Iain Matthews—born Ian Matthew McDonald on 16 June 1946 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England—created this British ensemble after leaving his role as singer and guitarist with Fairport Convention. The group took its name from his opening MCA Records release of 1969. Matthews was joined by Mark Griffiths on guitar, Carl Barnwell on guitar, Gordon Huntley on pedal steel guitar, Andy Leigh on bass, and Ray Duffy on drums; the six-piece promptly secured a contract with EMI Records. Their country-inflected approach supplied an ideal setting for Matthews’s songwriting abilities. During summer 1970 the band’s second album, Second Spring, entered the UK Top 40, and that winter the group scored a chart-topping single with “Woodstock.” Joni Mitchell had composed the track as a tribute to the celebrated festival she was unable to attend. Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young had already released the song as a single in a hard-rocking style, yet it became an unexpected UK number 1 for Matthews Southern Comfort. The triumph, however, sparked internal tensions, and two months afterward Matthews declared his plan to launch a solo career. One additional album appeared before the remaining members shortened the band’s name to Southern Comfort. Following two further albums, the outfit dissolved in summer 1972.
