Dave Mason
British musician (1946–2026)
David Thomas Mason (10 May 1946 – 19 April 2026) was an English musician who came to prominence in 1967 as a founding member of the rock band Traffic. He wrote and sang lead vocals on two of the band's best known songs, "Hole in My Shoe" and "Feelin' Alright?" His song "Only You Know and I Know" became a signature song for Delaney & Bonnie, and his 1977 solo hit, "We Just Disagree", has become a staple of U.S. classic hits and adult contemporary radio playlists.
After leaving Traffic, he pursued a solo career and recorded with artists that included Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Wings, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Steve Winwood, Fleetwood Mac, Delaney & Bonnie, Leon Russell, and Cass Elliot.
In 2004, Mason started an electric guitar company with business partner and industrial designer Ravi Sawhney. That same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic.
Early life
Mason was born in Worcester, England, on 10 May 1946, the youngest of two children of Edward Mason and Nora Wilson, who ran a sweet shop. He became infatuated with the electric guitar at an early age, becoming an avid follower of Hank Marvin, Buddy Guy and Elmore James. In his teens, he formed his own band, The Jaguars, which, with funding from his parents, recorded the 1963 single "Opus to Spring".
Career
The Hellions
In 1964, Mason joined another Worcester band, The Hellions, which included drummer Jim Capaldi. In August of that year, the band was hired to back singer Tanya Day at the Star-Club in Hamburg, where they stayed at the same hotel as the Spencer Davis Group.
The public source identifies “Dave Mason” as british musician (1946–2026). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dave, Mason and British.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Dave Mason”, the useful work is to connect “british musician (1946–2026)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q918535. VIAF identifies the subject as 64201357. The Library of Congress control number is n92000421. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 2026, 1967 and 1977.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dave Mason” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.