Steve Winwood - Arc of a Diver

Written By: Moti Kupfer

Release date - 29.12.1980

 "Networking is rubbish, better have friends instead"

It is not certain that Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk would sign off on this idea with their eyes closed, but there is something compelling in Winwood’s view of history. He once argued that music did not dictate the course of the 1960s, but rather emerged as a byproduct of the profound social and cultural changes of that era.

Winwood was born in 1948 in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. His father, Lawrence, worked as a foundryman but was also a semi-professional musician who played saxophone and clarinet. By the age of four, young Steve was already learning piano. Soon after, he added drums and guitar to his skills and sang as a choirboy at St. John’s Church.

At just eight years old, he began performing with the "Ron Atkinson Band" alongside his father and older brother. While studying at Great Barr School, he became immersed in Birmingham’s rock and blues scene, playing Hammond organ with visiting blues legends such as B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker.

At fourteen, Winwood joined the blues-rock band "Spencer Davis Group". His high, soulful tenor voice quickly drew comparisons to Ray Charles. After four years and three albums, he left the group, having earned enough from its hit singles to buy his own Hammond organ.

In April 1967, he formed "Traffic", a band that released seven studio albums in seven years (with an eighth and final album arriving in 1994). Along the way, Winwood also took part in the short-lived supergroup "Blind Faith", alongside Rick Grech,Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker. After Clapton’s departure, Winwood continued working with the remaining members under the name "Ginger Baker's Air Force".

About a year and a half before launching his solo career, he also formed the jazz-fusion rock project "Go" with Japanese keyboardist Stomu Yamashta and Santana drummer Michael Shrieve.

Winwood’s creativity was not confined to his own bands. He appeared as a session musician on albums by Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Howlin' Wolf, Lou Reed, Robert Palmer, and Sandy Denny, to name only a few.

Following pressure from Island Records, Winwood released his self-titled debut album in 1977. Around that time, he built his own recording studio, “Netherturkdonic,” on his farm in Gloucestershire. There, he wrote and recorded music while playing keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, and percussion himself. It was in this studio that “Arc of a Diver” was created.

Often categorized as soft rock, the album contains only seven tracks. With the exception of “Second-Hand Woman”, each song stretches between five and eight minutes, allowing the arrangements to breathe and evolve. Winwood co-wrote some of the lyrics with American lyricist Will Jennings, who would later write “Tears in Heaven” and “My Heart Will Go On”.

As the 1980s approached, Winwood realized that his familiar Hammond-driven sound needed a subtle update. Synthesizers and electric keyboards were introduced to add a new twist, though the Hammond organ remained an essential presence.

The opening track, “While You See a Chance”, became the album’s only single and reached number seven on the Billboard chart.

The album itself was also a commercial success in the United States, peaking at number three on the album chart and selling over one million copies. Its cover artwork was created by British artist Tony Wright, inspired by the cover of Jazz by French painter and sculptor Henri Matisse.

For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music

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