I think you do better when you are really up for it, cause passion goes up.
Jim Capaldi
Jim Capaldi would have observed his 76th birthday today. Born August 2, 1944, Capaldi was a significant personality in the 60s British rock scene.
His influence extended successfully into the modern millennium. He was an English drummer, vocalist and composer who was a founding member of Traffic, and a strong solo artist. He worked with Jim Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Cat Stevens.
Traffic had the 1967 UK No. 2 single ‘Hole In My Shoe. As a solo artist, Capaldi had the 1975 UK No. 4 hit single ‘Love Hurts’.
Here is a fragment of the remarkable contributions Capaldi did to music.
‘One and Only Man’ hit the Top 20 in 1990, a Steve Winwood song for which Capaldi wrote the lyrics. He picked up the BMI/Ascap Awards five times for the “most played compositions in America”. Sales of songs written or co-written by Capaldi exceeded 25 million. He toured with Bob Marley, collaborating, while Marley wrote the Catch A Fire album. Capaldi composed the lyrics to ‘This Is Reggae Music’.
Capaldi was on drums at Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert and on some Clapton studio sessions. He collaborated with Robert Calvert of Hawkwind on the critically praised 1974 solo album Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters. He was a vocal performer on the album’s theatrical sections between songs.
In the 80s he collaborated with Carlos Santana, writing songs and creative input to Santana’s projects. In the 90s he co-wrote ‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’ with Paul Carrack, used on The Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over album.
Traffic reformed in 1993 and toured the US and the UK.
