Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup
power trio consisting of bassist/singer Jack
Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and guitarist/singer
Eric Clapton. Their sound was characterised
by a hybrid of blues rock, hard rock and psychedelic
rock, combining psychedelia-themed lyrics,
Eric Clapton's blues guitar playing, Jack
Bruce's operatic voice and prominent bass
playing and Ginger Baker's jazz-influenced
drumming. The group's third album, Wheels
of Fire, was the world's first platinum-selling
double album. Cream are widely regarded as
being the world's first successful supergroup.
In their career, they sold over 15 million
albums worldwide. Cream's music included songs
based on traditional blues such as "Crossroads"
and "Spoonful", and modern blues such as "Born
Under a Bad Sign", as well as more eccentric
songs such as "Strange Brew", "Tales of Brave
Ulysses" and "Toad".
Cream's biggest hits were "I Feel Free", "Sunshine
of Your Love", "White Room", "Crossroads",
and "Badge". Cream made a significant impact
on the popular music of the time, and, along
with Jimi Hendrix, and Terry Kath of Chicago,
popularised the use of the wah-wah pedal.
They provided a heavy yet technically proficient
musical theme that foreshadowed and influenced
the emergence of British bands such as Led
Zeppelin, The Jeff Beck Group and Black Sabbath
in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The
band's live performances influenced progressive
rock acts such as Rush. Cream were inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
They were included in both Rolling Stone and
VH1's lists of the "100 Greatest Artists of
All Time," at number 67 and 61 respectively.
They were also ranked number 16 on VH1's "100
Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
Formation: 1966
By July 1966, Eric Clapton's career with The
Yardbirds and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
had earned him a reputation as the premier
blues guitarist in Britain. Clapton, however,
found the environment of Mayall's band confining,
and sought to expand his playing in a new
band. In 1966, Clapton met Ginger Baker, then
the leader of the Graham Bond Organisation,
which at one point featured Jack Bruce on
bass guitar, harmonica and piano. Baker felt
stifled in the Graham Bond Organisation and
had grown tired of Graham Bond's drug addictions
and bouts of mental instability. "I had always
liked Ginger", explained Clapton. "Ginger
had come to see me play with the Bluesbreakers.
After the gig he drove me back to London in
his Rover. I was very impressed with his car
and driving. He was telling me that he wanted
to start a band, and I had been thinking about
it too."
Each was impressed with the other's playing
abilities, prompting Baker to ask Clapton
to join his new, then-unnamed group. Clapton
immediately agreed, on the condition that
Baker hire Bruce as the group's bassist; according
to Clapton, Baker was so surprised at the
suggestion that he almost crashed the car.
Clapton had met Bruce when the bassist/vocalist
briefly played with the Bluesbreakers in November
1965; the two also had worked together as
part of a one-shot band called Powerhouse.
Impressed with Bruce's vocals and technical
prowess, Clapton wanted to work with him on
an ongoing basis.
In contrast, while Bruce was in Bond's band,
he and Baker had been notorious for their
quarrelling. Their volatile relationship included
on-stage fights and the sabotage of one another's
instruments. After Baker fired Bruce from
the band, Bruce continued to arrive for gigs;
ultimately, Bruce was driven away from the
band after Baker threatened him at knifepoint.
Baker and Bruce put aside their differences
for the good of Baker's new trio, which he
envisioned as collaborative, with each of
the members contributing to music and lyrics.
The band was named "Cream", as Clapton, Bruce,
and Baker were already considered the "cream
of the crop" amongst blues and jazz musicians
in the exploding British music scene. Initially,
the group were referred to and billed as "The
Cream", but starting officially with its first
record releases, the trio would be plain "Cream".
Before deciding upon "Cream", the band considered
calling themselves "Sweet 'n' Sour Rock 'n'
Roll". Of the trio, Clapton had the biggest
reputation in England; however, he was all
but unknown in the United States, having left
The Yardbirds before "For Your Love" hit the
American Top Ten.
Cream made its unofficial debut at the Twisted
Wheel on 29 July 1966. Its official debut
came two nights later at the Sixth Annual
Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival. Being new and
with few original songs to its credit, Cream
performed blues reworkings that thrilled the
large crowd and earned it a warm reception.
In October the band also got a chance to jam
with Jimi Hendrix, who had recently arrived
in London. Hendrix was a fan of Clapton's
music, and wanted a chance to play with him
onstage. Hendrix was introduced to Cream through
Chas Chandler, Hendrix's manager.
It was during the early organisation that
they decided Bruce would serve as the group's
lead vocalist. While Clapton was shy about
singing, he occasionally harmonised with Bruce
and, in time, took lead vocals on several
Cream tracks including "Four Until Late",
"Strange Brew", "World of Pain", "Outside
Woman Blues", "Anyone for Tennis", "Crossroads",
and "Badge".
Fresh Cream: 1966
Cream's debut album, Fresh Cream, was recorded
and released in 1966. The album reached number
6 in the UK charts and number 39 in the United
States. It was evenly split between self-penned
originals and blues covers, including "Four
Until Late", "Rollin' and Tumblin'", "Spoonful",
"I'm So Glad" and "Cat's Squirrel". The rest
of the songs were written by either Jack Bruce
or Ginger Baker. The track "Toad" contained
one of the earliest examples of a drum solo
in rock music as Ginger Baker expanded upon
his early composition "Camels and Elephants",
written in 1965 with the Graham Bond Organisation.
The early Cream bootlegs display a much tighter
band showcasing more songs. All of the songs
are reasonably short five-minute versions
of "N.S.U.", "Sweet Wine" and "Toad". But
a mere two months later, the setlist shortened,
with the songs then much longer.
Disraeli Gears: 1967
Cream first visited the United States in March
1967 to play nine dates at the RKO Theater
in New York. There was little impact, as impresario
Murray the K placed them at the bottom of
a six-act bill that performed five times per
date, eventually reducing Cream to one song
per concert. They returned to record Disraeli
Gears in New York between 11 May and 15 May
1967. Cream's second album was released in
November 1967 and reached the Top 5 in the
charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced
by Felix Pappalardi and engineer Tom Dowd,
it was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New
York. Disraeli Gears is often considered to
be the band's defining effort, successfully
blending psychedelic British rock with American
blues. Disraeli Gears not only features hits
"Strange Brew" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses",
but also "Sunshine of Your Love".
The album was originally slated for release
in the summer of 1967, but the record label
opted to scrap the planned cover and repackage
it with a new psychedelic cover, designed
by artist Martin Sharp, and the resulting
changes delayed its release for several months.
The album was remarkable for the time, with
a psychedelic design patterned over a publicity
photo of the trio.
Although the album is considered one of Cream's
finest efforts, it has never been well represented
in Cream's live sets. Although they consistently
played "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "Sunshine
of Your Love", several songs from Disraeli
Gears were quickly dropped from performances
in mid-1967, favouring longer jams instead
of short pop songs. "We're Going Wrong" was
the only additional song from the album the
group performed live. In fact, at their 2005
reunion shows in London, Cream played only
three songs from Disraeli Gears: "Outside
Woman Blues", "We're Going Wrong," and "Sunshine
of Your Love."
In August 1967, Cream played their first headlining
dates in America, playing first at the Fillmore
West in San Francisco and later at The Pinnacle
in Los Angeles. The concerts were a great
success and proved very influential on both
the band itself and the flourishing hippie
scene surrounding them. Upon discovering a
growing listening audience, the band began
to stretch out on stage, incorporating more
time in their repertoire, some songs reaching
jams of twenty minutes. Long drawn-out jams
in numbers like "Spoonful", "N.S.U.", "I'm
So Glad", and "Sweet Wine" became live favourites,
while songs like "Sunshine of Your Love",
"Crossroads", and "Tales of Brave Ulysses"
remained reasonably short.
Wheels of Fire: 1968
In 1968 came Cream's third release, Wheels
of Fire, which topped the American charts.
Still a relative novelty, the "double album"
of two LP discs was well suited to extended
solos. Wheels of Fire studio recordings showcased
Cream moving slightly away from the blues
and more towards a semi-progressive rock style
highlighted by odd time signatures and various
orchestral instruments. However, the band
did record Howlin' Wolf's "Sitting on Top
of the World" and Albert King's "Born Under
A Bad Sign". According to a BBC interview
with Clapton, the record company, also handling
Albert King, asked the band to cover "Born
Under a Bad Sign", which became a popular
track off the record. The opening song, "White
Room", became a radio staple. Another song,
"Politician", was written by the band while
waiting to perform live at the BBC. The album's
second disc featured three live recordings
from the Winterland Ballroom and one from
the Fillmore. Eric Clapton's second solo from
"Crossroads" has made it to the top 20 in
multiple "greatest guitar solo" lists.
After the completion of Wheels of Fire in
mid-1968, the band members had had enough
and wanted to go their separate ways. Baker
stated in a 2006 interview with Music Mart
magazine, "It just got to the point where
Eric said to me: 'I've had enough of this,'
and I said so have I. I couldn't stand it.
The last year with Cream was just agony. It
damaged my hearing permanently, and today
I've still got a hearing problem because of
the sheer volume throughout the last year
of Cream. But it didn't start off like that.
In 1966, it was great. It was really a wonderful
experience musically, and it just went into
the realms of stupidity." Bruce and Baker's
combustible relationship proved even worse
as a result of the strain put upon the band
by non-stop touring, forcing Clapton to play
the perpetual role of peacekeeper.
Clapton had also fallen under the spell of
Bob Dylan's former backing group, now known
as The Band, and their debut album, Music
from Big Pink, which proved to be a welcome
breath of fresh air in comparison to the incense
and psychedelia that had formed Cream. Furthermore,
he had read a scathing Cream review in Rolling
Stone, a publication he had much admired,
in which the reviewer, Jon Landau, called
him a "master of the blues cliché." In the
wake of that article, Clapton wanted to end
Cream and pursue a different musical direction.
At the beginning of their farewell tour on
4 October 1968, in Oakland, nearly the entire
set consisted of songs from Wheels of Fire:
"White Room", "Politician", "Crossroads",
"Spoonful", "Deserted Cities of the Heart",
and "Passing the Time" taking the place of
"Toad" for a drum solo. "Passing the Time"
and "Deserted Cities" were quickly removed
from the setlist and replaced by "Sitting
on Top of the World" and "Toad".
Goodbye: 1968–1969
Cream were eventually persuaded to do one
final album. That album, the appropriately
titled Goodbye, was recorded in late 1968
and released in early 1969, after the band
had broken up. It featured six songs: three
live recordings dating from a concert at The
Forum in Los Angeles, California, on 19 October,
and three new studio recordings. "I'm So Glad"
was included among the live tracks.
Cream's "farewell tour" consisted of 22 shows
at 19 venues in the United States between
4 October and 4 November 1968, and two final
farewell concerts at the Royal Albert Hall
on 26 November 1968. Initially another double
album was planned, comprising live material
from this tour plus new studio tracks, but
a single album, Goodbye was released instead
with three live tracks taken from their performance
at The Forum in Los Angeles on 19 October
1968, and three studio tracks, one written
by each of the band members. The final U.S.
gig was at the Rhode Island Auditorium, 4
November 1968. The band arrived late and,
due to local restrictions, they were able
to perform only two songs, "Toad" and a 20+
minute version of "Spoonful".
The two Royal Albert Hall concerts were filmed
for a BBC documentary and released on video
as Farewell Concert. Both shows were sold
out and attracted more attention than any
other Cream concert, but their performance
was regarded by many as below standard. Baker
himself said of the concerts: "It wasn't a
good gig ... Cream was better than that ...
We knew it was all over. We knew we were just
finishing it off, getting it over with." In
an interview from Cream: Classic Artists,
he added that the band was getting worse by
the minute.
Cream's supporting acts were Taste and the
newly formed Yes, who received good reviews.
Three performances early in Cream's farewell
tour were opened by Deep Purple. Deep Purple
had originally agreed to open the entire U.S.
leg of the tour, but Cream's management removed
them after only three shows, in spite of favourable
reviews and good rapport between the bands.
Breakup: 1968
From its creation, Cream was faced with some
fundamental problems that would later lead
to its dissolution in November 1968. The rivalry
between Bruce and Baker created tensions in
the band. Clapton also felt that the members
of the band did not listen to each other enough.
Equipment during these years had also improved;
new Marshall amplifier stacks produced more
power, and Jack Bruce pushed the volume levels
higher, creating tension for Baker who would
have trouble competing with roaring stacks.
Clapton spoke of a concert during which he
stopped playing and neither Baker nor Bruce
noticed. Clapton has also commented that Cream's
later gigs mainly consisted of its members
showing off.
Cream decided that they would break up in
May 1968 during a tour of the US. Later, in
July, an official announcement was made that
the band would break up after a farewell tour
of the United States and after playing two
concerts in London. Cream finished their tour
of the United States with a 4 November concert
in Rhode Island and performed in the UK for
the last time in London on 25 and 26 November.
Bruce had three Marshall stacks on stage for
the farewell shows but one acted only as a
spare, and he only used one or two, depending
on the song.
Post-Cream
Blind Faith was formed immediately after the
demise of Cream, following an attempt by Clapton
to recruit Steve Winwood into Cream in the
hope that he would help act as a buffer between
Bruce and Baker. Inspired by more song-based
acts Clapton went on to perform much different,
less improvisational material with Delaney
& Bonnie, Derek and the Dominos and in his
own long and varied solo career.
Bruce began a varied and successful solo career
with the 1969 release of Songs for a Tailor,
while Baker formed a jazz-fusion ensemble
out of the ashes of Blind Faith called Ginger
Baker's Air Force, which featured Winwood,
Blind Faith bassist Rick Grech, Graham Bond
on sax, and guitarist Denny Laine of the Moody
Blues and Wings.
All three members continued to explore new
musical ideas and partnerships, play concerts
and record music for over four decades after
ending Cream.
Reunions
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In 1993, Cream were inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and reformed to perform
at the induction ceremony. Initially, the
trio were wary about performing, until encouraging
words from Robbie Robertson inspired them
to try. The set consisted of "Sunshine of
Your Love", "Crossroads", and "Born Under
a Bad Sign", a song they had not previously
played live. Clapton mentioned in his acceptance
speech that their rehearsal the day before
the ceremony had marked the first time they
had played together in 25 years. This performance
spurred rumours of a reunion tour. Bruce and
Baker said in later interviews that they were,
indeed, interested in touring as Cream. A
formal reunion did not take place immediately,
as Clapton, Bruce and Baker continued to pursue
solo projects, although the latter two worked
together again in the mid-1990s as two-thirds
of a power trio BBM with Irish blues-rock
guitarist Gary Moore.
2005 Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square
Garden concerts
Cream reunited for a series of four shows,
on 2, 3, 5, and 6 May 2005 at the Royal Albert
Hall in London, the venue of their final concerts
in 1968, at Clapton's request. Although the
three musicians chose not to speak publicly
about the shows, Clapton would later state
that he had become more "generous" in regard
to his past, and that the physical health
of Bruce and Baker was a major factor: Bruce
had recently undergone a liver transplant
for liver cancer, and had almost lost his
life, while Baker had severe arthritis.
Tickets for all four shows sold out in under
an hour. The performances were recorded for
a live CD and DVD. Among those in attendance
were Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Steve
Winwood, Roger Waters, Brian May, Jimmy Page
of Led Zeppelin and also Mick Taylor and Bill
Wyman. The reunion marked the first time the
band had played "Badge" and "Pressed Rat and
Warthog" live.
The Royal Albert Hall reunion proved a success
on both a personal and financial level, inspiring
the reformed band to bring their reunion to
the United States. Cream chose to play at
only one venue, Madison Square Garden in New
York City, from 24–26 October 2005.
2006–present
In February 2006, Cream received a Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition
of their contribution to, and influence upon,
modern music. That same month, a "Classic
Albums" DVD was released detailing the story
behind the creation and recording of Disraeli
Gears. On the day prior to the Grammy ceremony,
Bruce made a public statement that more one-off
performances of Cream had been planned: multiple
dates in a few cities, similar to the Royal
Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden shows.
However, this story was refuted by both Clapton
and Baker, first by Clapton in a Times article
from April 2006. The article stated that when
asked about Cream, Clapton said: "No. Not
for me. We did it and it was fun. But life
is too short. I've got lots of other things
I would rather do, including staying at home
with my kids. The thing about that band was
that it was all to do with its limits ...
it was an experiment." In an interview in
the UK magazine Music Mart, about the release
of a DVD about the Blind Faith concert in
Hyde Park 1969, Baker commented about his
unwillingness to continue the Cream reunion.
These comments were far more specific and
explosive than Clapton's, as they were centred
around his relationship with Jack Bruce. Ginger
said, "When he's Dr. Jekyll, he's fine ...
It's when he's Mr. Hyde that he's not. And
I'm afraid he's still the same. I tell you
this – there won't ever be any more Cream
gigs, because he did Mr. Hyde in New York
last year."
When asked to elaborate, Baker replied: "Oh,
he shouted at me on stage, he turned his bass
up so loud that he deafened me on the first
gig. What he does is that he apologises and
apologises, but I'm afraid, to do it on a
Cream reunion gig, that was the end. He killed
the magic, and New York was like 1968 ...
It was just a get through the gig, get the
money sort of deal. I was absolutely amazed.
I mean, he demonstrated why he got the sack
from Graham Bond and why Cream didn't last
very long on stage in New York. I didn't want
to do it in the first place simply because
of how Jack was. I have worked with him several
times since Cream, and I promised myself that
I would never work with him again. When Eric
first came up with the idea, I said no, and
then he phoned me up and eventually convinced
me to do it. I was on my best behaviour and
I did everything I could to make things go
as smooth as possible, and I was really pleasant
to Jack." Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce would
reunite on stage in London when Baker was
awarded a lifetime achievement award by Zildjian.
Jack Bruce told Detroit's WCSX radio station
in May 2007 that there were plans for a Cream
reunion later in the year. It was later revealed
that the potential performance was to be November
2007 London as a tribute to Ahmet Ertegün.
The band decided against it and this was confirmed
by Bruce in a letter to the editor of the
Jack Bruce fanzine, The Cuicoland Express,
dated 26 September 2007:
The headlining act for the O2 Arena Ertegun
tribute show turned out to be another reunited
English hard-rock act, Led Zeppelin. In an
interview with BBC 6 Music in April 2010,
Bruce confirmed that there would be no more
Cream shows. He said: "Cream is over".
Discography
Fresh Cream
Disraeli Gears
Wheels of Fire
Goodbye
References
External links
Eric Clapton official website
Jack Bruce official website
Ginger Baker official website
The Cream Story – from the Official Ginger
Baker Archive
Cream interviewed on the Pop Chronicles
Discography
