The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 622

Number 622

Steve Winwood

"Higher Love"

(1986)
.

Genre:Rock

Stevie Winwood has been hanging around the music scene for such a long time since the 60s to present, i mean look at this impressive list, Member of Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Go and Blind Faith. He has played with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, T Bone Walker, Howlin' Wolf, BB King, Chuck Berry & Bo Diddly to name a few (and remember Steve is a Honky!). Worked as a session player with such artists as David Gilmour, Marianne Faithfull, Talk Talk & Lou Reed. He is best mates with Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker & James Taylor. Has had numerous # 1 hits with various bands and scored 2 # 1 hits a solo artist. (That is one mighty list!)

PHEW!

As a solo artist, Steve Winwood is primarily associated with the highly polished blue-eyed soul-pop that made him a star in the '80s. Yet his turn as a slick, upscale mainstay of adult contemporary radio was simply the latest phase of a long and varied career, one that's seen the former teenage R&B shouter move through jazz, psychedelia, blues-rock, and progressive rock. Possessed of a powerful, utterly distinctive voice, Winwood was also an excellent keyboardist who remained an in-demand session musician for most of his career, even while busy with high-profile projects. That background wasn't necessarily apparent on his solo records, which established a viable commercial formula that was tremendously effective as long as it was executed with commitment.

Stephen Lawrence Winwood was born May 12, 1948, in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. First interested in swing and Dixieland jazz, he began playing drums, guitar, and piano as a child, and first performed with his father and older brother Muff in the Ron Atkinson Band at the age of eight. During the early '60s, Muff led a locally popular group called the Muff Woody Jazz Band, and allowed young Steve to join; eventually they began to add R&B numbers to their repertoire, and in 1963 the brothers chose to pursue that music full-time, joining guitarist Spencer Davis to form the Spencer Davis Group. Although he was only 15, Steve's vocals were astoundingly soulful and mature, and his skills at the piano were also advanced beyond his years. Within a year, he'd played with numerous American blues legends both in concert and in the studio; in 1965, he also recorded the solo single "Incense" as the Anglos, crediting himself as Stevie Anglo. Meanwhile, the Spencer Davis Group released a handful of classic R&B-styled singles, including "Keep on Running," "I'm a Man," and the monumental "Gimme Some Lovin'," which stood with any of the gritty hardcore soul music coming out of the American South.

He formed Blind Faith in 1969 with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech. The band was short-lived, due to 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 basically 3/4 of Blind Faith (sans Clapton, 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 and Graham Bond. But this supergroup 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 Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi in to help with session work, which instead prompted Traffic's comeback album John Barleycorn Must Die. Winwood has always said that the sound of John Barleycorn Must Die really reflects what Winwood intended Traffic to be.

2004 saw his 1982 song "Valerie" used by DJ Eric Prydz, in a song called "Call On Me". It spent five weeks at number 1 on the UK singles chart. Winwood heard an early version of Prydz' remix and liked it so much, he not only gave permission to use the song, he re-recorded the samples for Prydz to use. In 2005, the Soundstage Performances DVD was released, featuring his recent work from the album About Time along with his classic hits including "Higher Love" and "Back in the High Life". Winwood also performs hits from his days with Traffic (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004) as well as current recordings that represent a tapestry of tastes woven after 40 years in music. He is currently working on his new studio album slated for release in 2006, and is preparing a live album from his American 2005 tour. Steve also recently announced his 2006 tour. Additionally, Christina Aguilera features Winwood on one of her songs from her 2006 record Back to Basics, called "Makes Me Wanna Pray"

For Chuck Berry see Number 783

For David Gilmour see Number 923

For Marianne Faithfull see Number 696

For Lou Reed See Number 918

For Jimi Hendrix see Number 718

For Joe Cocker see Number 633

For John Lee Hooker see Number 530

For James Taylor see Number 820

For Eric Clapton see Number 537

What does "you know bloody who" think about Steve Winwood?

With 'Back In The High Life,' Steve Winwood has created the first undeniably superb record of an almost decade-long solo career, and the news of its arrival is as momentous as its protracted deferment was disturbing. Indeed, the passion long smoldering in his finest work explodes in the album-opening duet with Chaka Kahn, "Higher Love," as Winwood cuts through their lustrous harmony to intone, "I could light the night up with my soul on fire/I could make the sun shine from pure desire!" This kinetic anthem to the sensuality of faith makes good on every one of Winwood's soul-stirring boasts as it rises, breaks and then surges again to a still-loftier crest. Grand stuff – so why the frustrating delay?

The Prophet 5 electronic-keyboard signatures and other alluring control-room devices that Winwood developed on his solo records are in sparing but effective evidence on Back in the High Life, and he's traded the sterile autonomy of the studio for the give-and-take of a band, a diverse group of players including the guitarists Nile Rodgers and Joe Walsh and the dexterous Quincy Jones session drummer John Robinson. But the real collaboration is with coproducer Russ Titelman, who has carefully framed Winwood's singing in all its reedy-to-radiant brassy splendor. On tracks like "Higher Love," "Take It As It Comes" and "Wake Me Up on Judgment Day," Winwood's phrasing is so sharp he rises far above everything else in Titelman's mix, even the earth wind and fire - inspired synth-horns.

And just when you think you've got another Phil Collins - like case of Brit soul larceny, these songs slip out along delightfully unanticipated avenues. No track on High Life is less than five minutes in length, and each unfolds with deliberate precision. Even the casually synchronized backing harmonies by James Ingram on "The Finer Things" and James Taylor on the title track become springboards for Winwood to jump to the upper reaches of his vocal range, and the shadings he himself provides on keyboards and mandolin deftly advance these vibrant narratives of self-discovery. By the time Winwood's keyboards begin parrying with Joe Walsh's frisky guitar figures on the propulsive "Split Decision," it's plain that the reluctant star has finally found the knack of shining without awkwardness or apology. (RS 478/479)

For Earth Wind & Fire see Number 774

For Phil Collins see Number 684

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at (Huh? Did you say Blind Faith? Spencer Davis?) and the Album ranked at Number (Traffic, Go? who then? c'mon)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71.5 out of 108 pts

Steve Winwood - Higher Love
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