Spencer Davis Group--Gimme Some Lovin' (1967)

     The children of privilege in Britain went to the best schools and were groomed for success. The rest had to do the best they could with what they had. For many a schoolboy in the late 50's/early 60's that escape was music, especially the R&B and Soul they heard from the United States.
     It seems quite fitting in a way that much of the British invasion was due to bands taking a genre that was largely discarded  by the US and making it into their own. Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis had this love of the blues which he shared with a set of brothers, Steve and Muff Winwood. Muff, who played bass was only 20 at the time, but it was little brother Steve who at 14 was already gaining a reputation. His abilities on the organ and guitar was good, but his voice showed someone who was far beyond his years.
    The trio began making waves on both sides of the Atlantic with, "Keep On Running" in early 66', which was a hit in the UK, but had slight success here. A couple more hits continued momentum in Britain, but it wasn't until early 1967 that they hit gold here.
    The three men wrote, "Gimmie Some Lovin'" based on a riff borrowed from the Homer Banks song, "(Ain't That) A Lot Of Love". It reached #7 here in the states and became their biggest hit, although they also did very well with the follow up, "I'm A Man" later on that year.
    Later that year, Muff went into the business side of things, later to do very well as a producer. Steve went on to form Traffic and then to a successful solo career. Spencer Davis lives on an island off the coast of California and works from time to time with other sessions musicians as he chooses.