Dave Mason, the co-founder of Traffic who later became a member of Fleetwood Mac, has passed away at the age of 79 due to unspecified causes.

“After preparing a wonderful dinner with his beloved wife Winifred, [Mason] sat down to take a nap with sweet Star (the Maltese) at his feet,” according to a family post 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 faced several publicized health issues in his final years. Dates for his Traffic Jam tour were scheduled for September 2024 when “doctors detected a serious heart condition during a routine appointment that requires immediate medical attention,” according to a separate official release.

The remaining concerts, planned through November, were canceled so Mason could address the unspecified “urgent medical condition.” He had published a memoir, Only You Know & I Know, just a few weeks earlier.

Honoring Dave Mason’s Greatest Hits

In March 2025, Mason was compelled to cancel three months of concerts after being hospitalized with a “serious infection” that “developed quickly.” By September, he had permanently retired. Mason died on Sunday, April 19. His last performance was in August 2024.

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

Listen to Dave Mason's 'Feelin' Alright?' With Traffic

He achieved a No. 12 solo hit with 1977’s “We Just Disagree,” but Mason considered his signature song to be “Feelin’ Alright?,” a track from Traffic that Joe Cocker transformed into a rock radio favorite. Cocker notably removed the question mark before releasing the single, forever changing people’s perception 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 stated in 2014 with a laugh. “But that being said, without Joe’s version it would never have received the enormous amount of attention it got. So, you know, it’s open to interpretation.”

What Led to Dave Mason’s Departure from Traffic?

Born on May 10, 1944, Mason grew up in the farming community of Worcester in the English Midlands. His parents ran 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 friends with Jim Capaldi, who would later join him in Traffic. One of their early bands included Chris Wood, another member of Traffic. They opened for the Spencer Davis Group, whose lead singer was teen sensation Steve Winwood. By 1967, the four had formed Traffic.

When they parted ways after two albums, Mason attributed jealousy on Winwood’s part as the reason since their best-known songs at that time 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 embarking on 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 achieved gold status. However, his best-selling LP remained Let It Flow. The platinum hit from 1977 finished just outside the Top 40 but featured “We Just Disagree.” Mason would only reach the Top 40 one more time with the No. 39 single “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” in 1978.

How Did Dave Mason Become Part of Fleetwood Mac?

Throughout his career, he collaborated with the Rolling Stones on “Street Fighting Man,” contributed to Jimi Hendrix’s version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” from Electric Ladyland, and performed on Paul McCartney and Wings’ hit “Listen to What the Man Said.” Michael Jackson also provided background vocals for Mason’s song “Save Me.” He noted that chance played a significant 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,” Mason recalled in 2014. “Certainly, having made music with them, either on my album or theirs was special — because they are very significant artists. But at that time, it’s just sort of what’s happening – so you don’t really register it that way.”

Listen to Dave Mason’s “We Just Disagree”

By 1993, Mason had joined Fleetwood Mac at the invitation of his longtime friend Mick Fleetwood. The group was restructuring after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks left the lineup. “I think it’s a good marriage between me and 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.”

Mason only appeared on one album, 1995’s Time, and participated in the subsequent tour. Both underperformed commercially. Christine McVie did not tour behind the record, leaving others as “kind of a Fleetwood Mac copy band,” as Mason described it to 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.”

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Mason was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 as a member of Traffic – but notably did not participate in any reunion projects. Instead, he continued as an active solo touring artist. The venues were significantly smaller – ranging from clubs with 350 seats to theaters accommodating 1,200 – but Mason expressed that 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?”

See other rockers we’ve lost in 2026 in the gallery below.