1966-1968Eric ClaptonGuitar, vocals1966-1969
Ginger BakerDrums, vocals1966-1969
Jack BruceBass, vocals1966-1969
Cream was the first rock supergroup. Eric Clapton had been in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Jack Bruce in Manfred Mann, and Ginger Baker in The Graham Bond Organization. Bruce was also in The Bluesbreakers for about a month, replacing John McVie.
It was the Cream years when the "Clapton is God" graffiti started showing up around England.
They made just four albums and were extant for only three years before their breakup , but Cream were so influential they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
The band played together three times after their breakup. The first time was at Clapton's wedding in 1979, the second was when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, and the third was in 2005 when they reunited to play four shows.
Clapton broke up the band after reading a bad review in Rolling Stone and agreeing they had become boring and repetitious. Another factor in their split: They just didn't get along very well. There was a great deal of tension especially between Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, which sometime manifested in throwing objects and damaging each other's instruments during performances.
Clapton and Baker formed another Supergroup,
Blind Faith, in 1969 along with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. Before deciding upon a trio, Cream had considered asking Steve Winwood to join.
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Suggestion credit:
James - Tracy, CA
Baker and Bruce went on to form a group called BBM with guitarist Gary Moore. They released an album in 1994 but broke up soon after.
One of the names they considered was "Sweet and Sour Rock and Roll." Clapton insisted they be called Cream because they were the best.
Baker and Bruce had a background in jazz, and like many jazz musicians, the three members of Cream would improvise solos at their concerts, sometimes at the same time. They could get away with it because they were such good musicians. The band would improvise both their set lists and their musical arrangements, sometimes jamming for as long as 20 minutes on one song.
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Suggestion credit:
Bertrand - Paris, France
Toward the end, Baker, Bruce, and Clapton would stay at separate hotels, getting together a few minutes before their shows.
Their last two shows in 1968 and their final show in 2005 were to sold-out crowds at Royal Albert Hall in London. They broke up two-and-a-half years after forming.
Baker built the studio in Nigeria that Paul McCartney used for the Band On The Run album.
While it's well established that Bruce and Baker didn't much care for one another, they only agreed to play together as a group (at Clapton's urging) as they recognized that the other was immensely talented at their respective instruments.
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Suggestion credit:
Ken - Tuscaloosa, AL
While Disc 2 of
Wheels Of Fire is labeled "Live at the Fillmore," only one track ("Toad") was recorded there. The other live tracks were recorded at the Winterland Ballroom.
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Suggestion credit:
James - Tracy, CA
Jack Bruce's real name is John Symon Asher Bruce. He was born May 14, 1943 and plays cello, harmonica, acoustic guitar, piano, upright bass and electric bass. At one point, he quit college because of his interest in Jazz.
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Suggestion credit:
Jordan - Brooklyn, NY
Bruce died on October 25, 2014 at age 71. The cause of death was liver disease; he received a transplant a few years earlier.