 40 at #35. A special remix of "Memphis Soul Song" was also released, featuring harmonies by legendary singing group The Jordanaires, who had famously sung harmonies with Elvis Presley. The album was certified gold by the RIAA within a year of its release. Soon after this period, Kracker became good friends with country music star Kenny Chesney and the two began a successful touring partnership together, brought on by the success of Kenny's hit single "When the Sun Goes Down", featuring Uncle Kracker both on the single, and prominently in the video.

[edit] Seventy Two and Sunny

After touring, Shafer began working on a third album which he called Seventy Two and Sunny. He had completely abandoned all rap from it, and moved onto a pure country sound. The album featured two singles: "Rescue", which only charted at #20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary singles chart but didn't chart on any other charts, and "Writing It Down," which did not chart at all. Shafer did have some success that year though when he was featured on Chesney's track, "When the Sun Goes Down", which peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and went on to achieve Gold status. Seventy Two and Sunny has sold about 200,000 copies. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200.

[edit] Happy Hour

Uncle Kracker's fourth studio album is entitled Happy Hour.^[3] The album has been in the works for five years and has since been delayed over because of Atlantic Records' decision to bring in Rob Cavallo to produce the album right as they were finishing their cut of the album in late 2007. An early promo version of the album contained the tracks "Happy Hour", "Vegas Baby", "I'm Not Leaving", "The One That Got Away", and "That's What's Happenin". The first single from the album "Smile" was released on July 13, 2009 and has peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was released on September 15, 2009. "Smile" also became his first solo entry on the Hot Country Songs chart, where it debuted at #57 for the week of November 7, 2009, and peaked at #6 in September 2010. A music video for the track "My Girlfriend" was released in November 2009, though there has been no official word whether it will be serviced as the album's second single. The album also features country singer Jesse Lee (also on Atlantic Records) in a duet they wrote called "Me Again." An advanced pre-order of the album off iTunes also let listeners get a special track no longer available called "Happy Hour" along with 3 other songs; Celebrate, Josephine, and Let Me Love You.

[edit] Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions

Uncle Kracker's new six song EP, Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions, was released on June 22, 2010. The EP features country remakes of songs off the Happy Hour album. Two songs released are a remake of "Smile" and Uncle Kracker's next single, "Good to Be Me," featuring Kid Rock.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Videography[link]

Music videos[link]

Guest appearances[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Uncle Kracker at Rolling Stone

Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon, live in Italy 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Anette Ingegerd Olsson
Born	(1971-06-21) 21 June 1971 (age 41) Katrineholm, Sweden
Genres	Symphonic metal, AOR, alternative rock, acoustic
Occupations	Singer, musician
Instruments	Vocals, oboe[1]
Years active	1988-present
Associated acts	Nightwish, Alyson Avenue, Pain, Michael Bormann, Brother Firetribe, The Rasmus, Sweden United, Swallow the Sun

Anette Ingegerd Olsson^[2] (born 21 June 1971), known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.^[1] Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue. After her admission in Nightwish, Olzon played with several bands, in studio and live, including Brother Firetribe, Pain and The Rasmus.

In 2008, Anette recorded one track with Brother Firetribe on their second album, Heart Full of Fire, and the duet with The Rasmus, titled October & April, was played for the first time on October 9, 2009 on a Finnish radio and was released digitally on November 11, 2009.^[3] On August 13, Anette sang two Nightwish songs, "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan and "Meadows of Heaven", with the Stockholm Symphonic Orchestra, at the Suomi Safari, the event was in celebration of Sweden and Finland relations.^[4] During the break after Nightwish's 2009 Hartwall Arena concert, Anette has stated that she wishes to release a solo album. As of October 19, 2009, songwriting for this album has begun.^[5]

She has mentioned Carola Häggkvist, Sarah Brightman, Natalie Cole and Celine Dion as being her inspirations in singing. She has said she enjoys other metal bands, such as Sonata Arctica, Amorphis, Tarot, Within Temptation and Kamelot. She has also noted that she is a fan of The Rasmus, and was such even before she released October & April.^[6]

Anette lives with her boyfriend, and Pain bassist, Johan Husgafvel and son Seth, born July 2001. In July, 2010, she gave birth to her second son, Nemo.^[7]

Early life[link]

Anette Olzon was raised in a musical family and has been singing since childhood.^[1] Her mother also forced Anette to play the oboe for 8 years. She toured with her mother's band and sang with them on some occasions. Later, she started to take part in various talent shows and received laudable recognition.^[1] The first band she joined at seventeen years of age (Take Cover) was a cover band. However, it was short-lived as she took part in several bands and projects. At twenty-one, she played the leading role in the rock opera/musical "Gränsland" in Helsingborg. After that she got in to the Balettakademien in Gothenburg. She sang in choirs, did studio work for various projects and occasionally performed as a wedding singer. Anette Olzon also sang a duet with Michael Bormann (ex-Jaded Heart singer) on his album "Conspiracy".

In her earlier days, Anette Olzon took singing lessons at the Copenhagen Music Conservatorie, in Helsingør, Denmark with a private teacher. Nowadays, she takes lessons from a private teacher at the Malmö Music University when needed.^[1]

Career[link]

With Alyson Avenue (1999–2005)[link]

Olzon then joined Alyson Avenue, at first only as a studio singer, but later as their leading lady, replacing the male vocalist. The band received huge feedback for a demo they sent out in 1999, and Alyson Avenue was soon able to contact various labels. Main composer and keyboardist Niclas Olsson gathered the band, recording a four track demo which resulted in a record deal with AOR Heaven.

In November 2000, debut album Presence of Mind was released to positive reviews.^[8] The next album Omega was released in 2003. Anette left "Alyson Avenue" in 2006. In May 2009, Alyson Avenue introduced Arabella Vitanc as their new lead vocalist.

With Nightwish (2007–present)[link]

Anette live with Nightwish in Melbourne, Australia, on January 30, 2008.

Olzon officially joined Nightwish as their new lead singer in early 2007, chosen from about 2,000 applicants of which 10 made it to prove their place in front of the band. The song on her demo tape was the 2002 single "Ever Dream". She replaced the previous singer Tarja Turunen, who was fired in an open letter in the autumn of 2005. Olzon's demo was one of the first that Nightwish received, although she was originally denied the position, as band leader Tuomas Holopainen was concerned about the fact that she had a young son. However, Olzon was persistent and sent the band a live DVD of her performing with Alyson Avenue. She was then contacted by Nightwish's manager Ewo Pohjola, which eventually led to her taking up the position in February 2007. Tuomas commented on her selection saying "we (the band) took a formal vote, but it was unanimous that she would be the one. It was a matter of heart. We felt she was right." Her identity was kept secret by various methods, including pretending to be Ewo's "Swedish cousin" at a Tarot concert, until she was eventually announced as the new Nightwish singer on 24 May 2007.

The day after this revealing, May 25, 2007, charity single "Eva" was released as the first off the album, as download only. It was originally scheduled for release on May 30 but this was changed due to a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On June 13, Nightwish released the title, Dark Passion Play, and artwork to the new album on their official website, as well as the name and the cover of the second single (this time CD), "Amaranth". "Amaranth" achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores.

Dark Passion Play was released around Europe in the last week of September 2007, in the UK on October 1, and the United States on October 2. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the number 1 position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States. Dark Passion Play has sold 6x Platinum worldwide up to date (over 1.5 million copies).

On September 22, 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn, Estonia, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band called "Nachtwasser".^[9] Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 6, 2007.^[10] The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Asia, and Australia.^[11][12]

The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from the fall of 2007 to September 2009, when ended with a concert in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki with the band Apocalyptica. For trivia, Nightwish's only other concert in Hartwall Arena was in 2005 when they ended their Once Upon a Tour. This concert was filmed for the End of an Era DVD, and it was Tarja Turunen's last show with the band.^[13]

Future solo album[link]

Olzon's forthcoming solo album would be co-produced by Swedish producer/songwriter Anders Bagge, who has previously worked with Madonna, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson and Jessica Simpson, among others. He is also one of judges on the Swedish TV talent competition "Idol" and a producer of the TV series "Made in Sweden". She states that the album will "not be a metal album, but will most likely be a Rock one."

Anette stated: "This will be so great and it's so nice to have such great songwriters and musicians to help me with the songs. We work that way that we sit down by the piano and the guitar and just try melodies etc. and then I write down lyrics and we try and test the structure of the song. Then Johan goes and puts drums, bass etc. in the computer to get the music recorded for me to test-sing it. Then we work from there. It's so nice to create songs like this, I haven't done that since we started [Anette's pre-Nightwish band] Alyson Avenue, so it's been a while, but I'll soon get a hang of it again. And I really like the sound of it already!"

Many fans have expressed concern that Anette will be taking the same route as ex-Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen, but she says "I still belong in Nightwish. This is just something to do before Tuomas has finished writing the next Nightwish Album. I have no desire to leave Nightwish."

Anette, on February 3, 2010, shared on her blog that she no longer would continue making a solo album. Saying, "The factors are mainly that I want to focus on my family during this break from Nightwish. I am sure I will do a solo some other time, but at this time it doesn't fit into my life and then it's better to not do it, than to do it and it just wont feel good.". ^[14] On March 3, 2010, Olzon made an announcement on her blog that the reason the solo album had been postponed was because she was pregnant with her second child.^[7] "Last autumn in the middle of demo recordings for my solo album, I started to feel very tired and nauseated. I took a pregnancy test and was really surprised to see that I had gotten pregnant! The boys in Nightwish have known for many weeks about it and they are all very supportive and happy." Her son was born on July 30 by C-section.

Singing style and reception as the Nightwish frontwoman[link]

Anette does not possess the same operatic voice as Tarja Turunen, but rather, her melodic range is typically in the soubrette soprano range.^{[15][citation needed]} Nightwish's fanbase became significantly divided on Anette's style of singing. Some fans felt that her voice was not trained or powerful enough to suit Nightwish's symphonic metal style, and claimed that her voice would be better suited to pop rock. Other fans assert that the power in her voice, in addition to the instrumentation, is what makes Nightwish retain their Symphonic power metal style.

Since her joining in 2007, Olzon's technical skill and style has continued to evolve. Prior to Nightwish's release of the Imaginaerum album and film, Tuomas Holopainen, the keyboardist and composer for the band, welcomed the press to Finnvox studios to preview the album.^[16] Reception was immediately much more synonymous. Critics agreed that her voice became much more refined, powerful, grandiose, and atmospheric - a typical signature of Nightwish, an assessment that was echoed by a number of Nightwish fans.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anette Olzon

• Anette's official site
• Anette's official blog
• Nightwish's official website
• Anette's Czech Fansite

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2010)

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Adam Tensta
Background information
Birth name	Adam Momodou Eriksson Taal
Born	(1983-08-01) 1 August 1983 (age 28)
Genres	Hip hop
Labels	EMI Music / RMH MGMT GRP

Adam Tensta (born Adam Momodou Eriksson Taal 1 August 1983 in Tensta, Stockholm, Sweden), is a Swedish rapper. His debut album It's a Tensta Thing was a Swedish chart topper,^[1] and was awarded the 2008 Swedish Grammis for best Dance/Hip Hop/Soul album.

Life and music career[link]

Adam grew up the son of a single mother and an absent, father in Tensta, Stockholm during the 80's.[2] Despite his upbringing in a neighborhood where violence and crime was the norm[citation needed], Adam Tensta refused to take the path of many of his peers. Instead of delinquency he found sanctuary in music. Artists like Bob Marley and hiphop acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep and Nas became the source of inspiration for his first rhymes.

To honor his roots, Adam took "Tensta" as his artist name.

Adam Tensta excludes alcohol, cigarettes and drugs from his lifestyle. He is a representative for the Save the Children Sweden and an ambassador for Alla Olika Alla Lika, a youth campaign against racism, prejudice and discrimination in Sweden. He is also a socialist, and performed at the Swedish leftist party Vänsterpartiet's 1 May celebration in Stockholm 2010.

Adam Tensta has opened for artists like Jay-Z, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Rihanna, Youssou N’Dour, Akon and Dead Prez.

His song "My Cool" was also featured in the HBO Series Entourage (Season 7, Episode 7). The song was also featured in the video game NBA 2k10. [edit]Current work

With the Scandinavian release of his fourth single, "Dopeboy ft. Eboi", Adam Tensta is now turning his focus on an international career. In September 2008, he performed with Yung Berg and Rick Ross in California, his very first US gig.

Respect My Hustle and The Kane Agency - was instrumental in the success of Adam Tensta in the United States. With shows at CMJ, SXSW, LA & NYC they were able to push Adam to the forefront of listeners ears. Also branding him with brands such as MISHKA, The Hundreds, GSHOCK and Orisue.[3]

In April 2009, Adam Tensta went to the United States of America for a 12 day trip to Los Angeles, California, where he performed at legendary clubs like The Viper Room, Cinespace, and The Roxy Theatre.[4]

Tensta's second album, "Scared of the Dark" was released in April 2011 (Scandinavian release only).

He has recently done the vocals for the Street Fighter III Third Strike Online Edition trailer's song, credited at the end and in the game.

His most recent production is called Next To The Speakers, yet to be released, made alongside the Swedish DJ & producer John Dahlback and Dida.[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Adam Tensta's Official justRHYMES.com music profile
• Adam Tensta on MySpace
• Official Adam Tensta Webite
• Adam Tensta Interview - After my show, I try to leave the people with their hearts racing

Steve Winwood
Winwood playing at the Cropredy Festival, 13 August 2009
Background information
Birth name	Stephen Lawrence Winwood
Born	(1948-05-12) 12 May 1948 (age 64) Handsworth, Birmingham, England, UK
Genres	Rock, progressive rock, blue-eyed soul, blues rock, psychedelic rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, drums, mandolin, electric organ, synthesizers, violins
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Island, Virgin, Columbia
Associated acts	Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, Eric Clapton, Jim Capaldi
Website	Steve Winwood.com
Notable instruments
Hammond B-3 organ Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster Gibson Firebird

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English songwriter and musician whose genres include blue-eyed soul, R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays the electric organ, synthesizers, bass, drums, guitar, mandolin, violin and other strings. A star performer for nearly 50 years, he has also done notable work as a producer.

In addition to his solo career, Winwood was a key member of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and Go. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004.^[1]

In 2005, Winwood was honoured as a BMI Icon at the annual BMI London Awards for his "enduring influence on generations of music makers."^[2] In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Winwood #33 in its 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.^[3] Winwood has won numerous Grammy Awards in the United States.

Early life[link]

Stephen Lawrence Winwood was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. His father, Lawrence, a foundryman by trade, was a semi-professional musician, playing mainly the saxophone and clarinet. Young Winwood became interested in swing and Dixieland jazz as a boy and began playing drums, guitar, and piano. He first performed with his father and older brother Muff in the Ron Atkinson Band at the age of eight.^[4] Winwood was a choirboy at St John's Church Perry Barr and later admitted to having "sneaked a few plays" of the organ there. While he was still young the family moved from Handsworth to the semi-rural suburb of Kingstanding at the northern edge of the city.^[5]

Career[link]

Early years: 1960s[link]

While he was still a pupil at the Great Barr School,^[6] Winwood was a part of the Birmingham rhythm and blues scene, playing the Hammond B-3 organ and guitar, backing blues singers such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Howlin' Wolf, B. B. King, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Eddie Boyd, Otis Spann, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley on their United Kingdom tours, the custom at that time being for US singers to travel solo and be backed by pickup bands. At this time, Winwood was living on Atlantic Road in Great Barr, close to the Birmingham music halls where he played. Winwood had modelled himself on Ray Charles.^[5]

At the age of 14 Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group,^[7] along with his older brother Muff, who later had success as a record producer. Steve's distinctive high tenor singing voice and vocal style drew comparisons to Ray Charles.^[8] At the end of 1965 the group had their first number one single with "Keep On Running"^[9] and the money from this success allowed Winwood to buy his own Hammond B-3 organ.^[5]

During this time Winwood joined forces with guitarist Eric Clapton as part of the one-off group Eric Clapton's Powerhouse. Songs were recorded for the Elektra label, but only three tracks were released on the compilation album, What's Shakin'.

Winwood co-wrote and recorded the hits "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man" before leaving the Spencer Davis Group. 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.^[10] After Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967, the quartet formed Traffic.^[11] Soon thereafter, they rented a cottage near the rural village of Aston Tirrold, Berkshire to write and rehearse new music.^[10] The period at the cottage would prove important in the development of the band.^[12]

Early in Traffic's formation, Winwood and Capaldi formed a songwriting partnership, with Winwood writing music to match Capaldi's lyrics. This partnership would be the source of most of Traffic's material, including popular songs such as "Paper Sun" and "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys", and would outlive the band itself, producing several songs for Winwood and Capaldi's solo albums. Winwood's performance role in Traffic varied from album to album and even song to song; he might perform lead vocal and guitar on one track, and piano and bass on the next. Over the course of the band's history, however, he played the majority of their lead vocals, keyboard instruments, and guitars. He also frequently played bass and percussion up to and including the recording sessions for their fourth album.

Blind Faith and Traffic: 1970s[link]

Steve Winwood with Traffic Photo: Dina Regine

He formed the supergroup Blind Faith in 1969 with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech.^[13] The band was short-lived because of Clapton's greater interest in Blind Faith's opening act Delaney & Bonnie & Friends—Clapton left the band after the tour had ended. However, Baker, Winwood, and Grech stayed together to form Ginger Baker's Air Force. The lineup consisted of 3/4 of Blind Faith (without Clapton, who was replaced by Denny Laine), 2/3 of Traffic (Winwood and Chris Wood, minus Jim Capaldi), plus musicians who interacted with Baker in his early days, including Phil Seamen, Harold McNair, John Blood and Graham Bond. But it turned out to be just another short-lived project. Winwood soon went into the studio to begin work on a new solo album, tentatively titled Mad Shadows. However, Winwood ended up calling Wood and Capaldi in to help with session work, which prompted Traffic's comeback album John Barleycorn Must Die. In 1976, 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 sell-out concert at the Lyceum Theatre, London.

In 1972, Winwood recorded the part of Captain Walker in the highly successful orchestral version of The Who's Tommy. In 1973 Winwood recorded an album with Remi Kabaka, Aiye-Keta, for Antilles Records. In 1976, Winwood provided vocals and keyboards on Go, a concept album by Japanese composer Stomu Yamashta.

Solo career: 1977 onwards[link]

Weariness with the grind of touring and recording prompted Winwood to leave Traffic and retire to sessioning for some years.^[14] Under pressure from Island Records, he resurfaced with his self-titled first solo album in 1977. This was followed by his 1980 hit Arc of a Diver (which included his first solo hit, "While You See a Chance") and Talking Back to the Night in 1982. Both albums were recorded at his home in Gloucestershire with Winwood playing all instruments. He continued to do a number of 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".

In 1986, he enlisted the help of a coterie of stars to record Back in the High Life in the US, and the album was a hit. He topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "Higher Love", and earned two Grammy Awards: for Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

All these albums were released on Island Records. However, at the peak of his commercial success, Winwood moved to Virgin Records and released Roll with It and Refugees of the Heart. The album Roll with It and the title track hit #1 on the USA album and singles charts in the summer of 1988. Another album with Virgin, Far From Home, was officially credited to Traffic, but nearly all the instruments were played by Winwood. Despite lacking a significant hit, it broke the top 40 in both the UK and USA.^[15][16] His final Virgin album Junction Seven also broke the UK top 40,^[17] but was Winwood's first commercial flop in the USA.

1990s to present[link]

Steve Winwood in Knoxville, Tennessee

In 1994, Capaldi and Winwood reunited Traffic for a new album, Far From Home, and a tour, including a performance at Woodstock '94 Festival. That same year, Winwood appeared on the A Tribute To Curtis Mayfield CD, recording Mayfield's "It's All Right". In 1995 and 1996, Winwood released Reach for the Light for the animated film Balto. In 1997, Winwood released a new album, Junction Seven, toured the US and sang with James Taylor at the VH-1 Honors.^[18] In 1998, 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. Winwood also 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.

In 2003, Winwood released a new studio album, About Time on his new record label, Wincraft Music. 2004 saw his 1982 song "Valerie" used by Eric Prydz in a song called "Call on Me". It spent five weeks at #1 on the UK singles chart. Winwood heard an early version of Prydz's remix and liked it so much, he not only gave permission to use the song, he re-recorded the samples for Prydz to use.^[19]

In 2005, his Soundstage Performances DVD was released, featuring recent work from the About Time album along with prior hits including "Back in the High Life". Winwood also performed hits from his days with Traffic as well as current recordings. In 2005, he accepted an invitation from 2008 Grammy Award winner Ashley Cleveland to appear on her album Men and Angels Say. This album of rock, blues and country arrangements of well known hymns includes "I Need Thee Every Hour" which features a vocal duet and organ performance. Christina Aguilera features Winwood (using the piano and organ instrumentation from the "John Barleycorn" track, "Glad") on one of her songs from her 2006 record Back to Basics, called "Makes Me Wanna Pray".

The Steve Winwood Band in 2009 on tour

In July 2007, Winwood performed with Eric Clapton in the latter's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Among the songs they played together were "Presence of the Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home" from their Blind Faith days. Winwood played several guitar leads in a six song set. The two continued their collaboration with three sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City in February 2008.^[20] On 19 February 2008 Winwood and Clapton released a collaborative EP through iTunes titled Dirty City. Clapton and Winwood released a CD and DVD of their Madison Square Garden shows and then toured together in the summer of 2009.^[21]

A new studio album, Nine Lives, was released 29 April 2008 on Columbia Records.^[22][23] The album opened at #12 on the Billboard 200 album chart,^[24] his highest US debut ever. Also in 2008, Winwood received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music to add to his honorary degree from Aston University, Birmingham.

Personal life[link]

Winwood lives in a 300-year-old manor house in the Gloucestershire countryside with his wife Eugenia Crafton, a native of Trenton, Tennessee, whom he married in 1987. They have four children, Mary-Clare, Eliza, Cal and Lilly. He was previously married (1978–1986) to the late Nicole Weir (d. 2005), who also contributed background vocals to Winwood's early solo work.

Discography[link]

Solo[link]

• 1977: Steve Winwood
• 1980: Arc of a Diver
• 1982: Talking Back to the Night
• 1986: Back in the High Life
• 1988: Roll with It
• 1990: Refugees of the Heart
• 1997: Junction Seven
• 2003: About Time
• 2008: Nine Lives

Traffic[link]

See Traffic discography

Blind Faith[link]

• 1969: Blind Faith

Go[link]

• 1976: Go
• 1976: Go Live from Paris

Session work[link]

• Chris Knipp – blast
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland, 1968
• McDonald and Giles – McDonald and Giles, 1971
• Shawn Phillips – Faces, 1972
• London Symphony Orchestra – Tommy – As Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra & Chamber Choir, 1972
• Jim Capaldi – Oh How We Danced, 1972
• Eddie Harris – E.H. in the U.K. (Atlantic, 1973)
• Lou Reed – Berlin, 1973
• Jim Capaldi – Whale Meat Again, 1974
• Robert Palmer – Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, 1974
• Jim Capaldi – Short Cut Draw Blood, 1975
• Jade Warrior – Waves, 1975
• Toots & the Maytals – Reggae Got Soul, 1976
• John Martyn – One World, 1977
• Pierre Moerlen's Gong – Downwind, 1978
• George Harrison – George Harrison, 1978
• Vivian Stanshall – Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, 1978
• Jim Capaldi – Daughter of the Night, 1978
• Marianne Faithfull – Broken English, 1979
• Jim Capaldi – The Sweet Smell of... Success, 1980
• Jim Capaldi – Let the Thunder Cry, 1981
• Marianne Faithfull – Dangerous Acquaintances, 1981
• Jim Capaldi – Fierce Heart, 1983
• David Gilmour – About Face, 1984^[25]
• Christine McVie – Christine McVie, 1984
• Eddie Harris – E.H. in the U.K.
• Billy Joel – The Bridge, 1986
• Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring, 1986
• Jim Capaldi – Some Come Running, 1988
• Soulsister – Heat, 1990
• Paul Weller – Stanley Road, 1995
• Grateful Dead, played a special version of "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steve Winwood

• Official website
• Albums that Winwood guested on and/or produced
• Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton live@ Bucharest (review)
• Steve Winwood at Allmusic
• Steve Winwood at the Internet Movie Database