Chuck Sullivan - About Time: The Unsung Genius of Steve Winwood

ABOUT

TIME

THE UNSUNG GENIUS OF STEVE WINWOOD

CHUCK SULLIVAN

Copyright 2018 Chuck Sullivan.

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This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Cover Photo Photography by Brad Barket / Getty Images

Edited by Mark Walston, Bruce Samuelson, and Ronnie Newmyer.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7746-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7745-9 (e)

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 01/05/2018

This book is dedicated to Mary Teenie Mom Sullivan who passed on her 99th birthday, living life on her own terms.

Special thanks to Susanna Sullivan for her love and support, and to Lisa and Michael for keeping me young at heart.

This book is about Steve Winwoods legendary musical journey. Steve Winwood has been creating his own form of R&B genres for over 50 years, and is an international star. His muse infuses elements from blues, folk, rock, funk, pop and most recently Latin rhythms.

Start a catalog of his talents and achievements and you will see he really is in a class all his own. First there is his immediately recognizable blue-eyed soulful voice that has been heard by several generations that alone puts him on the short list of the great singers of our time. His voice came to him at the age of 15, and he still hits that high C today! His singing by itself makes him a superstar but Winwood is also an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist who is an accomplished Hammond B-3 organist, synthesizer keyboardist, guitarist, drummer, percussionist, and bassist.

He has performed and recorded with huge ensembles that feature guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Chaka Khan, Joe Walsh, Nile Rodgers, James Taylor and the Muscle Shoals session players. From the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, and as a solo artist, Winwood has skillfully reinvented himself multiple times, with his present-day music being a tight percussive Latin R&B quintet.

Consider his whole history of hit songs: Gimme Some Lovin, Im A Man, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Dear Mr. Fantasy, Cant Find My Way Home, Higher Love, Back in the Highlife Again, Roll With It and the list goes on.

He is a session player who has played with many of his peers including Clapton, Hendrix, Harrison, Santana and Petty. Winwood has made solo albums where he wrote, played, sang, engineered, and produced the entire recording by himself. He is a master in the studio.

Within this book youll find first hand interviews with some of the most consummate musicians of our time who have performed with Winwood, including Andy Newmark, Russ Kunkel, Michael Rhodes, Dave Pomeroy; and exclusive new question and answers with more recent bandmates Walfredo Reyes, Jr. and Jose Neto; as well as producer Johnson Somerset who worked with Winwood on two albums.

Hes the musicians musician. Hes the perfect bandmate and band leader. There is no one like him in the history of popular music. Its about time he was properly recognized for his contributions.

The following is a list of the major releases and some compilation albums. It does not include Winwoods every anthology, contributions on other artists records, or partial album releases.

1965 Spencer Davis Group, Their First LP

1966 Spencer Davis Group, The Second Album

1966 Spencer Davis Group, Autumn 66

1966 Spencer Davis Group, Im A Man

1967 Spencer Davis Group, Gimme Some Lovin

1967 Traffic, Mr. Fantasy

1968 Traffic

1969 Last Exit, Traffic

1969 Blind Faith

1970 John Barleycorn Must Die, Traffic

1971 The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Traffic

1971 Welcome to the Canteen

1971 The Best of the Spencer Davis Group

1972 Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, Traffic

1972 Winwood and Friends

1974 When the Eagle Flies, Traffic

1977 Steve Winwood

1980 Arc of a Diver

1982 Talking Back to the Night

1986 Back in the Highlife

1987 Chronicles

1988 Winwood, Roll With It

1990 Refugees of the Heart

1991 Keep on Running

1994 Far From Home

1995 The Finer Things

1997 Steve Winwood Junction 7

1999 The Best of Steve Winwood

2003 Steve Winwood About Time

2005 The Last Great Traffic Jam

2008 Steve Winwood Nine Lives

2009 Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live From Madison Square Garden

2010 Revolutions The Very Best of Steve Winwood

2017 Steve Winwood, Greatest Hits Live

Steve Winwood does not need to be compared to anyone. He is after all Steve Winwood. Hes actually created several genres of music. Within his remarkable musical arc hes played forms of infused soul that includes blues, folk, rock, psychedelic, funk, fusion, progressive rock, pop and most recently Latin R&B. Yet Steve Winwood is often overlooked as one of the most accomplished musicians in popular music.

Start a catalog of his achievements and youll see he really is in a class all his own. First theres his immediately recognizable voice that has been heard by several generations that alone puts him on the short list of the great singers of our time. He can evoke a spiritual theme, nail a rhythmic dance groove, or deliver a pensive and thoughtful message. For over 50 years his blue-eyed soulful, soprano voice puts him in a singular register. He still hits that high C today. Youve danced to his voice. Youve spaced out on his melodies. You may have been inspired by his gentle uplifting themes of self-awareness. Its a voice that can do all of these things and it came to him at the age of 15!

Winwood is an accomplished player of several instruments including the Hammond B-3 organ (one of the most difficult instruments used in pop music), synthesizer (another incredibly hard instrument to master), guitar, bass, and drums. Hes even dabbled with wind instruments. Winwood can play virtually any part he hears in his head, and he continues to improve with age.

Then consider the whole history of hit songs: Gimme Some Lovin, Im A Man, Pearly Queen, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Dear Mr. Fantasy, Cant Find My Way Home, Glad, Empty Pages, Higher Love, Back in the Highlife Again, While You See a Chance, Dont You Know What the Night Can Do?, Roll With It and the list goes on. What makes this achievement more remarkable is he collaborated with several lyricists, all of which resulted in hits.