Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant might have grown up in a rural part of the West Midlands, but his local area was bursting at the seams with talent at the time. Fortunately, as Plant was coming of age, he had the pleasure of meeting an array of like-minded individuals who were equally as obsessed with rock ‘n’ roll as him.
As teenagers, they would all perform on the pub circuit, and unbeknownst to those in the audience, within a decade, some of those figures on the stage would be among the most celebrated rock artists on the planet. In addition to Plant and his future Led Zeppelin bandmates John Paul Jones and John Bonham, the Birmingham scene also included members of Black Sabbath, Jeff Lynne from Electric Light Orchestra and Steve Winwood from Traffic.
Before finding success with Traffic, Winwood made a name for himself in the music industry as the singer with The Spencer Davis Group after joining at age 14. He was thrust into the rock ‘n’ roll business while most of his peers were still in full-time education, but he refused to drown while in the deep end.
Although The Spencer Davis Group was at the peak of its power in 1967, Winwood quit and formed Traffic, advancing the next stage of his career. While he’s better known for his work with the latter band, Plant holds a particular fondness for one track Winwood made with The Spencer Davis Group, which he believes exhibits the full extent of his talent.
During a broadcast on BBC Radio 6 in 2022, Plant named ‘Stevie’s Blues’ by the aforementioned band as one of his favourite tracks and shared his personal connection to The Spencer Davis Group while reminiscing about his youth.
Plant explained: “So many fantastic groups in the West Midlands, in Birmingham, there was an incredible group called The Spencer Davis Group. This is a track that really brings and highlights the great gift that Steve Winwood has, continues to have and can actually exercise whenever he feels like it. So this is ‘Stevie’s Blues’.”
In another life, Winwood could have prevented Plant from forming his legendary partnership with Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin. Before Page formed the band, he considered The Spencer Davis Group member as a vocalist in 1966 for a new incarnation of The Yardbirds, which, if it was successful, could have prevented him from working with Plant.
Thankfully, Page decided against bringing Winwood into his orbit, and everything worked out best for everybody involved. In addition to Traffic, who he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside in 2004, he also forged a highly successful solo career, which may not have been possible if he’d teamed with Page.
Listen to ‘Stevie’s Blues’ below.
