100 Greatest Songs of the 60’s #54 The Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Loving

Released: 1966

Time can change opinions and often does, but even at the time the gossip was that The Spencer Davis Group were in fact the Steve Winwood Group in all but name. Having left his native South Wales for Birmingham to study, Davis had recruited the Winwoods – Steve and his elder brother, Muff – who coming from a musical family had already flirted with skiffle and jazz before before they came together to play a concoction of blues and later soul.

Although named after their pseudo-leader, Winwood junior (Who’d joined at only 14) was soon it’s talisman, taking lead vocals and playing guitar, piano, vibes and drums. This lineup began having hits and between November 1965 and January 1967, their dominance was such that they had successive UK chart-toppers, a number two and a pair of top five albums.

Legend has it that after a comparatively barren spell in the middle of all that, label boss Chris Blackwell brought them together in a rehearsal space at London’s Marquee Club for the purpose of getting back on track. Half an hour after they’d begun Gimme Some Loving had become the latest salvo readied for the conveyor belt. Even the less prescient of commentators could see it was a matter of time however before a talent so prodigous chose to showcase it in a more personally orientated package, and Winwood duly left in early 1967 to form Traffic. It was then time to find out if the whispers were true.