Dave Mason, the Traffic co-founder who was later a member of Fleetwood Mac, died of unspecified causes on Sunday, April 19 at the age of 79.

“After cooking an amazing dinner with his beloved wife Winifred, [Dave] sat down to take a nap with sweet Star (the maltese) at his feet,” explained a post from his family on Mason’s official Facebook page. “He passed away peacefully, in his favorite chair, surrounded by the beautiful Carson Valley that he loved so much. A storybook ending. On his own terms. Which is how he lived his life right up until the end.”

Mason had dealt with several publicized health issues in his final years. Dates for his Traffic Jam tour were underway in September 2024 when “doctors detected a serious heart condition during a routine appointment that requires immediate medical attention,” according to an official release.

Remembering Dave Mason’s Biggest Song

The rest of the concerts, scheduled through November, were scrubbed so Mason could take care of the unspecified “urgent medical condition.” He had published a memoir, Only You Know & I Know, only a few weeks earlier.

In March 2025, Mason was forced to cancel three months of concerts after being hospitalized with a “serious infection” that “developed quickly.” By September, he was permanently retired. His most recent show had been in August 2024.

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Mason was a member of Traffic through their first two albums, 1967’s Mr. Fantasy and their self-titled 1968 follow-up. His songs also appeared on 1969’s Last Exit, which collected stray Traffic singles and recordings from a March 1968 concert at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

He had a No. 12 solo 1977 hit “We Just Disagree,” but Mason’s signature song remained “Feelin’ Alright?,” a Traffic album cut that Joe Cocker turned into a rock radio favorite. But Cocker notably removed the question mark before releasing the song, forever altering people’s impression of its meaning.

“The song is about not feeling too good myself! That’s what the song’s about. It’s not really about feeling alright, at all,” Mason said in 2014, with a laugh. “But that being said, without Joe’s version it would never have gotten the enormous amount of attention it got. So, you know, it’s open to interpretation.”

Listen to Dave Mason’s ‘Feelin’ Alright?” With Traffic

Why Did Dave Mason Split With Traffic?

Born on May 10, 1944, Mason grew up in the farming community of Worcester in the English Midlands. His parents operated a local candy store while young Dave enjoyed an idyllic country life. He once described his childhood to Goldmine magazine as a “Tom Sawyer existence, running around fields and building rafts and treehouses. But never really talking too much. I was very introverted.”

He found an outlet in music. Mason became youthful friends with Jim Capaldi, a future Traffic bandmate. One of their early bands included Chris Wood, another member of Traffic. They opened for the Spencer Davis Group, whose lead singer was the teen sensation Steve Winwood. By 1967, the foursome had formed Traffic.

When they split two albums in, Mason blamed jealousy on Winwood’s part because their best-known songs back then were Mason originals. “It just happened that the way I wrote was commercial,” he told Goldmine. “In the end, it was basically a fact of Steve Winwood and Jim calling me to a meeting one day and saying: ‘We don’t want you in the band. We don’t like your music, we don’t like what you do, so we really don’t want you in the band anymore.’ And that’s why it ended, basically.”

Mason joined Delaney & Bonnie in 1970 before launching his solo career. Four of his albums reached the Top 40, including No. 22 Alone Together in 1970 and No. 27 Dave Mason in 1974. Both went gold. His best-selling LP, however, remained Let It Flow. The platinum 1977 hit finished just outside the Top 40 but was home to “We Just Disagree.” Mason would only hit the Top 40 one more time, with 1978’s No. 39 single “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”

Listen to Dave Mason’s “We Just Disagree”

How Did Dave Mason Join Fleetwood Mac?

Along the way, he sat in with the Rolling Stones on “Street Fighting Man,” on the Jimi Hendrix update of Bob Dylan‘s “All Along The Watchtower” from Electric Ladyland, and on the Paul McCartney and Wings hit “Listen to What the Man Said.” Michael Jackson also sang background vocals on Mason’s song “Save Me.” He said happenstance played a huge role.

“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it, to be honest — unless I’m doing an interview – but, yeah, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in some pretty interesting places at the right time, I guess,” Mason remembered in 2014. “Certainly, to have made music with them, either on my album or on theirs, was special — because they are very significant artists. But, at the time, it’s just sort of what’s happening – so you don’t really register it that way.”

By 1993, Mason had joined Fleetwood Mac on his longtime friend Mick Fleetwood‘s invitation. The group was rebuilding after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks exited the lineup. “I think it’s a good marriage, me with Fleetwood Mac,” Mason told the Los Angeles Times in 1995. “People wonder how it will work: It will work because we’re oriented to the same thing: Fleetwood Mac is about songs, and so am I. So I’m really enthusiastic about this.”

READ MORE: Top 15 Solo Fleetwood Mac Songs

Mason only appeared on one album, 1995’s Time, and the subsequent tour. Both underperformed. Christine McVie didn’t tour behind the record, leaving the others as “kind of a Fleetwood Mac copy band,” Mason told the Toledo Blade in 2004, “Things just kind of petered out. Anyway, they got Stevie and Lindsey back in the band, which was pretty much for the best.”

Mason was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 as a member of Traffic – but notably did not take part in any of their reunion projects. Instead, he continued as a tireless solo touring act. The venues were decidedly smaller – anywhere from 350-seat clubs to 1,200-seat theaters – but Mason said he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“It’s too late to change jobs now,” Mason once told the Newark Advocate. “I love playing, so why not keep doing it while I can?”

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