Gimme Some

Gimme Some is the sixth album by Peter Bjorn and John, was released March 28, 2011 in the UK, Europe, and rest of the world on Cooking Vinyl and March 29 in the US on Startime International.

"Breaker, Breaker", "Second Chance", "Dig a Little Deeper" and "May Seem Macabre" were released as singles, the latter as a radio-only single. "Second Chance", which was released on January 24, 2011, is perhaps best known as the opening theme of the American television sitcom 2 Broke Girls. The US tour for Gimme Some was notable for being characterised by free food being provided at each show by a catering company local to the city the band were playing at, tying in with some lyrics and themes of the album's main thematic song "Down Like Me". Live performances from this era were characterised by a back-to-basic, punk-like energy that came as a result of an effort by the band to revert to a more stripped-down sound after the electronic, layered compositions of their previous album Living Thing. Three singles were released from the album: "Breaker Breaker", "Second Chance", and "Dig a Little Deeper". "May Seem Macabre" was also promoted for radio circulation. The band also created a music video in collaboration with Pitchfork.TV of the entire album.

Gimme Some Lovin'

"Gimme Some Lovin'" is a song written by Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis and Muff Winwood, although solely credited to "Steve Winwood" on the UK single label, and originally performed by The Spencer Davis Group. The song was later made popular by the Grateful Dead. The basic riff of the song was borrowed from the Homer Banks song "(Ain't That) A Lot of Love", written by Banks and Willie Dean "Deanie" Parker. "Gimme Some Lovin'" was a UK No. 2 in the Autumn of 1966 and a US No. 7. The song is ranked No. 247 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The version issued in the UK (and probably most of Europe) is different from that issued in the US on the United Artists label, being slower, and lacking backing vocals, some percussion, and the "live sounding" performance found on the US single. (The US version has more often been used on reissue CDs, even those coming from Europe.) The single features the sound of the Hammond B-3 organ.

Cover versions

Spencer Davis

Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies, 17 July 1939) is a Welsh musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band The Spencer Davis Group. Davis dropped the E in Davies and became Davis because in England and in the US his last name was pronounced "Daveys" and not Davis as in the Welsh pronunciation.

Early life

Davis was born in Swansea, in south Wales. His father served as a paratrooper. Influenced by his Uncle Herman's mandolin playing, Spencer Davis began learning to play harmonica and accordion at the age of six. He then attended Dynevor School, where he passed seven GCE O-level examinations. He moved to London when he was sixteen, and began working in the civil service as a clerical officer at the Post Office Savings Bank in Hammersmith and for HM Customs and Excise; but went back to his old school to study for A-levels in languages, becoming Head Boy in 1959. In 1960 he moved to Birmingham, to read German at the University of Birmingham. In music circles, Davis was later known as "Professor".

The Spencer Davis Group

The Spencer Davis Group are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963, by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother, Muff Winwood. Their best known songs include "Somebody Help Me", the UK number one "Keep on Running" (both of which were written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards), "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'", which peaked at #2 in the UK and #7 in the United States.

Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form Traffic before joining Blind Faith, then forging a career as a solo artist. After releasing a few more singles, the band ceased activity in 1968. They briefly reunited from 1973 to 1974, and Davis has since restarted a new group in 2006.

History

Formation

The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in Birmingham when Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis recruited vocalist and organist Steve Winwood, and his bass playing brother, Muff Winwood. The group was completed with Pete York on drums. Originally called the Rhythm and Blues Quartette, the band performed regularly in the city. 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. (Island was at that time a small label, so Blackwell got them on UK Fontana 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."

Steve Winwood

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician whose genres include rock, blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, pop rock, and jazz. Though primarily a vocalist and keyboardist, Winwood also plays bass guitar, drums, guitar, mandolin, violin, and other strings.

Winwood was a key member of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and Go. He also had a successful solo career with hits including "While You See a Chance", "Valerie", "Back in the High Life Again" and two US Billboard Hot 100 number ones: "Higher Love" and "Roll with It". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004.

In 2005, Winwood was honoured as a BMI Icon at the annual BMI London Awards for his "enduring influence on generations of music makers." In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Winwood #33 in its 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Winwood has won two Grammy Awards. He was nominated twice for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: 1988 and 1989.