Sound Advice: Collaborator Extraordinaire Dave Mason to Play Over-the-Rhine's Memorial Hall

This story is featured in CityBeat's Feb. 8 print issue.

British rock-and-roll legend with a storied career Dave Mason makes an appearance under the lights and elegance of Over-the-Rhine’s Memorial Hall.

Mason came to prominence as a founding member of the legendary British rock band Traffic. They released their debut album Mr. Fantasy at the height of the psychedelic era in 1967, Mason quit the band intermittently but was involved for their second record, the self-titled Traffic, which produced the classic “Feelin’ Alright” written by Mason.

Mason’s connections to other records, sessions and artists would be enough to cement his place in rock and roll history, playing 12-string acoustic on friend Jimi Hendrix’ version of “All Along the Watchtower” and serving backing vocals on “Crosstown Traffic.” He also played guitar on Wings’ “Listen to What The Man Said,” and worked on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass sessions and The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet. Mason toured with Delaney and Bonnie alongside Eric Clapton before launching a successful solo career in which he collaborated with artists like Leon Russell, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Stevie Wonder, Rita Coolidge, Michael Jackson, Jim Keltner and more.

Mason’s solo career produced three gold albums and one platinum record that included a handful of charting singles, including the 1977 hit “We Just Disagree,” which has remained a radio standard and has been re-recorded by other artists over the years. He was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s and toured as part of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.

His current outing, the “Endangered Species” tour, takes him around the United States with a cast of touring musicians with their own impressive résumés.

Dave Mason plays Memorial Hall at 8 p.m. Feb. 18. Info: memorialhallotr.com.


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