Dave Mason, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and founding member of the 1960s progressive rock band Traffic, has died.
A spokesperson for Mason confirmed to USA TODAY that Mason passed away on Sunday, April 19, at his home in Gardnerville, Nevada. He was 79 years old.
“Dave Mason lived a remarkable life dedicated to music and the people he loved,” said a statement mourning his death.
In 2024, Mason was diagnosed with serious heart disease during a routine medical checkup, and his tour was postponed. In 2025, Mason canceled all tour dates due to continued health issues.
“It’s been a long road to recovery. I love you all so much,” Mason wrote on Instagram at the time.
In addition to playing guitar in Traffic, Mason has played with Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones, and is credited with writing the soulful “Feelin’ Alright?,” which Joe Cocker popularized in a finger-snap version in 1969. Mason’s solo work includes the 1977 hit ballad “We Just Disagree.”
“I’m like the Forrest Gump of rock,” Mason told USA TODAY in a 2024 interview. In March 2025, he released his 21st album, A Shade of Blues.cent Album featuring appearances by Michael McDonald and Joe Bonamassa.
History of Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright?”
Mason was born on May 10, 1946 in Worcester, England, but moved to California in 1969.
Mason broke out in the UK with Traffic in 1967 with three hits: “Paper Sun”, “Hole in My Shoe” and “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”.
A year later, the song “Feelin’ Alright?”, written by Mason, was a hit, although it wasn’t as successful on the charts. He never realized how integral the question mark was to his songwriting history.
Mason lamented that most people overlooked the nuance of the question mark at the end of the song’s title, since his intention was legitimately to ask the listener’s emotional state. “Are you feeling okay?”
Among the many covers of the song, Cocker’s version appeared a year after Mason was unceremoniously fired from Traffic for reasons still unclear in his book. Cocker injected a feel-good vibe into the song, turning its title into a statement rather than a question, creating a timeless bar jam.
“I wrote that song 58 years ago, and it’s as current as ever when I wrote it,” Mason told USA TODAY. “You have to thank Joe Cocker for that. Sometimes authors aren’t the best interpreters of their work.”
Dave Mason’s success was countered by a dark personal turn
In September 2024, Mason released a memoir, Only You Know & I Know, which supplements his modest career with anecdotes and unabridged commentary from friends and collaborators, taking its title from a song of the same name that he frequently covered, which became a signature hit for close friends Delaney and Bonnie in 1971, and a song on Rita Coolidge’s album that same year.
Although his career as a journeyman musician saw him play with and befriend some of the biggest names in music, his personal life often took a dark turn, with George Harrison performing with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band before its release, and a few years later, Mason contributing guitar parts to Harrison’s album All Things Must Pass. He battled drug addiction, went bankrupt, had several failed relationships, and lost his son True in 2006 at age 35 to “addiction or suicide, we’ll never know,” Mason wrote in his memoir.
Mason is survived by his wife and partner Winifred Wilson, daughter Danielle, nephew John (Trish) Leonard, niece Michelle Leonard, and brothers-in-law Sloane (Claudia) Wilson and Walton (Barbara Sims) Wilson. In addition to True, Mason was preceded in death by a sister, Valerie Leonard;
