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Spencer Davis 17 July 1939—19 October 2020 (age
81)

Between 1965 and 1967, the Spencer Davis Group were one of the
hottest names in the crowded field of British pop. Their chart-
topping singles Keep on Running and Somebody Help Me were fiery
eruptions of soul and R&B, and the Top 10 follow-ups Gimme Some
Lovin’ (co-written by Davis) and I’m a Man cranked the intensity
even higher. With the last two they also cracked the US Top 10, and in
1971 Chicago’s version of I’m a Man reached the US Top 50 and No 8 in the UK.
(Source Guardian, Oct 21, 2020)

Davis was born on July 17, 1939, in
Swansea, Wales, where he first sang in a
boys' choir before he became influenced by
jazz and rhythm and blues in his college
years (source NPR).

Later in 1964, along with Pete York, Steve
Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood,
the group formed a band known as the
Rhythm and Blues Quartet. Although Davis
was often outshone by the teenage Steve
Winward, the band’s name was later
changed to the Spencer Davis Group in
1964, where the group garnered success
with several rock hits throughout the
decade.

Winwood left to form Traffic in 1967,
Davis and the group recorded two follow-
up records before eventually splitting up
in 1969, according to Rolling Stone.
Another version of the group with Davis
and York formed years later before
disbanding once again.

Davis moved to the United States in 1970,
where he formed an acoustic blues band.
He also worked as an executive at Island
Records in the mid-'70s, working hand in
hand with artists including Bob Marley
and Robert Palmer, before he led the independent Hollywood record label A&R for Allegiance
Records in the early 1980s.

In a tribute post, Gary Kemp, musician and actor wrote, "RIP Spencer Davis. He led a magnificent
band, one of the greats of the '60s, along with Muff and Steve Winwood. Keep [on] Running and
Gimme Some Lovin’ were r&b classics. He drove soul into the white rock sound of the time”.

He has been called the founder of British blues

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