Steve Winwood Remembers Spencer Davis: ‘He Definitely Was A Man With A Vision’

The most famous former member of the Spencer Davis Group has spoken about Davis's passing. Davis passed away on Monday.

Winwood told Rolling Stone that Davis was like his "big brother."

Winwood noted that Davis is nine years older than him, and that they met when Winwood was just 13. “I was playing a show at Birmingham University with my brother and his band," he said, referring to Muff Winwood, who became the bass player in the Spencer Davis Group.

"Spencer who was a student at Birmingham, was playing with a small group of musicians, we met and the the seeds of Spencer Davis Group were sown.”

As far as Davis' impact, Winwood said, “Spencer was an early pioneer of the British folk scene... He influenced my tastes in music, and he owned the first 12-string guitar I ever saw. I’d already got a big brother who influenced me greatly, and Spencer became like a big brother to me at the time.” Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in 1967, and went on to form Traffic and Blind Faith and later on a successful solo career. Davis led different versions of the band over the years.