Steve Winwood

After making his name belting out white-boy R&B hits for the Spencer Davis Group in the ’60s, Steve Winwood left to form Traffic, an improvisational combo whose stubborn refusal to settle on a genre (jazz? folk? psychedelia? blues?) helped spawn countless experimental followers. Like many ’70s frontmen, Winwood went solo near the end of the decade; unlike many ’70s frontmen, his subsequent output didn’t suck. Heavy on the synth and soul and ready for radio, albums such as Arc of a Diver and Back in the High Life were commercial and critical triumphs. Inexplicably overlooked on area classic-rock stations, his music remains in the public sphere thanks mostly to adult-contemporary playlists and the occasional Muzak version of “The Finer Things.” Nonetheless, every step of the way for Winwood has yielded a few common denominators: progressive song arrangements and a well-honed ear for the groove. See him now while he can still hit those high notes.