Traffic was a rock band, from Birmingham, England formed in the late 1960s and led by Steve Winwood, with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason, after Winwood had left the Spencer Davis Group. Winwood became friends with his future bandmates in the latter days of the Davis group (which also hailed from Birmighman) and Capaldi, Wood and Mason are reputed to have performed (uncredited) on at least two Spencer Davis Group singles, "I'm A Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin".
The four musicians often jammed together at a club called The Elbow Room in Aston, Birmingham. With Mason and Capaldi eager to form a new group, Winwood agreed to join the partnership along with Chris Wood and so the four members retreated to a secluded cottage in Aston Tirrold, Berkshire to rehearse.
Traffic's debut single was 1967's "Paper Sun", a UK hit. "Hole in My Shoe", the second single, was an even bigger hit, and set the stage for a rivalry between Winwood and Mason, the group's principal songwriters. Their debut album was Mr. Fantasy which, like the singles, was a hit in the UK but not in the U.S. or elsewhere.
Problems with Mason led to his departure from the group shortly before the release of Mr. Fantasy. Mason was content to avoid collaboration, a direct contrast with the lyricist/songwriter partnership of Capaldi and Winwood. During the time without Mason, Winwood had to play bass pedals in addition to playing keyboard and singing when the group performed live. The group also had difficulty maintaining a well-rounded repertoire of songs without Mason's strong songwriting ability. Mason rejoined the band for their second album, Traffic, released in 1968.
The band began touring the U.S. in late 1968, which led to the following year's release of Traffic's next album Last Exit, with one side recorded live. During the tour, Mason was fired and Winwood announced the band's breakup. Winwood formed Blind Faith with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech which lasted only a year. The remaining members of Traffic began a project with Mick Weaver called Wooden Frog which never recorded an album. After the split of Blind Faith in 1969, Winwood began working on a solo recording which eventually turned into another Traffic album (without Mason), John Barleycorn Must Die, their most successful album yet.
