InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood

Today in Rock History – April 2

by

The Beach Boys, 1964

1964, The Beach Boys recorded their next single “I Get Around,” which became their first US number one in the summer of ’64.

1965, The Who made their first radio appearance on the UK BBC’s Joe Loss Pop Show.

1966, a charity concert at The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California, took place featuring, Jan and Dean, Sonny & Cher, The Mamas And The Papas, The Turtles, Otis Redding, Donovan, and Bob Lind.

1967, 154 Austrian Rolling Stones fans were arrested when a riot broke out at a 14,000-seated Town Hall gig; a smoke bomb was thrown on the stage.

1967, Steve Winwood leaves the Spencer Davis Group to form his own band, Traffic.

1968, Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company, as her band was being billed, performed at The New Generation in New York.

1968, Jimi Hendrix appeared at the Paul Suave Arena, Montreal, Canada.

1969, Bruce Springsteen’s new group Child made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.

1970, Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The Beatles Let It Be album, 16 months after the “Get Back” project had begun.

1970, Janis Joplin decides to get a tattoo on her wrist and another over her heart reading “One for the Boys.”

1971, Janis Joplin was posthumously at number one on the album charts with Pearl.

1971, Ringo Starr releases his debut single, “It Don’t Come Easy.”

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the Boston Garden.

1973, Led Zeppelin played at the Centre Sportif on the Ile de Vannes, in Paris. The setlist: Rock and Roll, Over the Hills and Far Away, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (medley including Everybody Needs Someone To Love, Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down, (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care, Let’s Have a Party, I Can’t Quit You Baby), Heartbreaker.

1974, Queen performed at Barbarella’s, Birmingham, England.

1975, Genesis appeared at Killesberghalle, Stuttgart, Germany.

1976, Robin Trower played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, Abba were at number one on the UK singles chart with their fifth chart topper, “Knowing Me, Knowing You.” The song was also a Top ten hit in over 15 countries.

1977, Fleetwood Mac went to number one on the US album chart with Rumours. Also on this day Fleetwood Mac kicked off a 7-date UK tour at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1983, Pink Floyd release the US version of The Final Cut, their last album with Roger Waters. The UK release took place on March 21st.

1987, U2 kicked off their 29-date North American Joshua Tree tour at Arizona State Activity Centre in Phoenix.

1987, One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumor. Rich worked with many acts including, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey’s band, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Rush’s Neil Peart organized a pair of 90s tribute albums (titled Burning for Buddy), which also featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Steve Smith and Matt Sorum.

1990, Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and started work on demo versions of “In Bloom,” “Dive,” “Lithium,” “Pay To Play,” “Imodium,” “Sappy,” and “Polly,” with Butch Vig producing.

1998, Rob Pilatus, one half of pop duo Milli Vanilli was found dead in a Frankfurt Hotel room after taking a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like “Blame it on the Rain” and “Girl, You Know It’s True,” selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.

2003,  soul singer Edwin Starr died at his British home in Nottingham aged 61. Formed The Future Tones in 1957, had the 1970 US number one and UK number three anti-Vietnam War protest song “War.” According to Starr, the song was recorded in one take.

2006, A John Lennon schoolbook containing the 12-year-old’s drawing of Lewis Carroll’s poem The Walrus and the Carpenter was sold at auction for £126,500, ($239,733). The poem inspired Lennon to write The Beatles’ 1967 song “I Am the Walrus.” Also sold for £12,000, ($22,741) was a ship’s log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, and a letter from Paul McCartney to his bandmates Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr failed to reach its £50,000, ($94,742) reserve price

2006, Gnarls Barkley started an eight-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Crazy.” The American duo made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach the top of the charts through computer downloads only. The single was not available to buy in shops until the following week.

2013, A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios was fully restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the restoration of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown’s Studio B. and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr.

Born on April 2: Serge Gainsbourg, (1928); Marvin Gaye (1939); Leon Russell (1941); Emmylou Harris (1947); Leon Wilkeson, bass, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); David Robinson, The Cars (1953);  Greg Camp, Smash Mouth (1967)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – March 4

by

1966, John Lennon’s statement that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus Christ” was published in The London Evening Standard. “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. We’re more popular then Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.” Christian groups in the US were outraged resulting in some states burning Beatles records. Lennon later apologized.

1967, The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Ruby Tuesday,” the group’s fourth No.1 single. “Lets Spend The Night Together” was the original A side, but after radio stations banned the song, “Tuesday” became the A side.

1967, Janis Joplin performs with the Steve Miller Band in the Journey to the End of Night event at California Medical Center auditorium.

1967, Stevie Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood announce that they will leave the Spencer Davis Group after a show on April 2. Stevie Winwood goes on to form Traffic.

1967, The Who played at the California Ballroom in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1970, In Tampa, Florida, Janis Joplin is fined $200 for using obscene language during a November 1969 concert there. Joplin is currently in Rio de Janeiro, where she hopes to “get off drugs and dry out.”

1971, The Rolling Stones kicked off a 9-date UK tour at Newcastle City Hall, supported by The Groundhogs. Also on this day The Stones announced that they were to become the UK’s first rock and roll tax exiles, residing in France.

1972, David Bowie performed at Southsea Pier Pavilion in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.

1973, Pink Floyd played the first night on a 19-date North American tour at the Dane County Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1974, Queen performed at Festival Hall, Paignton, England.

1975, Led Zeppelin played at the Dallas County Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Tickets were priced from $6.50 to $8.50.

1976, Crazy Horse appeared at the Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.

1977, CBS released The Clash’s self- titled first album in the UK. CBS in the U.S. refused to release it until 1979. Americans bought over 100,000 imported copies of the record making it one of the biggest- selling import records of all time.

1977, The Rolling Stones played the first of two nights at the El Mocambo a small club in Toronto, Canada.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo.

1982, Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil and his daughter Moon Unit formed a band called Fred Zeppelin. Their first single was ‘My Mother is a Space Cadet’.

1986, songwriter Howard Greenfield died of a brain tumor aged 50. Working out of the famous Brill Building with Neil Sedaka, he co-wrote many hits including “Calendar Girl,” “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do,” and “Crying In The Rain” with Carole King. Also wrote TV theme songs including the theme to Bewitched.

1994, Kurt Cobain was rushed to hospital after overdosing on alcohol and drugs in a Rome hotel during a Nirvana European tour. Cobain had taken 50-60 pills of Rohypnol mixed with champagne; rumours on the internet claimed that Kurt was dead.

2001, Village People singer Glenn Hughes died of lung cancer aged 50 in his Manhattan apartment in New York. He was the original “Biker” character in the disco group who scored the 1978 UK No.1 & US No.2 single “Y.M.C.A.”

2004, Brian Wilson appeared at the Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow during his 11-date UK tour. The shows saw Wilson performing the full suite of songs from his unreleased masterpiece Smile.

Born on this day: Bobby Womack, and Mary Wilson, The Supremes (1944); Chris Squire, Yes (1948); Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top (1950); Chris Rea (1951)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – August 30

by

The-Who-1966-B1966, The Who begin two days of recording at IBC Studios and Pye No. 2 Studio in London. During the sessions the group records The Regent’s “Barbara Ann,” The Everly Brothers’ “Man with Money,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heatwave,” and the theme to the then smash hit TV show Batman. The tracks are intended for a new album tentatively titled Jigsaw Puzzle. Kit Lambert produces and Paul Clay engineers.

1968, Janis Joplin plays the first of two nights at The Palace of Fine Arts Festival in San Francisco.

1968, Howlin’ Wolf appeared at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Yes played at the Civic Centre, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England.

1969, Two weeks after the Woodstock festival, the second Isle of Wight festival took place. Over 150,000 turned up over the two days to see Bob Dylan make his first official public appearance since his 1966 motorcycle accident. Also on the bill were The Band, Blodwyn Pig, Blonde On Blonde, Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, Edgar Broughton Band, Joe Cocker, Aynsley Dunbar, Family, Fat Mattress, Julie Felix, Free, Gypsy, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, The Pretty Things, Third Ear Band and The Who. Tickets 25 shillings, ($3.00). Celebrities who attended include Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, John & Yoko, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jane Fonda, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

1969, One hit wonders Zager and Evans started a three week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “In The Year 2525.” The song was written by Rick Evens in 1964.

1969, The three day Texas Pop Festival took place featuring Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Sam & Dave, Santana, Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Delaney & Bonnie, Nazz, Spirit, BB King, Canned Heat and Chicago. Over 120,000 fans attended the festival.

1970, The Rolling Stones kicked off a 20-date European tour in Malmo Sweden.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono played Madison Square Gardens to raise money for the One to One charity. Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack also appeared at the event. Lennon personally bought $60,000 worth of tickets which were given to volunteer fund-raisers. Several of the performances were later included on Lennon’s, Live in New York City album.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1974, The Ramones made one of their many appearances at CBGB in New York City.

1975, KC and the Sunshine Band went to number one on the US singles chart with, “Get Down Tonight.”

1975, Eric Clapton played at the Scope, in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Rod Stewart had his fifth UK number one album when Atlantic Crossing started a five-week run at the top of the charts.

1976, Aerosmith played at the International Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1978, Patti Smith appeared at The Odeon, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

1982, During a North American tour, Queen appeared at McNichols Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1986, Steve Winwood went to number one on the US singles chart with “Higher Love,” a number 13 hit in the UK.

1992, Appering at this year’s Reading Festival, England, Suede, Ride, Pavement, Public Enemy, Manic Street Preachers, (bassist Nicky Wire smashed his guitar in two and hurled it into the crowd, hitting a security guard who needed 16 stitches). This was one of the most famous in the festival’s history. Nirvana played what was to become their last UK concert, and one of their most famous. Kurt Cobain took to the stage in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True, parodying speculations about his mental health.

1995, Sterling Morrison, a founding member of the Velvet Underground died of cancer at his home in New York City two days after his 53rd birthday. The guitarist left the group in August 1971 and re-joined in 1992 for a European tour.

1995, Carly Simon and James Taylor performed live together in front of 10,000 fans on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. It was the first time they appeared live on the same stage since 1979. The former couple played their own solo sets before combining their efforts in raising money for the local agricultural society.

2013, A signed copy of John Lennon’s whimsical 1964 book In His Own Write sold for more than $5,600 on eBay. The book featured short stories, poems and drawings.

2014, Kate Bush followed her stage comeback by becoming the first woman to have eight albums in the UK charts at the same time. Two of the singer’s albums were in the top 10, and eight overall in the top 40. It came after she returned for her first live concerts for 35 years.

Born on August 30: Johnny Mann, American singer-songwriter, conductor (1928); John Phillips, The Mamas & the Papas (1935); John Peel, BBC Radio (1939); John McNally, English guitarist, vocalist, The Searchers (1941); Charles Colbert, American Breed (1944); Micky Moody guitar, Juicy Lucy, Whitesnake (1950);

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – August 20

by

mccoys1965, The Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham and his partner Tony Calder launched Immediate records. Their first release was The McCoy’s “Hang On Sloopy.” Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Nico  all attended the launch party. The label became the home of The Small Faces, The Nice, Amen Corner and Chris Farlowe and a young producer, guitarist Jimmy Page.

1966, The Beatles, touring America for the last time, were forced to cancel and reschedule their performance in Cincinnati’s open-air stadium, Crosley Field. Heavy rain (and no cover provided) made electrocution a virtual certainty if The Beatles had attempted to perform.

1968, The University of Tennessee reported that a guinea pig subjected to days of rock music played at 120 decibels had suffered acute hearing damage.

1969, After finishing “I Want You, (She’s So Heavy,”) The Beatles worked on the running order for the Abbey Road album. A preliminary master tape was compiled, the medley was originally slated for side one of the album, and the placement of “Octopus’s Garden” and “Oh! Darling” were reversed from the final version. The album was to end with the slashed guitar chord that finishes “I Want You (She’s So Heavy”). This was the last time all four Beatles were together in Abbey Road studios.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at The Aerodrome in Schenectady, New York.

1970, Deep Purple performed at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1971, On the second night of a North American tour, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Seattle Centre Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1971, Ten Years After and Procol Harum appear  at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec.

1972, The Grateful Dead play at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California.

1972, Mahavishnu Orchestra appeared at the Montreux Pavillion, Montreux, Switzerland.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1973, Bruce Springsteen played the first of a seven night run at Oliver’s in Boston, Massachusetts playing two 60-minute sets each night.

1974, REO Speedwagon, Elvin Bishop and the Allman Brothers Band play at Bosse Park in Evansville, Illinois.

1976, Yes performed at the Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio.

1977, The Emotions started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with “Best Of My Love.” It made it to No.4 in the UK.

1977, Rush plays at the Music Hall, Houston, Texas.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1980, During a North American tour, Queen appeared at the Civic Centre, Hartford, Connecticut.

1980, John Lennon began recording his final album, ‘Double Fantasy’. It would be released on November 17th by the newly-formed Geffen Records and would win the 1982 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult played at Queensway Hall, Dunstable, England.

1982, King Crimson and Roxy Music appeared at Belenenes, Lisbon, Portugal.

1983, Madness, Joan Jett, The Police and R.E.M. all appeared at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.

1986, Rick Allen drummer with Def Leppard made his first live appearance with the band after losing an arm in a car accident, when they appeared at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England.

1988, Steve Winwood went to No.1 on the US album chart with his fifth solo album Roll With It. The title cut also topped the US singles charts.

1988, Iron Maiden, Kiss, David Lee Roth, Megadeth, Guns N’ Roses and Helloween all appeared at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England. Two rock fans died while slam dancing as Guns N’ Roses played.

1990, Aerosmith appeared at the Marquee Club London. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page joined the band on stage for a blues jam.

1991, Nirvana and Sonic Youth kicked off a joint European tour at Sir Henry’s Pub, Cork, Ireland.

2006, The Rolling Stones played the first of two nights at Twickenham Stadium on their A Bigger Bang world tour. Feeder and The Charlatans also appeared.

2007, The funeral of Manchester music mogul and broadcaster, Tony Wilson was held at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Manchester. Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, two members of first Factory signing Joy Division, as well as a later band, New Order, attended along with Happy Mondays front man, Shaun Ryder.

Born on August 20: Jim Reeves, US country singer (1924); Dave Brock, Hawkwind (1941), Isaac Hayes (1942); James Pankow, Trombone, Chicago (1947); Robert Plant (1948); and Phil Lynott Irish singer, songwriter, bass player, Thin Lizzy (1949)

More from Today in Rock History

Steely Dan and Steve Winwood at PNC Music Pavillion – Review

by

 

OK, I will give you the Cliff’s notes version from their July 2nd show at PNC in Charlotte, NC. Very high quality music. It was mostly an older crowd. Winwood’s voice is strong and clear and it is difficult to believe how old he is and that he was actually in a band with that lunatic Ginger Baker.  In retrospect, he played in some outstanding bands and created some iconic music that measures up with any music from the late ’60’s early ’70’s.
Steely Dan brought an excellent eleven person band including a full horn section  and three chick do-wop singers.  Fagen’s voice is still strong and he is still a perfectionist, the arrangements were all very tight. Becker sounds like Dan Akroyd introducing the Blues Brothers when he tries to banter with the crowd and he is now mostly a rhythm guitar player. I think drugs have definitely taken their toll on that guy, physically and mentally. He claimed he had been with “that mutherfuck#r” for 50 years now, pointing to Fagen. I looked it up and it is more like 48, but rounding errors are acceptable at any rock concert. They met in college up in Annandale (like a lot of us gropers met, but I am always going back to my old school….).  The real guitarist who tours with them, Jon Herrington, is an excellent technician and was able to play a stunning Reeling in the Years, much to my delight.
My friend Deepak texted one of my pals Glendt during the show inquiring about the “cheese.” Almost instantly, an attractive middle aged woman in front of us stood up and started doing the dirty boogie, Woodstock style, for Steve Winwood’s “Gimme Some Lovin.'”  Her tired husband/boyfriend refused to get out of his lawn chair and hippie dance with her, so I doubt he got any cheese that night.  A young guy near us was spinning his young daughter in the air like she was training for sputnik and I figured she would hurl long before any of us would.
The aforementioned Glendt and our mate  Mr. Peabody mostly partook of the Sweetwater 420 cans, a good choice and a step-up from Peabody’s go to beer, the ubiquitous PBR.  I drank smuggled Bacardi mixed into my tasty, refreshing Sprite beverage while my son pre-gamed on my leftover birthday beer and some local craft swill purchased at The Pavillion. I smelled a fair amount of pot including some “designer” herb that smelled like cat piss and would not stay lit.  I am quite certain it did the job, though.
A nice warm, evening spent listening to timeless music with my son and great old friends.  It does not get much better than that.  Next up is Los Lobos and the Tedeschi/Trucks band the end of this month.  Get some!
Song list from Setlist.fm  July 2nd, 2016 – PNC Music Pavillion -Charlotte, NC.

  1. Play Video

  2. (Traffic song)

    Play Video

  3. Play Video

  4. (Blind Faith song)

    Play Video

  5. (Buddy Miles cover)

    Play Video

  6. (Traffic song)

    Play Video

  7. Play Video

  8. (Traffic song)

    Play Video

  9. Encore:

  1. Play Video

  2. Play Video

  3. Play Video

  4. Play Video

  5. Play Video

  6. Play Video

  7. Play Video

  8. Play Video

  9. Play Video

  10. Play Video

  11. Play Video

  12. Play Video

  13. (Joe Tex cover)

    Play Video

  14. Play Video

  15. Play Video

  16. Play Video

  17. Play Video

  18. Encore:

An Interview with Chris Blackwell

by

photo credit: LargeUp.com

I’ve been fortunate through the years to be able to interview some fascinating people from the worlds of sports, music, and movies. Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Rob Reiner, Elton John, and Robert Lamm of the band Chicago have provided some great insights into their chosen professions.

One of my dream interviews had been with Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, and as you will see below, one of the most influential people in the music business (who weren’t performers themselves,) along with Clive Davis and Bill Graham.

Blackwell sold his interest in the record company in 1989, and left it for good in the late 90’s. Since then, he has been busy in the coffee, rum, and tourism industries in his home country of Jamaica, an island of three million people. He owns several of high-end resorts and villas there. One of these is Goldeneye, which was the former home of James Bond author Ian Flemming. It is not as well known, but Blackwell also owns and maintains the Firefly estate, the former home of playwright Noel Coward, whose contents are part of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. My interest in someday meeting Mr. Blackwell was further solidified after a visit to this site in January.

Goldeneye resort

The stars must have aligned, as the company that markets those resorts brought him to Chicago as part of a presentation to some of the local travel agencies. My wife’s travel agency, where I do a lot of their computer work, graciously allowed me to attend the event, along with some of their key agents.

Arriving early, it wasn’t too hard to spot Mr. Blackwell. Wearing a denim shirt and jeans among a crowd of nicely attired travel agents, he was at the bar, sipping a cup of coffee. This was at 8 AM after all. Beside him was a leather briefcase, with a patch bearing the green, yellow, and black Jamaican emblem. His hair is all white now and thinning, but still cascades downward towards his shoulders. He also has that subtle hint of an English accent mixed with a flat Caribbean affect.

After exchanging some pleasantries, I proceeded to show him a photo I had taken at Firefly, imitating a famous Coward pose in the exact same picture window. That got him in a very engaging mood. Not to be presumptuous, I had cleared things with the marketing manager the day before. We spoke for about ten minutes on the record, before he was whisked away for the presentation. After the event he jetted off to New York, for presumably another one of these events.

He was supremely pleasant, and unassuming, as I excitedly tried to cram as many questions in before he would be called away. So as you read below, I apologize for the seemingly staccato blast of questions on numerous subjects. The last one is by far the most significant, as he more than hints at a return to the music business.

At age 22 you decided to start a record company. What possessed you to do that?

I love music. I was really a fan of music, and there were some people playing at the Half Moon Hotel, where I grew up in Jamaica. I liked the band, and I just thought I’d love to record them. So I asked if I could record them and they said yes. That was that. That’s how I started.

One band, one contract does not make a record company.

No it doesn’t. Well, I loved the process. Because I love music, and in becoming a record producer, you became a little part of the making of the music. I just loved that whole process. After the first record which didn’t do too well, I did another one. That didn’t do well either, but I’d gotten the bug, and I just wanted to do it. The first two records were both jazz albums, then after that, I started recorded singles of what was a whole new music starting in Jamaica, which eventually became reggae.

And then along came “My Boy Lollypop” by Millie Smalls…

“My Boy Lollypop” I produced in England, and it became a huge hit worldwide. It was actually released through a record company in Chicago. A subsidiary of Mercury records called Smash Records. And it went to number two in the United States, and number one in many countries all over the world. But it was a hit everywhere in the world. It sold about seven million copies.

You licensed it out because you couldn’t meet the production demands.

I’ve seen a lot of independent records companies lose their business because they have a hit. Not because they have a string of misses, it’s because they have a hit, and then they can’t supply the demand, and they go into bankruptcy.

How did you meet Steve Winwood?

I was going to a television show with Millie in London and somebody said, “Do you want to come out to some clubs afterwards?” and so Millie and myself went with this guy to a couple of clubs, and at one of the clubs was this young, young, kid singing like Ray Charles on helium. I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it. I literally sort of signed him right away.

Traffic

And then?

His first group was the Spencer Davis Group, and that evolved into Traffic. And Traffic became my favorite band. I love Traffic. They toured a lot. I toured a lot with them. Basically Steve Winwood was the cornerstone of Island Records in a sense because he was so gifted, so talented, that other people wanted to be on the label that he was on. So he was very important in the growth of Island Records.

And that led to groups like King Crimson, ELP, and Jethro Tull. You’re almost responsible for that whole progressive rock scene?

A lot of it, most of it, came through Island.

What do you remember about Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull?

They were unusual. It wasn’t often that you saw a guy standing on one leg, playing the flute as the leader of a band. But he [Anderson] has a tremendous energy and he is a very intelligent guy. They became one of the biggest live bands because they created a lot of excitement. He threw himself into it. He was a tremendous act to watch.

Picadilly Circus, London (1967)

What was London like in its heyday (1967?)

It was incredibly exciting, because there was so much creativity in the air. So if there were three or four people sitting around somebody came up with an idea. And then somebody else may embellish it, and somebody else might add to it, and so forth. Before you know it something was happening and taking place. It was a tremendous sort of confluence of creativity in both music and film at that time.

Who could you see back then in a small venue?

I never saw the Beatles in a club. Eric Clapton came up through the clubs, because he was somebody who loved Chicago blues basically, and modeled his whole playing on Chicago blues stars. So they would play a lot of clubs. Eric took a slow but sure way really, right to the top. The Beatles, The Stones, once people heard them they became huge very quickly. Also The Who and The Kinks. But Eric’s career was one of a musician, rather than a pop star.

Bob Marley, courtesy Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (rockhall.com)

You and Clapton both have Bob Marley in common.

Eric singing the Bob Marley song was a very important milestone for Marley’s career, because Eric was like ‘God’ at the time and he was looking for material time, and it was Bob Marley.

What did you see in Bob Marley that made you realize that he was something special?

He was very charismatic, and also when I met him, he had already released quite a lot of records. So not only was he charismatic, he also had proved himself at being a consistent writer.

A lot of record companies rejected U2, yet you didn’t.

I went to see them in a club, and though the music didn’t get to me right away, their passion did. There was something about them, that I felt was just really, really different. Really, really special, and that they were going to make it. Even though I didn’t get their music as it were immediately, because most of the music that I’ve liked has been black music, basically bass and drum being an important part, and they sounded a little sort of ‘rinky dink’ when I first heard them, but I absolutely wanted to do something with them when I saw them. Right afterwards. And another important part was they had a very good manager. Somebody who I thought was a very adult type manager, because rock and roll in many cases, the managers would be one of the pals of the band who didn’t play an instrument. Whereas the manager of U2, Paul McGuiness, was very serious, had a plan, and believed in them completely. So that was an influence too. The main thing was their passion and their intensity, and the fact that there were only about twenty people in the club when I saw them, and you would think there were fifty thousand people, the way they played with a passion and energy, and everything. I can only tell you they are truly unbelievable. There’s never, ever been a band that lasted that long. The same four people.

U2 in 1981

How about the fact that they still carry the same passion and trumpet a lot of causes?

I think they take a real interest in life and the world, and what’s going on. A lot of people still knock Bono for being too involved and going to these political events Again, never before has anybody from the entertainment business ever had the respect he’s been able to get with heads of government and all these kinds of things. He doesn’t do it because he just wants to hang around. He does it because he has a purpose in each case in making these connections, and charming these people into supporting his various causes. He is a most extraordinary human being. Amazing.

You sold the record company [in 1989.] Why did you do it, and do you miss the music business at all?

I sold it because I didn’t quite see where it was going, and it’s only in the last few months that I’m taking an interest again, and getting back involved in it again. Because I start to see how it’s going to work. It really sort of disintegrated with the digital technology and the bad relationship that record companies started to develop, not just with their acts, but also with the consumers. So I think we’re getting through that whole stage now, because the record companies are getting less important. I think now is an interesting time to be getting back. But of course I’m not a singer; I’m not a performer. I have to bump into somebody who’s really great, who perhaps I can give a hand to, and a direction to making it. So I’m looking again. Let’s put it that way.

Additional links:

Island Outpost

LargeUp.com

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Island Records

U2 Official Site