Dec 122013
Steve Winwood’s surprising late-career muttonchops.
I believe I noted, a month or two ago, in my thoughts on a PBS documentary on Jimi Hendrix, that I was floored by modern-day Steve Winwood’s muttonchops, which appeared alongside his few seconds of commentary. Of all musicians who prospered during the hippie era, Winwood was probably only second to Joni Mitchell in keeping a clean-shaven face. Although he kept his locks flowing, culturing a forelock in a nearly Veronica Lake fashion, I don’t recall ever seeing Winwood with facial hair in the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, or anytime during his solo career. Are Winwood’s Golden Years Muttonchops, in their natural gray state, the most surprising late-career Look addition in rock?
Those are pretty surprising. I was thinking about another one and searched for “tom petty beard” and there were some interesting results, especially:
A how-to:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=7041851
Quick, there’s only 1 left in stock!
http://www.amazon.com/PETTY-Bearded-Look-COMPUTER-MOUSE/dp/B0046717W8
Yes, the late-period Petty beard was surprising, but later we learned it hearkened back to his pre-fame Mudcrutch days, when he sported facial hair:
http://media.tcpalm.com/media/img/photos/2007/11/14/petty_mudcrutch_hi-rez.JPG
Nice — Winwood’s muttonchops ain’t got nothin’ on those!
I think Winwood’s chops are a desperate attempt to look his age.
Would you have predicted Dylan’s attempt at a Don Ameche moustache?
http://www.soundmagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bob_dylan_bw_highrez.jpg
Of course, how could I have forgotten the Ameche! I never saw that coming. And it works brilliantly.
All good choices, but I don’t think any late career styling choice is more inexplicable than Mike Campell’s dreadlocks: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7WCoPRAkRPU/TiIxYYC1JnI/AAAAAAAADRM/pIyRuXlk5o0/s400/_-256%2B-%2BCopy.jpg
Steve Winwood’s muttonchps were unexpected, but he kind of pulls it off. I’ve seen exactly zero white people look good in dreads. It always looks like they are trying too hard.
What about Bob Mould’s transformation from Pillsbury Dough Boy to Lean Mr. Clean? It’s like two different people, almost.
Good one!
Indeed!
Did you ever think Springsteen would get fake hair?
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/16/article-2309829-1951ACC3000005DC-46_306x479.jpg
That’s so wrong! I think we’ve got a winner…or is that a loser?
Hey Mod, as a semi-related aside, we just finished watching “Zabriskie Point” – plenty of good facial hair (glued or otherwise) in that flick. Thought of you when we first see the hero’s friend sporting quite a ‘stache – he resembled Jason Lee with a handlebar. (And there was a Paul Rudd look alike amongst all the student rebellious sorts.) A RTH movie classic!
I haven’t seen that in years. Like other movies I’ve seen by that director (Antonioni?), I remember it leaving me with no emotional response, but plenty of satisfaction in terms of facial hair and groovy women (exclusive of each other).
Bruce looks like Robert de Niro playing Bruce Springsteen playing an undercover Philadelphia cop in a buddy flick with Pauly Shore.
I’m not a fan of the look. But it was not readily foreseeable, to be sure.
What the?
Agreed, though I like Antonioni’s early, funny films.