Died On This Date (July 12, 1983) Chris Wood / Founding Member Of Traffic
themusicsover Chris Wood
June 24, 1944 – July 12, 1983
Chris Wood was not only a founding member of English rock band, Traffic, he was good enough to play alongside the great Jimi Hendrix, appearing on 1968’s Electric Ladyland. A multi-instrumentalist, Wood was known for his skills on the flute, keyboards and saxophone. He also co-wrote several of Traffic’s songs and sang back up for them. Throughout the late ’60s and ’70s, Wood lent his talents to such artists as Dr. John, Ginger Baker, Free, the Faces and John Martyn. Wood suffered from drug and alcohol abuse throughout his career but would die of pneumonia on July 12, 1983 while working on a solo album.
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John Martyn was a Scottish folk singer-songwriter and guitarist whose career spanned the better part of four decades. With a sound that was equal parts folk, blues, jazz and rock played acoustically through a fuzzbox, Martyn was without peer in the British folk and blues scene of the ’60s and ’70s. Over the course of his career, he has played with the likes of Phil Collins, David Gilmour and Eric Clapton. John Martyn died of double pneumonia in an Ireland hospital. He was 60 years old.