This Band Is Considered the First Supergroup Ever

Often, successful musicians pursue other musical interests through side projects or even supergroups, or bands consisting of musicians who are already famous in their own right. And while music history has plenty of great ones, the very first one dates back to the ’60s and includes some big names.

Trio Cream is often credited as the very first supergroup. Its members included dummer Ginger Baker, guitarist Eric Clapton of The Yardbirds, and bassist Jack Bruce, who met Clapton when they played together with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Each of the members admired each other’s work as musicians, and they decided to begin playing together. They reportedly came up with their name because they were “the cream of the crop” of the music scene at the time.

Cream formed in 1966 and released their first album, Fresh Cream, that same year. While they were only together for just under years, they released four albums in that time and were hugely influential in rock music, due to their unique fusion of rock, blues and jazz. They had huge hits with the songs “Sunshine of Your Love,” “Crossroads,” and “White Room.” Altogether, they sold 15 million albums, and the third album, Wheels of Fire, was the first double-album in music history to go platinum.

By 1968, the members of Cream were ready to move on and go their separate ways, Baker explained in a 2006 interview with Music Mart. “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.”

Cream reunited a few times after their breakup, most notably for their 1993 induction in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, making them one of just a few supergroups included. They came together again to play a handful of shows in 2005.

More supergroups came in the following years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Blind Faith, which also included Clapton and Baker.