Traffic

Year:
2004
Inducted by:
Dave Matthews
Category:
Performers

Steve Winwood
Chris Wood
Dave Mason
Jim Capaldi

Introduction

Traffic dove into the psychedelic rabbit hole of their own minds.

Beholden to no one but the music and their muse. With their nine minute songs and sudden hook appearances mid-song, Traffic broke all the rules.

Dave Matthews Inducts Traffic

Dave Matthews Inducts Traffic at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Dave Matthews Inducts Traffic

00:04:27
Traffic Acceptance Speech

00:03:53
"Dear Mr. Fantasy"

00:07:28

Hall of Fame Essay

2004

John Milward

The word traffic is frequently followed by jam.

For the British rock band Traffic, the musical jam session began in the spring of 1967 at a country cottage in Berkshire, England. As the quartet wrote and rehearsed, member Steve Winwood’s soulful voice and wailing organ could be heard on the radio via “Gimme Some Lovin’ ” and “I’m a Man,” monster hits from his previous band, the Spencer Davis Group.

Now woodshedding with Winwood were guitarist Dave Mason, drummer Jim Capaldi and the horn-blowing Chris Wood. The resulting album, Mr. Fantasy, fit right into a year that saw the release of Sgt. Pepper and the rise of San Francisco psychedelic bands Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 2004

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