The band was dissolved by Winwood's leaving in early 1969. During 1968 Winwood and Wood often played with Jimi Hendrix, and they both appear on The Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1968 double album Electric Ladyland, as did an uncredited Mason. The band toured the US as a trio in late 1968, which led to the following year's release of Traffic's next album, Last Exit, one side of which was recorded live. Mason also cited discomfort with the Traffic lifestyle. Winwood, Wood, and Capaldi wanted to take the group in a different direction, opting for a folk/blues style rather than their earlier psychedelic/eclectic rock sound, while Mason was oriented towards psychedelic pop. Released in 1968, it included the original version of Mason's " Feelin' Alright", which was later recorded with great success by Joe Cocker and Three Dog Night. Fantasy was released, but rejoined for a few months of 1968, long enough to contribute to a slim majority of the songs on their second album, Traffic. Mason left the group due to artistic differences by the time Mr. Fantasy, produced by Jimmy Miller, and like the singles, was a hit in the UK but not as big elsewhere, although it did reach number 88 in the US. The band's third single, " Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush", was made for the soundtrack of the 1967 British feature film of the same name. Their second single, Mason's psych-pop " Hole in My Shoe", was an even bigger hit, and it became one of their best-known tracks. Traffic signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records label (where Winwood's elder brother Muff, also a member of the Spencer Davis Group, later became a record producer and executive), and their debut single " Paper Sun" became a UK hit in mid-1967. The use of this cottage would prove to be important in the development of the band. ![]() Soon thereafter, they rented a cottage near the rural village of Aston Tirrold, Berkshire to write and rehearse new music. Capaldi came up with the name of the group while the four of them were waiting to cross the street in Dorchester. ![]() After Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967, the quartet formed Traffic. Winwood, Capaldi, Mason, and Wood met when they jammed together at The Elbow Room, a club in Aston, Birmingham. Drummer/vocalist/lyricist Jim Capaldi and guitarist Dave Mason had both been in the Hellions and Deep Feeling, while woodwinds player Chris Wood came out of Locomotive. The Spencer Davis Group released four Top Ten singles and three Top Ten albums in the United Kingdom, as well as two Top Ten singles in the United States. Traffic's singer, keyboardist, and sometimes guitarist Steve Winwood was the frontman of the Spencer Davis Group at age 15.
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