How Steve Winwood Helped Add ‘Magic’ to New Rolling Stones Album

Steve Winwood is among the guests on the new Rolling Stones album, Foreign Tongues, which arrives July 10. It’s a significant milestone in more ways than one.

The legendary English keyboardist and songwriter has been in the Stones’ orbit going back to the ’60s when he was still in his teens. As Keith Richards shares in a new interview, their ties would ultimately run deep.

“I first knew Stevie when he was about 15,” the guitarist told Uncut. “How he managed to get on stage at that age, I don’t know. And the weird thing was that those Traffic records were produced by Jimmy Miller, who produced some great records for us soon after that. So in a way, I’ve known Stevie more than half his life.”

Steve Winwood Shares His Experience Working With the Stones

What began as an idea for a quick cameo, similar to some of the other recent guests on the past couple of Rolling Stones albums became more than that. “I think Ronnie [Wood] called me first, when they were cutting Hackney Diamonds,” Winwood told Uncut in a separate interview. “He said, ‘Hi, man. Come and play a track.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure, just let me know where and when.'”

Though the conversation went cold at that point, the artist eventually heard from the Stones camp again. This time, it was producer Andrew Watt who reached out, in March or April of 2025, asking the musician to come over to guest on a track.

“I think I was asked just to play on one song, then they said, ‘There’s another couple you can do.’ I did a couple more and then they said, ‘Come next week and do some more,’” he remembered. It was a fluid situation and he came to realize there was an interesting parallel and perhaps, a reason that they were interested in using his talents so much on Foreign Tongues.

“Nicky Hopkins [who shared his piano talents on many Rolling Stones projects starting in 1967] and I were on a similar journey, in a way,” he explained.“I think the Stones knew that and I suspect that they wanted that sort of feel. Everything they do has this wonderful vintage Stones thing going on. Much of the album was done with everyone playing together, which is a rarity these days and adds some magic and temperament.”

You’ll Hear Winwood on the Next Rolling Stones Single

Though we don’t know all of the songs that Winwood plays on presently, Mick Jagger revealed that he’s on “Jealous Lover,” the second single from Foreign Tongues, which will be released June 26.

“On ‘Jealous Lover’, it was, ‘Who’s going to play the piano part?’” he detailed during a conversation with Uncut in London. “[Andrew Watt] said, ‘You play it.’ I said, ‘But if I do that, I can’t do the vocal – and the vocal and the drums are so connected, I’ve got to be watching the drummer, making sure the whole thing locks together. I want to be able to perform the song in the studio, really perform it. I can’t do that sitting at the piano.’ So we thought, ‘Who’s a good soul piano player?’ I just thought of Steve.”

Other guests on Foreign Tongues include Robert Smith of the Cure, Paul McCartney (who was also on Hackney Diamonds) and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

Richards recently shared that it’s unlikely that the Stones will tour for the new album, but he’d love to see them do a residency or something similar that would involve less travel.

READ MORE: Keith Richards Isn’t Sure if the Rolling Stones Can Tour Anymore

What Is Steve Winwood Doing in 2026?

He’ll be back on the road starting in September, sharing the stage with John Fogerty for a short run of dates that will wrap near the end of the month. The shows begin September 3 in the Chicago-area suburb of Tinley Park and are currently scheduled to conclude September 20.

The concerts with Fogerty follow a series of headlining shows he played last September in the U.S. He also played a longer stretch of gigs in 2024 where he opened up for the Doobie Brothers. It’s been nearly 20 years since he released 2008’s Nine Lives, his most recent studio album.

READ MORE: Top 10 Steve Winwood Songs