Dave Mason
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Dave Mason (born May 10, 1944) is a musician from Birmingham, England who found fame with rock band Traffic.
Mason was a close friend of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix first heard "All Along The Watchtower" by Bob Dylan at a party he was invited to by Mason, and decided to record his own version. The same night he recorded the song at Olympic Barnes, South West London, with Mason playing acoustic guitar and Brian Jones hanging out at the session. When the song came out as a single, in October, 1968, it reached number 5 in the UK charts.
Mason left Traffic in the 1970s and had a moderately successful solo career, but later returned to record new material. He created great music in the mid-late '70s, touring and recording with guitarist Jim Kreuger, keyboardist Mike Finnegan, bassist Gerald Johnson and drummer Rick Jaeger. The album "Certified Live" is a worthy display of his song writing/arranging, vocal and guitar talents.
As of 2005, Mason is currently performing solo shows across the country at a rate of about 100 per year.