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Cancer claims Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi
Jim Capaldi , drummer for the popular late-'60s/early '70s British rock group Traffic , died in London early Friday morning (1/28) of stomach cancer. He was 60.
"He passed away peacefully at 2.30 a.m. with his wife, Aninha, and his two daughters, Tabitha, 28, and Tallulah, 26, his brother Phil, and other family members at his bedside," said a statement issued by his publicist.
Traffic--Steve Winwood , Dave Mason , Chris Wood and Capaldi--formed in 1967, and became known for a unique, organ-driven and reeds-punctuated sound that stood out among the psychedelic music of the period.
The band remained active until it split in 1974 with seven studio sets and three live sets under its belt. Wood, who played the saxophone and other wind instruments, died of liver failure in 1983, but the remaining trio re-formed for a 1993-94 tour and a new album.
Capaldi--who wrote the lyrics to many well-known Traffic tracks--went on to a successful solo career, scoring hits in the U.S. with tracks including "It's Alright" and "Love Hurts." He also teamed up with Winwood and Mason on various post-Traffic projects.
Traffic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last March. The band's surviving members planned to follow the induction with a reunion tour, but scrapped the plans because Capaldi was ill with what was said at the time to be a severe gastric ulcer.
