Steve Winwood

I first encountered Winwood in 1966 when "Gimme Some Lovin'" was released by the Spencer Davis Group. Steve left the next year to form Traffic which was one of THE transforming rock groups of my youth.

Winwood had also collaborated with Eric Clapton, recording three songs -- "Steppin' Out," "Crossroads," and "I Want To Know" -- as the Powerhouse (a group which also included future Cream bassist Jack Bruce) and Winwood and Clapton worked together again in 1969 to create Blind Faith (which was often called the first supergroup) with Cream drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Rick Grech.

Traffic broke up officially in 1974 and Winwood went solo and had 4 hit albums "Arc of a Diver" (1981, platinum); "Talking Back To The Night" (1982); "Back In The High Life" (1986, 3x platinum), which featured the #1 smash, "Higher

 Love," which earned Winwood a trio of Grammys including "Record of the Year"; and the #1 Billboard chart-topping "Roll With It" (1988, 2x platinum).

He has a new album, NINE LIVES, and is back on tour with Tom Petty. He's 60. It gives me hope.

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Turning 60, Steve Winwood is starting to believe rock 'n' roll may be a younger man's game. Maybe.

    "I think to be a musician (at 60) is fine, but to be a rock 'n' roller at a ripe old age is maybe slightly questionable," said the singer, guitarist and organist who played with 1960s rock legends the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith.

    "If rock 'n' roll is, indeed, what I play, I'm not sure whether it is, as I try and combine bits of folk and jazz.

    "The music I write, I feel, is not the kind of music for a 25-year-old," Winwood acknowledged in an interview.

Read a review of NINE LIVES