Over the weekend, English singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave Mason died “peacefully” in his sleep at his home in Carson Valley, Nevada, USA. He was 79. His family announced the news on his Facebook and Instagram pages:
“It is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of Dave Mason. On Sunday, April 19, after cooking an amazing dinner with his beloved wife Winifred, he sat down to take a nap with sweet Star (the Maltese) at his feet. He passed away peacefully, in his favorite chair, surrounded by the beautiful Carson Valley that he loved so much.”
The statement continued:
“A storybook ending. On his own terms. Which is how he lived his life right up until the end. He leaves a lasting imprint on the soundtrack of our lives and the hearts he has lifted. His legacy will be cherished forever.”
Dave Mason co-founded the rock band Traffic in 1967 with lead singer Steve Winwood, drummer and songwriter Jim Capaldi, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Wood. However, Mason and Winwood had a fallout due to creative differences. It was one of the reasons why the group had an on-and-off stint before their final split in 1974.
Steve Winwood, who is now the only surviving original member of Traffic, hasn’t addressed his former bandmate’s death at the time of writing.
Here’s taking a closer look at Dave Mason and Steve Winwood’s fallout
Dave Mason first left Traffic in the spring of 1967 after the release of their debut studio album, Mr Fantasy. In August 2024, he told The Guardian that the decision was influenced by his desire to gain “more life experiences” to become a “timeless” songwriter. During the hiatus, Dave released his solo debut album, Alone Together, which was an overnight hit.
Mason returned the following year to help the band with their eponymous sophomore album, only to get fired two months later, with Steve Winwood allegedly telling him:
“‘I don’t like the way you write. I don’t like the way you sing. I don’t like the way you play. And we don’t want you in the band anymore.’ I was in shock. For me, that was the ultimate band.”
While Dave Mason went on to carve out a successful solo career, he regretted his fallout with Winwood and their band:
“As someone once wrote years ago, ‘Differences combine to form beauty.’ Unfortunately, they also combine to drive people apart… I didn’t steal any money from them and I didn’t run off with their girlfriends. I don’t know what else it could be.”
Mason claimed that Winwood and others might have been “jealous” as he wrote all of Traffic’s best-selling songs at the time. It is noteworthy that his bandmates later told the press that Dave was writing pop songs, which were not what they were looking for.
In the same interview, Dave Mason admitted that the band was a “hit” because of frontman Steve Winwood, but they needed him for the lyrics. In fact, they invited him back in 1971 for a six-show tour across England, which he thinks was “probably to fulfil some recording obligation.”
Regardless, the reunion gave birth to the live album Welcome to the Canteen, following which the guitarist made his final exit.
In September 2024, the rocker sat down with ABC Audio and shared:
“I don’t forget, but at the same time, I’m not going to carry lingering resentment and hate and stuff. It’s not worth it. What transcends all those personal differences and bullsh*t and whatever is the music… You know, differences combine to form beauty and so the differences are what made things great, but the differences unfortunately drove it apart.”
Dave Mason claimed that while he was open to a reunion with Steve Winwood, the latter may not want it:
“It’s unfortunate that Steve Winwood can’t get together with me and go out and make one sort of last performance of Traffic. I’m just open to doing it. You know, we don’t even have to talk, you just have to get onstage for an hour and a half.”
According to The Guardian, Mason and Capaldi reunited for a tour in the ‘90s, including a show at the Bottom Line in New York. While the drummer warned him not to draw attention to Winwood (who was in the audience), Dave asked Steve to join them on stage at the end of the gig. While the latter acknowledged the invitation, he was seemingly not pleased:
“Of course! I didn’t care. It was my show, my stage and you’re stuck!” Dave Mason told the outlet.
Matters went further south when he proposed that he and Winwood play the song Dear Mr Fantasy to mark their 2003 induction into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. But Steve declined and performed solo, asking Dave to join on bass. He refused and told The Guardian that it was turning into “the Steve Winwood show” despite all Traffic members being honored that day.
Finally, in 2017, Dave Mason proposed a tribute show for Capaldi in the wake of his demise. However, Winwood told him that he promised Jim on his “deathbed” that he would never tour under the band’s name. According to Mason, it was “f**king bizarre” and “Machiavellian.”
Around the time Dave Mason interviewed with The Guardian, he also released his memoir, Only You Know and I Know (named after one of his most popular songs), which also covered his ups and downs with Traffic. An excerpt from the book reads:
“On one level, I could hate every one of them… But without that opportunity, I never would have had the platform to do what I went on to do. I’m not one to hold grudges, but I’m also not one to forget.”
Steve Winwood reflected on his fallout with Dave Mason during his 2018 interview with Uncut.
“Dave very quickly started writing these quite poppy songs. But, of course, we didn’t know how to deal with that, as we didn’t want to be a part of the pop world – Traffic for me was all about mixing jazz, folk, ethnic music, rock, R&B. We wanted to forge our own music by trying to combine those different elements.”
The Hendrix member added:
“We all wanted to write together, to write out of jams that we had, but Dave wasn’t interested in that; he wanted to write his own songs, little arrangements in his head – which is fine, but I don’t think it was right for Traffic. Then we’d bring him in, when we could get him to play on something and jam with us like he did in the early days, but he wasn’t quite happy.”
Dave Mason is survived by his wife, Winifred Wilson, and daughter Danielle Mason. His son, True Mason, preceded him in death in 2006.
Edited by Pallavi K