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Cream

A London trio of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker who made four albums between 1966 and 1969, played farewell shows at the Royal Albert Hall, and sold more than 15 million records.

Origin
London, England
Years active
1966-1968
Genres
blues rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock
Labels
Reaction, Atco, Polydor

Formation

Cream formed in London in 1966 around three players who already had reputations. Eric Clapton had played with the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Ginger Baker was the drummer of the Graham Bond Organisation, and Jack Bruce had played in Bond's band before joining Manfred Mann. Baker wanted a new group, and Clapton agreed to join on one condition: that Baker hire Bruce. The name came from the idea that the three were the cream of the crop among blues and jazz musicians in Britain. Bruce was the main songwriter and lead singer, often with lyrics by the poet Pete Brown, although Clapton sang lead on several songs, among them Strange Brew and Crossroads.

They made an unofficial debut at the Twisted Wheel on 29 July 1966 and an official one two nights later at the Sixth Annual Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Fresh Cream followed on 9 December 1966, half blues covers and half originals, and reached number 6 in Britain. The single I Feel Free, written by Bruce and Brown, reached number 11.

Disraeli Gears

After a first American trip in the spring of 1967, Cream recorded most of Disraeli Gears at Atlantic Studios in New York between 11 and 15 May, with Felix Pappalardi producing and Tom Dowd engineering. The sessions took about three and a half days because the band's visas were about to expire. Pappalardi turned an April recording called Lawdy Mama into Strange Brew. Ahmet Ertegun, who had expected blues, balked at the sound of Sunshine of Your Love and Tales of Brave Ulysses, and changed his mind after Booker T. Jones and Otis Redding praised the first.

The Australian artist Martin Sharp, who wrote the words to Tales of Brave Ulysses, made the fluorescent cover collage. The title came from a roadie's slip for derailleur gears. The album appeared in November 1967 and reached number 5 in Britain and number 4 in the United States. Sunshine of Your Love was issued as a US single that December and reached number 5 on the Hot 100 in August 1968.

Wheels of Fire and the end

Wheels of Fire (1968) paired a studio disc, recorded in short bursts over nearly a year, with a live disc taken from shows at the Fillmore and Winterland in San Francisco in March 1968. It opened with White Room, reached number 1 in the United States, and was the first platinum-selling double album. Cream had decided in May 1968 to break up. They announced it in July and played 22 shows on a farewell tour of the United States between 4 October and 4 November. The last two concerts were at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 25 and 26 November 1968, and they were filmed.

Goodbye, released in February 1969, combined three live tracks from the Forum in Los Angeles with three studio songs, including Badge, on which George Harrison played rhythm guitar under the name L'Angelo Misterioso. It went to number 1 in Britain.

After Cream

Bruce released his first solo album, Songs for a Tailor, in 1969, while Clapton and Baker joined Steve Winwood in Blind Faith. Cream were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and played a short set at the ceremony. In May 2005 they played four sold-out nights at the Royal Albert Hall, on 2, 3, 5 and 6 May, then three shows at Madison Square Garden in October. They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. In 2010 Bruce told BBC 6 Music there would be no more gigs: "Cream is over." Bruce died on 25 October 2014 and Baker on 6 October 2019.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame credits the band with 15 million records sold. Hugh Fielder of Classic Rock wrote that they pioneered a fusion of rock, blues and jazz that directly influenced a generation of musicians, and Clapton has said they were one of the early heavy metal bands without knowing it.

Members

Records

Songs

Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Blind Faith, Jimi Hendrix

Where to go next

Official

Reference

Writing and criticism

Interviews

Sources

  1. Cream (band), Wikipedia
  2. Cream, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  3. Cream: two years that changed rock, Louder (2020-11-26)
  4. Cream history 1966 to 1968, Ginger Baker official website
  5. Jack Bruce rules out another reunion, BBC 6 Music (2010-04-11)
  6. Jack Bruce official site, Jack Bruce