The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in 1963 by
Spencer Davis
Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...
(guitar), brothers
Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and
Muff Winwood
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...
(bass guitar), and
Pete York
Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Redcar, Yorkshire, England) is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s.
Biography
Born in Redcar, he attended the Nottingham High School and learnt to play the trumpet and snare drum ...
(drums). Their best known songs include the UK
number ones "
Somebody Help Me
"Somebody Help Me" is a single by The Spencer Davis Group, which was released in 1966. As with "Keep on Running", it was composed by Jackie Edwards.
Chart performance
"Somebody Help Me" became the band's second consecutive and last number-on ...
" and "
Keep on Running
"Keep On Running" is a song written and first recorded by Jackie Edwards. It became a hit in the UK for The Spencer Davis Group; their version reached number one in the charts.
Recordings
"Keep On Running" was written by Jamaican singer-songwrit ...
" (both written by
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
musician
Jackie Edwards), "
I'm a Man" and "
Gimme Some Lovin'
"Gimme Some Lovin" is a song first recorded by the Spencer Davis Group. Released as a single in 1966, it reached the Top 10 of the record charts in several countries. Later, ''Rolling Stone'' included the song on its list of the 500 Greatest So ...
", which reached #2 in the UK and #7 in the US.
Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form rock band
Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
.
After releasing a few more singles, the band ceased to be active in 1969. Davis revived the group on two more occasions, without the involvement of the Winwood brothers, first in 1973–1974 for two more albums, and again from 2006, since when they had primarily been a touring act. Davis died on 19 October 2020, effectively ending the band.
History
Formation
The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
after the Welsh guitarist
Spencer Davis
Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...
encountered vocalist and organist
Steve Winwood (then aged 14 and still at school), and his bass playing brother
Muff Winwood
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...
performing at a pub, the
Golden Eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
, as the Muff Woody Jazz Band. He recruited them and
Pete York
Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Redcar, Yorkshire, England) is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s.
Biography
Born in Redcar, he attended the Nottingham High School and learnt to play the trumpet and snare drum ...
on drums to form the Rhythm and Blues Quartette, which performed regularly in the city. In 1964, they signed their first recording contract after
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...
of
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
saw them at an appearance in a local club; Blackwell also became their
producer. (Island was then a small independent label with UK
Fontana contracted 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."
Breakthrough success
The group's first professional recording was a cover version of "
Dimples
A dimple, also called a gelasin (, ) is a small natural indentation in the flesh on a part of the human body, most notably in the cheek. Numerous cultures believe that cheek dimples are a good luck charm that entices people who perceive them as ...
". At the end of 1965 they gained their first
number one
Number One most commonly refers to:
* 1 (number)
Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song
* ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song
* ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC
* ''n.1 ...
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
with "
Keep On Running
"Keep On Running" is a song written and first recorded by Jackie Edwards. It became a hit in the UK for The Spencer Davis Group; their version reached number one in the charts.
Recordings
"Keep On Running" was written by Jamaican singer-songwrit ...
".
In 1966, they followed this with "
Somebody Help Me
"Somebody Help Me" is a single by The Spencer Davis Group, which was released in 1966. As with "Keep on Running", it was composed by Jackie Edwards.
Chart performance
"Somebody Help Me" became the band's second consecutive and last number-on ...
" and "
When I Come Home
"When I Come Home" is a song written by Steve Winwood and Jackie Edwards, first recorded by Winwood's band the Spencer Davis Group in 1966. Released as a single that summer, it reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. The single received mixe ...
".
They had one single issued in the US on Fontana, as well as "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me" on
Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to:
Businesses
* ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies
** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company
* Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing ...
, but due to lack of promotion, none of these singles gained airplay or entered the American charts.
For the German market, the group released a medley of "Det war in Schöneberg, im Monat Mai" and "Mädel ruck ruck ruck an meine grüne Seite" (the first is from a 1913 Berlin
operetta, the second is a
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
n traditional) as a
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
single for that audience, Davis having studied in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
in the early 1960s.
By the end of 1966 and the beginning of 1967, the group released two more
hits, "
Gimme Some Lovin'
"Gimme Some Lovin" is a song first recorded by the Spencer Davis Group. Released as a single in 1966, it reached the Top 10 of the record charts in several countries. Later, ''Rolling Stone'' included the song on its list of the 500 Greatest So ...
" and "
I'm a Man".
Both of them sold over one million copies, and were awarded
gold record status. These tracks proved to be their two best-known successes, especially in the U.S. (where they had signed to
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
).
Jimmy Miller
James Miller (March 23, 1942 – October 22, 1994) was an American record producer and musician. While he produced albums for dozens of different bands and artists, he is most closely associated for his work with several key musical acts of ...
was their
producer.
The group starred in ''
The Ghost Goes Gear'' (1966),
a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
, directed by Hugh Gladwish, and also featuring
Sheila White and
Nicholas Parsons
Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...
. The plot involved the group in a stay at the childhood home of their manager, a haunted
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
in the English countryside. The film would later be considered a mistake by Winwood.
Disbandment
![Spencer Davis Group 1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Spencer_Davis_Group_1974.JPG)
Steve Winwood left to form Traffic in 1967; his brother, Muff, moved into the
music industry
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
working in
artists and repertoire
Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...
(A&R) at Island Records.
In the same period, both the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic featured on the soundtrack of the film ''
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'' released in that year.
After the Winwoods' departures, the Spencer Davis Group continued with the addition of guitarist
Phil Sawyer (ex-
Les Fleur de Lys
The Fleur de Lys (initially Les Fleur de Lys ) were a British band originally formed in late 1964, in Southampton, Hampshire, England. They recorded singles beginning in 1965 in the transitional Beat to psychedelic music genre, later known as ...
) and keyboardist/vocalist
Eddie Hardin
Eddie Hardin (19 February 1949 – 22 July 2015) was an English rock pianist and singer-songwriter. Born Edward Harding, he was best known for his associations with the Spencer Davis Group, Axis Point, and Hardin & York. Hardin, along with the ...
(ex-A Wild Uncertainty).
This line-up recorded several tunes for ''Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush'' and released the psychedelia-sounding "Time Seller" single in July 1967;
the
b-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
, "Don't Want You No More", also received radio
airplay
Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
.
This was followed by "Mr. Second-Class" in late 1967,
which received heavy airplay on
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly ...
(a
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
ship off the British coast), and the album ''With Their New Face On'' in 1968. At that time
Ray Fenwick
Raymond John Fenwick (18 July 1946 – 30 April 2022) was an English guitarist and session musician, best known for his work in The Syndicats and in The Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, and as the lead guitarist of Ian Gillan's post- Deep Pu ...
had replaced Phil Sawyer. The group's last minor hit, "After Tea", was released at the same time by the German band
The Rattles, providing competition that led finally to a temporary stop to all activities of the band. The song was originally recorded by the Dutch group
After Tea, which included guitarist/singer Fenwick among its members.
After one further single ("Short Change"), Eddie Hardin and Pete York left to form the duo Hardin & York. They were replaced by future
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
band member
Dee Murray
Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Biography
Murray was born in Gillingham ...
on bass and Dave Hynes on drums.
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
, another future Elton John band member, replaced Hynes, and this line-up produced the album ''Funky'' in 1969 (only released in the USA on Date Records, a subsidiary of CBS, in 1970) before splintering.
Fenwick wrote all the songs and his 1971 solo album ''Keep America Beautiful, Get a Haircut'' also featured Murray and Olsson.
The group broke up on 19 July 1969.
Solo work and reunions
The group reunited in 1973 with Davis, Fenwick, Hardin and York, and newcomer Charlie McCracken on bass. The group released the albums ''
Gluggo
''Gluggo'' is an album by the Spencer Davis Group, originally released in 1973 on Vertigo Records.
Background
In 1969, the Spencer Davis Group recorded ''Funky'', an album that was ultimately not released due to contract issues with their recor ...
'' (1973) and ''
Living in a Back Street'' (1974) before once again disbanding.
Davis continued working, however, producing some
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
-oriented albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The band re-formed in 2006, although only Davis and Hardin remained from the 1960s group line-ups.
The Spencer Davis Group continued to tour the US and Europe, but with two differing line-ups; only Spencer Davis himself was present in both formations of the band.
Hardin remained with the UK version of the band until his death in 2015.
Davis died in California on 19 October 2020, at the age of 81, while being treated for pneumonia.
Cover versions of songs
The Spencer Davis Group – particularly its incarnation with Steve Winwood – proved to be influential, with many of the band's songs being recorded by other artists over the years. Among these are
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
's cover of "I'm a Man";
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...
's version of Davis and Hardin's "Don't Want You No More" (both 1969);
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...
's recording of "Can't Get Enough of It" (1970); and
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...
' "Gimme Some Lovin'" (1980).
The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...
also covered Spencer Davis Group material in live performance on occasion, and Spencer Davis himself performed "I'm a Man" with the Grateful Dead in a 1989 performance at Los Angeles'
Great Western Forum
Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and ...
.
Band members
Final members
Europe
* Miller Anderson
* Colin Hodgkinson
* Steff Porzel
US
* Ed Tree
* Taras Prodaniuk
* Jim Blazer
* Tom Fillman
Former members
*
Spencer Davis
Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...
*
Steve Winwood
*
Muff Winwood
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...
*
Pete York
Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Redcar, Yorkshire, England) is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s.
Biography
Born in Redcar, he attended the Nottingham High School and learnt to play the trumpet and snare drum ...
*
Eddie Hardin
Eddie Hardin (19 February 1949 – 22 July 2015) was an English rock pianist and singer-songwriter. Born Edward Harding, he was best known for his associations with the Spencer Davis Group, Axis Point, and Hardin & York. Hardin, along with the ...
*
Phil Sawyer
*
Ray Fenwick
Raymond John Fenwick (18 July 1946 – 30 April 2022) was an English guitarist and session musician, best known for his work in The Syndicats and in The Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, and as the lead guitarist of Ian Gillan's post- Deep Pu ...
*
Dee Murray
Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Biography
Murray was born in Gillingham ...
* Dave Hynes
*
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
* John Hitchcock
* Charlie McCracken
Timeline
Discography
*''
Their First LP
''Their First LP'' is the debut studio album by the Spencer Davis Group, released in the UK and Europe in June 1965. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart. Although never released in its original incarnation in the US, a majority of the ...
'' (1965)
*''
The Second Album'' (1966)
*''
Autumn '66
''Autumn' 66'' is the third studio album by the British rock group The Spencer Davis Group released in 1966. Although the album was not released in the US, the single "Somebody Help Me" was on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts for seven weeks and ...
'' (1966)
*''
With Their New Face On
''With Their New Face On'' is the fourth studio album by the Spencer Davis Group, the first to be released after the departure of Steve Winwood (to form the group Traffic), and his brother Muff Winwood. The album was released in 1968 in both the ...
'' (1968)
*''Funky'' (recorded 1969, released 1997)
*''
Gluggo
''Gluggo'' is an album by the Spencer Davis Group, originally released in 1973 on Vertigo Records.
Background
In 1969, the Spencer Davis Group recorded ''Funky'', an album that was ultimately not released due to contract issues with their recor ...
'' (1973)
*''Living in a Back Street'' (1974)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer Davis Group, The
1963 establishments in England
2020 disestablishments in England
Atco Records artists
Beat groups
British Invasion artists
British rhythm and blues boom musicians
English rock music groups
Island Records artists
Musical groups disestablished in 1969
Musical groups disestablished in 1974
Musical groups disestablished in 2020
Musical groups established in 1963
Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands
Musical groups reestablished in 1973
Musical groups reestablished in 2006