1. YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP THE FAITHBlind Faith - July 13, 1969 - Kennedy Stadium, Bridgeport, CT
Opening act -- Delaney Bonnie and Friends

In the late 60s, a number of iconic bands began to split up, and out of those ashes rose “supergroups.” The term most likely derived from the 1968 album Super Sessions, which featured Al Kooper, Stephen Stills and Michael Bloomfield -- three artists who had come to prominence playing in some of those early 60s bands. One of the earliest and probably best known of such groups was the short-lived Blind Faith. The band consisted of Steve Winwood, best known as the organist/vocalist in The Spencer Davis Group, and later went on to form Traffic. Guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker had formed two-thirds of the very popular power trio Cream, and prior to forming Cream, Clapton had done stints with The Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, impressing critics and fans alike with his virtuoso guitar playing -- so much so that “Clapton is God” posters were a not-uncommon sight in various parts of England in the 60s. The fourth member of the band was bassist Ric Grech, who previously played with a group called Family, who were neither super nor popular.

Blind Faith was so short-lived that only a handful of people were lucky enough to see them on their one tour. I was one of those lucky ones, front and center at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport in the summer of 1969.

The image of two legends, Winwood and Clapton, walking out on stage together, both with guitar in hand remains a vivid memory for me -- and a surprising one, given that most people figured Winwood would be handling the keyboard and vocal duties while Clapton/God did his thing on guitar. Winwood was then and remains to this day one of the great rock vocalists in history, and on that night with the opening notes of the song “Had To Cry Today,” it was easy to hear how he earned the nickname “Little Ray” (in reference to Ray Charles) as a 15-year-old prodigy with the Spencer Davis Group. The set was a short one by today's standards, maybe lasting an hour at most. The band didn't have a huge catalog of songs to choose from, given that their one album consisted of only 6 songs.

In addition to the short set, the sound system wasn't great either, so in terms of this being one of the great concerts I have witnessed, it wasn't. But to be one of the lucky ones to see this band in their short tenure remains an important musical event in my life.