Dave Mason, Traffic co-founder, dies at 79
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- Dave Mason died peacefully on Sunday at his home in Gardnerville, Nevada, according to a statement from his representative; he was 79 and had settled in the US in 1969.
- Mason co-founded Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood, and his tenure was marked by friction with Winwood, who said Mason treated the band 'like we were his backing group'.
- Mason wrote and sang 'Hole in My Shoe', which reached No. 2 in the UK in 1967, and 'Feelin' Alright?', a moderate Traffic hit that was subsequently covered by Joe Cocker, Lulu, the Jackson Five, Gladys Knight and Paul Weller.
- Mason played acoustic guitar on Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along the Watchtower', backing vocals on 'Crosstown Traffic', and contributed to the Rolling Stones' 'Street Fighting Man', later appearing on George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' and briefly joining Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominos.
- Mason released 15 solo albums, with 1977's 'Let It Flow' going platinum on the strength of the single 'We Just Disagree'; he also founded electric guitar company RKS, whose instruments were used by members of the Rolling Stones.
- Mason published his memoir 'Only You Know & I Know' in 2024 and retired from touring in 2025 following a spell of ill health.
- Mason toured and recorded with Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s, playing on their album 'Time', though Christine McVie described her professional relationship with him as 'very acrimonious'.
Why it matters: Mason's death closes a chapter on a figure whose songwriting left an outsized mark on rock — 'Feelin' Alright?' alone became one of the most covered songs of the era, reinterpreted by everyone from Joe Cocker to the Jackson Five. His dual role as a Traffic co-founder and a first-call session collaborator on landmark recordings like 'All Along the Watchtower' and 'All Things Must Pass' cemented him as a connective thread between British and American rock's biggest names of the late 1960s.
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