Spencer Davis

Born Spencer Davies on July 17, 1939 in Swansea, Wales, the musician, singer, bandleader and producer was better known as Spencer Davis, the leader of British rhythm & blues/rock band The Spencer Davis Group. Davis’ career began when he moved to London at the age of 16 to work and study. He then relocated to Birmingham, where he founded The Spencer Davis Group in 1963. Initially influenced by skiffle, jazz, and blues, Davis’s band – which included Pete York and brothers Muff and Steve Winwood – embraced the rhythm ‘n’ blues movement. With Steve Winwood’s powerful vocals and keyboards front and center and Davis’ guitar helping to drive the songs, the band scored hits with “Keep on Running” (1965), "Somebody Help Me" (1965), “Gimme Some Lovin’” (1966) and “I’m a Man” (1967). At the height of the band’s success, Steve Winwood left the band in 1967 to form Traffic. The Spencer Davis Group recorded two more albums - With Their New Face On (1968) and Funky (1969, but unreleased until 1997) - before Davis decided to uproot and move to California. He released the acoustic album It's Been So Long (1971) with Pete Jameson. His 1972 album Mousetrap (1972) was produced by "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, who also played on the album. He reformed a new version of The Spencer Davis Group, who recorded two albums: Gluggo (1973) and Living in a Back Street (1974). He then became an A&R executive at Island Records and helped to promote releases by Bob Marley, Robert Palmer, and his old bandmate Steve Winwood. He continued to work with his longtime musical friends like Pete York, Chris Farlowe, and others. Continuing to keep making music, he formed the supergroup Class Rock All-Stars in 1993. Two years later, he formed a similar all-star group World Classic Rockers with Randy Meisner (Poco/Eagles), Bobby Kimball (Toto), and Denny Laine (The Moody Blues/Wings). Spencer Davis died on October 20, 2020, of pneumonia. He was 81.

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