Steve Winwood

Even if singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood's career began with his solo recordings, he'd still be regarded as a major musical figure. The fact that the spent most of the '60s and '70s making history with the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith should stir up even more respect for the British blue-eyed soul singer's accomplishments. While his group efforts mixed jazz, folk, blues, and rock, Winwood concentrated on a more accessible, pop/R&B-oriented style on his smash '80s solo albums, garnering huge hits with his percolating, high-gloss, synth-based sound. The turn of the century, however, saw him getting back to basics and rocking out on the Hammond Organ over funky Latin-tinged grooves on 2003's aptly titled ABOUT TIME.

• rock
• pop
• pop rock
• 1970s
• 1990s
• 1980s