Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, exploration of music across genres, and devoted fan base. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983, the band's four members performed together for over 20 years until an official breakup in...
and
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
bands such as
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
Cream was ranked #16 on
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
's
100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and Rolling Stone Magazine named them the sixty-sixth greatest artist of all time.
Formation
By July 1966, Eric Clapton's career with
The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds are an English rock band, notable for starting the careers of three of rock's more famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stones' 100 Top Guitarists list...
and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers had earned him a reputation as the premier blues guitarist in Britain. Clapton's virtuosity and raw power with the instrument inspired one fan to spray paint the words "Clapton is God" on the wall of an
IslingtonIslington is the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district in London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
underground station. Clapton, however, found the environment of Mayall's band confining, and sought to expand his playing in a new band.
In 1966, Clapton met Baker, then the leader of the
Graham Bond OrganisationGraham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s.Technologically and musically, Bond was an innovator, described by critic Richie Unterberger as "an important,...
, which at one point featured Jack Bruce on bass, harmonica and piano. Baker, too, felt stifled in the GBO, 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 John Mayall. 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 Jack Bruce as the group's bassist; according to Clapton, Baker was so surprised at the suggestion that he almost crashed the car.
Clapton met Bruce when the bassist/vocalist briefly played with the Bluesbreakers in March 1966; the two also worked together as part of a one-shot band called
PowerhouseEric Clapton's Powerhouse was a British blues studio supergroup formed in 1966.-History:Powerhouse was formed with full intention of being a short-lived studio project...
(which also included
Steve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English singer-songwriter who performs and writes rock, blues-rock, and jazz. He sings with a tenor voice and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays Hammond organ, guitar, bass, and other string instruments. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of...
and
Paul JonesPaul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:...
). Impressed with Bruce's vocals and technical prowess, Clapton wanted to work with him on an ongoing basis.
What Clapton did not know was that while Bruce was in Bond's band, he and Baker had been notorious for their quarreling. While both were excellent jazz musicians and respected each other's skills, the confines of the GBO had proved too small for their egos. Their volatile relationship included on-stage fights and the
sabotageSabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions...
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.
Nevertheless, Baker and Bruce were able to 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 sceneMusic of the Untied Kingdom developed in the 1950s and 60s from being largely insular and derivative to one of leading forms of popular music in the modern world...
. 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 YardbirdsThe Yardbirds are an English rock band, notable for starting the careers of three of rock's more famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stones' 100 Top Guitarists list...
before "
For Your LoveFor Your Love is the first U.S. album by English blues rock band The Yardbirds, released in August 1965. As a compilation of previous Yardbirds singles, it was only released in the U.S. , where it peaked at #96 on the charts...
" hit the
American Top TenThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Cream made their unofficial debut at the
Twisted WheelThe Twisted Wheel was a nightclub in Manchester, England, open from 1963 to 1971. It was one of the first clubs to play what became known as northern soul....
on 29 July 1966. Their official debut came two nights later at the Sixth Annual Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival. Being new and with few original songs to their credit, Cream performed spirited blues reworkings that thrilled the large crowd and earned them a warm reception. In October, they also got a chance to jam with
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
, 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 ChandlerBryan James "Chas" Chandler was an English musician, record producer and manager of several successful music acts....
, the bassist of
The AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s known in the United States as part of the British Invasion. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature songs "The House of the Rising Sun" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", the...
, who was Hendrix's manager.
It was during the early organization that they decided Bruce would serve as the group's lead vocalist. While Clapton was shy about singing, he occasionally harmonized with Bruce and, in time, took lead vocals on some notable Cream tunes including "Four Until Late", "Strange Brew", "Crossroads", and "Badge".
Fresh Cream
Cream's debut album,
Fresh CreamFresh Cream is Cream's December 1966 debut album. It was the first LP release of producer Robert Stigwood's new "Independent" Reaction Records label. It reached number 6 in the UK in February 1967 and - eventually - number 39 in the US in August 1968...
, was recorded and released in 1966. The album reached #6 in the UK charts and #39 in the United States. It mainly consisted of blues covers, including "Four Until Late", "
Rollin' and Tumblin'"Rollin' and Tumblin" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles...
" (written by
Muddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams...
), "
Spoonful"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton...
" (written by
Willie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was a well-known American blues bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer...
and recorded by
Howlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , better known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
), "
I'm So Glad"I'm So Glad" is a song originally recorded by Skip James in the early 1930s. The song is derived from a 1927 song by Art Sizemore and George A. Little entitled "So Tired"...
" and "Cat's Squirrel". The rest of the album featured songs written (or co-written) by Jack Bruce, most notably "
I Feel Free"I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by the British blues rock band Cream. The song was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce and was the first of their many collaborations. It was the first track on the US version of their debut album, Fresh Cream , and the band's second hit single, following the...
" (which was a UK hit single, but only included on the American edition of the LP), and two by Ginger Baker (one of which, "
Toad"Toad" is an instrumental by British rock band Cream and was released on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. The "song", composed by drummer Ginger Baker, is a five minute drum solo , and is notable because it features one of the earliest recorded drum solos in rock history...
", contained one of the earliest examples of a
drum soloA drum solo is an instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance....
in
rock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
).
The early Cream
bootlegsA bootleg recording is an audio and/or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist, or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
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
Cream first visited the United States in March 1967 to play nine dates at the RKO Theater in New York. They returned to record
Disraeli GearsDisraeli Gears is the second album by British blues-rock group Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach #5 on the UK album chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching #4 on the American charts. The album features the two...
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 PappalardiFelix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass guitarist.-Career:...
(who later co-founded the Cream-influenced quartet
MountainMountain is an American rock band. The band broke up in 1972, reformed two years later, and have since reconvened and resumed performing and recording. Mountain remains popular in some circles despite having fallen out of the mainstream during the seventies. They were influential during the...
) and engineer
Tom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
, it was recorded at
Atlantic StudiosAtlantic Studios is the recording studio of Atlantic Records. It is located in New York City. The American record label first recorded in these studios in November 1947.The studio is the first to record in stereo, with the efforts of Tom Dowd....
in New York.
Disraeli Gears is often considered to be the band's defining effort, successfully blending psychedelic British rock with American blues. It was also the first Cream album to consist primarily of original songs, with only three of the eleven tracks written by others outside the band.
Disraeli Gears not only features hits "Strange Brew" and "
Tales of Brave Ulysses"Tales of Brave Ulysses" is a song performed by the 1960s group Cream. The music was written by Eric Clapton and the lyrics by artist Martin Sharp. The song is featured on Cream's album Disraeli Gears. The lyrics were written by Martin Sharp on the back of a beer mat, which he gave to Eric Clapton...
", but also "
Sunshine of Your Love"Sunshine of Your Love" is a song by the British supergroup Cream, released on the Disraeli Gears album. It was Cream's best-selling song and Atlantic Records' best-selling to date as well. It features a distinctive guitar/bass guitar riff and an acclaimed guitar solo from Eric Clapton. It was...
".
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", a setlist consisting of several songs from
Disraeli Gears was quickly dropped from the set in mid-1967, favouring longer jams instead of short pop songs. "We're Going Wrong" was the only additional song from the album which saw some occasional play time in their live sets. In fact, at their 2005 reunion shows in London, Cream only played 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 at the Fillmore West in San Fransisco for the first time. The concerts were a great success and proved very influential on both the band itself and the flourishing hippy scene surrounding them. Faced with a new listening audience, it was during this time that Cream started to stretch out on stage, incorporating more jamming time in their repertoire, some songs reaching 20 minutes. Long drawn-out jams in numbers like "
Spoonful"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton...
", "N.S.U." and "Sweet Wine" became live favorites while songs like "Sunshine of Your Love", "Crossroads", and "Tales of Brave Ulysses" remained reasonably short.
Wheels of Fire
In 1968 came Cream's third release,
Wheels of FireWheels of Fire is the name of a double album recorded by Cream. The release was largely successful, scoring the band a #3 peak in the UK and a #1 in the US, and became the world's first platinum-selling double album....
, which topped the American charts.
Wheels of Fire studio recordings showcased Cream moving slightly away from the blues and more towards a semi-
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
style highlighted by odd time signatures and various orchestral instruments. However, the band did record Howlin' Wolf's "
Sitting on Top of the World"Sitting on Top of the World" is a folk-blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon, core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, a popular country blues band of the 1930s...
" and Albert King's "
Born Under A Bad SignBorn Under a Bad Sign is a blues album by Albert King, recorded between 1966 and 1967, and released in 1967 by Stax Records. This was the first album Albert King recorded on Stax, and the title song became a blues standard...
". According to a
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
interview with Clapton, the record company, also handling
Albert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer.-Career:One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" , Albert King stood 6' 4" and weighed 250 lbs and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi...
, asked the band to cover "
Born Under a Bad SignBorn Under a Bad Sign is a blues album by Albert King, recorded between 1966 and 1967, and released in 1967 by Stax Records. This was the first album Albert King recorded on Stax, and the title song became a blues standard...
", which became a popular track off the record. The opening song, "
White Room"White Room", written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown, is a single by Cream from their 1968 album Wheels of Fire.After bassist Jack Bruce wrote the guitar pieces, Cream's lyricist, poet Pete Brown, grouped colourful four-syllable phrases, loosely organised around images of waiting in an English...
", 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. Ginger Baker's "Toad" is now widely-regarded as one of the greatest live drum solos in rock history.
After the completion of
Wheels of FireWheels of Fire is the name of a double album recorded by Cream. The release was largely successful, scoring the band a #3 peak in the UK and a #1 in the US, and became the world's first platinum-selling double album....
in mid-1968, the band members had had enough and wanted to go their separate ways. As Baker would state 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." Also, 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 DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
's former backing group, now known as
The BandThe Band was a rock music group active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999. The original group consisted of four Canadians: Robbie Robertson ; Richard Manuel ; Garth Hudson ; and Rick Danko , and...
, and their debut album,
Music from Big PinkMusic from Big Pink is the 1968 debut album by rock band The Band. It features their best-known song, "The Weight."-Reception:With a rough sound, seemingly chaotic arrangements, and a distinctive blend of country, rock, folk, classical, R&B, and soul, Music From Big Pink is generally considered one...
, which proved to be a welcome breath of fresh air in comparison to the incense and psychedelia that had informed Cream. Furthermore, he had read a scathing Cream review in
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
magazine, a publication he had much admired, where the reviewer,
Jon LandauJon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
, called him a "master of the blues cliché." It was in the wake of that article that 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 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
Cream was 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 ForumThe Forum, known for a 15-year period as the Great Western Forum, is an indoor arena in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles...
in Los Angeles, California, on 19 October, and three new studio recordings (the most notable, "
Badge"Badge" is a rock song by Cream, penned by Eric Clapton and George Harrison during a collaborative effort between Clapton, Harrison and Ringo Starr. It was included as a track on the Cream album Goodbye. Peaking at number 60 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Badge" was a minor hit after its release as a...
", was written by Clapton and
George HarrisonGeorge Harrison MBE was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist in The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles, as well as...
, who also played rhythm guitar). "
I'm So Glad"I'm So Glad" is a song originally recorded by Skip James in the early 1930s. The song is derived from a 1927 song by Art Sizemore and George A. Little entitled "So Tired"...
", which first appeared as a studio recording on
Fresh Cream, appeared as a live track on
Goodbye. It was the only song to appear on both Cream's first and last albums.
Cream's "farewell tour" consisted of 22 shows at 19 venues in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between 4 October and 4 November 1968, and two final farewell concerts at the
Royal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
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 AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
on 19 October 1968, and three studio tracks, one written by each of the band members. The final United States gig was at the
Rhode Island AuditoriumRhode Island Auditorium was an indoor arena in Providence, Rhode Island, at 1111 North Main Street. It hosted the NBA's Providence Steamrollers from 1946 until 1949, and the Providence Reds ice hockey team until the Providence Civic Center was opened in 1972. The arena held 5,300 people and opened...
, 4 November 1968.
The two Royal Albert Hall concerts were filmed for a
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
documentary and released on video (and later DVD) as
Farewell ConcertFarewell Concert is the live recording of the Cream's final concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 November 1968. Aside from the band's reunion concert in 2005, it is Cream's only official full concert release on video. It was originally broadcast by the BBC on 5 January 1969...
. 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." Cream's live performances were already declining. In an interview from
Cream: Classic Artists, Ginger Baker himself agreed that the band was getting worse by the minute.
Cream's supporting acts were
TasteTaste was an Irish rock band formed in the 1960s and is most noted for the fact that musician Rory Gallagher was an original member.-History:...
(featuring a young
Rory GallagherRory Gallagher was an Irish blues/rock guitarist. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland on March 2, 1948, he grew up in Cork City. He is best known for his solo albums throughout the 1970's and 1980's, and for his tenure in the band Taste during the late 1960s...
) and the newly formed
YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
, who received good reviews. Three performances early in Cream's farewell tour were opened by
Deep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorise themselves as any one genre. The band...
. Purple had originally agreed to open the entire U.S. leg of the tour, but Cream's management removed Purple after only three shows, in spite of favorable reviews and good rapport between the bands. Purple fans sometimes attribute the decision to Purple's being "too good" to open - and upstaging the declining Cream.
Breakup
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. Clapton once told a story that when Cream were playing in a concert, 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 it 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 StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and after playing two concerts in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. Cream finished its tour of the United States with a 4 November concert in
Rhode IslandRhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and performed in the UK for the last time in London on 25 and 26 November.
Post-Cream
Blind FaithBlind Faith was an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
was formed immediately after the demise of Cream, following an attempt by Clapton to recruit
Steve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English singer-songwriter who performs and writes rock, blues-rock, and jazz. He sings with a tenor voice and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays Hammond organ, guitar, bass, and other string instruments. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of...
into the band 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 & BonnieDelaney & Bonnie and Friends was a rock/soul revue fronted by husband-and-wife singer/songwriters Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett.-Career:Delaney Bramlett learned the guitar in his youth, and migrated to Los Angeles in 1959...
,
Derek and the DominosDerek and the Dominos were a blues-rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends....
and in his own long and varied solo career.
Jack BruceJohn Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician, composer and singer. He is best-known as an electric bass guitarist, harmonica player and pianist, and was most famous as a vocalist and the bass guitarist for the 1960s rock band Cream. He lives in Suffolk...
began a varied and successful solo career with the 1969 release of
Songs for a TailorSongs for a Tailor is the 1969 solo studio album debut of musician, composer and singer Jack Bruce, who was already famous at the time of its release for his work with the supergroup Cream...
, while
Ginger BakerPeter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith...
formed a jazz-fusion ensemble out of the ashes of Blind Faith called
Ginger Baker's Air ForceGinger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion band comprising Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on organ and vocals, Ric Grech on violin and bass, Jeanette Jacobs on vocals, Denny Laine on guitar and vocals, Remi Kabaka on drums, Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute, Graham Bond on alto sax,...
, which featured Winwood, Blind Faith bassist Rick Grech, Graham Bond on sax, and guitarist
Denny LaineDenny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his roles as former guitarist and lead singer of The Moody Blues and, later, co-founder of Wings. Laine was the only musician in Wings, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, who did not quit...
of the Moody Blues and (later)
WingsWings was a rock group formed in 1971 by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda McCartney. The group was the only "permanent" group that any of the former members of the Beatles were ever involved with after their break-up...
.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In 1993, Cream was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music...
and set aside their differences to perform at the induction ceremony. Initially, the trio was wary about performing, until encouraging words from
Robbie RobertsonRobbie Robertson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership in The Band. He was ranked 78th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The Band has been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music...
inspired them to try. The end result was an incendiary set consisting of "Sunshine of Your Love", "Crossroads", and - interestingly, as the band had never played it live during their original tenure - "Born Under a Bad Sign". 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 went so far as to say 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
BBMBBM is the name of the short-lived power trio formed in 1994, by long established artists, bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker and guitarist Gary Moore. They released just one album, entitled Around The Next Dream, which was released on the Virgin record label...
with Irish
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
guitarist
Gary MooreGary Moore is a Northern Irish guitarist and singer.In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore has played with artists including Thin Lizzy, BB King, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and the Blues-rock band Skid Row, as well as having a successful solo career...
.
2005
In 2004, it was officially announced that Cream would finally reunite for a series of four shows, on 2, 3, 5, and 6 May 2005 at the Royal Albert Hall in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, the venue of their final concerts in 1968. Even more surprising was that the reunion came 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 cancerHepatocellular carcinoma is a primary malignancy of the liver. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis...
, and had almost lost his life, while Baker had severe
arthritisArthritis is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body....
.
Tickets for all four shows sold out in under an hour.
ToutIn British English, a tout is any person who solicits business or employment in an importune manner ....
s were soon charging outrageous prices for what became one of the hardest-to-get tickets in rock and roll history. The performances were recorded for a live CD and DVD. Among those in attendance were
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
and
Ringo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE , better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the rock group The Beatles. When The Beatles formed in 1960, Starr belonged to another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes....
,
Steve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English singer-songwriter who performs and writes rock, blues-rock, and jazz. He sings with a tenor voice and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays Hammond organ, guitar, bass, and other string instruments. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of...
,
Roger WatersGeorge Roger Waters is an English rock musician. He is best known as the bass player and one of the main songwriters and lead singers in the English rock band Pink Floyd from 1964 to 1985...
,
Brian MayBrian Harold May, CBE, is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home built guitar, "Red Special", and has composed hits such as "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You", "Who Wants to Live Forever",...
of
QueenQueen were an English rock band. Formed in London in 1970 following the demise of the band Smile, Queen consisted of vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor. The band became popular with audiences via their hit songs, live performances,...
,
Jimmy PageJames Patrick Page OBE is an Englishcomposer and record producer.Page has been described as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history". In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Page #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest...
of
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
and also
Mick TaylorMichael "Mick" Kevin Taylor born 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones....
and
Bill WymanBill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
, formerly of
the Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
. The reunion marked the first time the band had played "
Badge"Badge" is a rock song by Cream, penned by Eric Clapton and George Harrison during a collaborative effort between Clapton, Harrison and Ringo Starr. It was included as a track on the Cream album Goodbye. Peaking at number 60 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Badge" was a minor hit after its release as a...
" and "
Pressed Rat and Warthog"Pressed Rat and Warthog" is a song performed by the band Cream on their Wheels of Fire album. The song was distinctive because it was narrated by drummer Ginger Baker, rather than being sung by Jack Bruce or Eric Clapton...
" 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. For reasons unknown, Cream chose to play at only one venue,
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, from 24-26 October 2005. The shows were marred by some controversy in regard to tickets: the show's promoters had made a deal with credit card company American Express to make tickets available to American Express customers only in an unprecedented week-long pre-sale. Again, touts charged high prices for tickets; nevertheless, the shows were a financial success and received critical praise.
Fans of Cream hoped for a full-scale tour, but a statement from Cream's publicist days after the last performance put the nail in that particular coffin, when it was announced that Cream would not tour the United States. In an interview with Jack Bruce in the December 2005 issue of
Bass Player magazine, Bruce hinted that he would like to see Cream continue in one way or another, possibly in the form of a new album, but that a tour was out of the question: "It would be quite a challenge to try to create music that would stand up to the classic songs. I've got a few ideas already — in fact, I wrote a song yesterday that I think would work. I just don't know if it will happen, because we all feel the band is so special we don't want to do it that often, if we go on. We've had offers you wouldn't believe — I didn't believe — for long world tours, and it's tempting. But none of us wants to accept because it would take away from the rarity and special nature of getting together. I'd like to do it every now and again and just play somewhere, but we could do an album amidst that, and I'm going to suggest it."
2006-present
In February 2006, Cream received a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement AwardThe Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording" ....
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 rebutted by both Clapton and Baker, first by Clapton in a
TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
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, he says, 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
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
about the
Blind FaithBlind Faith was an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
concert in
Hyde ParkHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
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."
Jack Bruce told
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
's
WCSXWCSX is a Detroit-based FM radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. WCSX's transmitter is located in suburban Oakland County in Royal Oak Township near the intersection of 8 Mile Rd. and Wyoming Avenue. WCSX transmits its signal from an antenna 951 feet in height with an effective radiated...
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 ErtegünAhmet Ertegun was the Turkish American co-founder and executive of Atlantic Records and chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum, described as "one of the most significant figures in the modern recording industry"...
. 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:
- "Dear Marc,
- We were going to do this tribute concert for Ahmet when it was to be at the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
but decided to pass when it was moved to the O2 ArenaThe O2 arena, visually typeset in branding as The O
2 arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, United Kingdom...
and seemed to be becoming overly commercial."
The headlining act for the O2 Arena Ertegun tribute show (postponed to December 2007) turned out to be another reunited English hard-rock act,
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
. So while the band members are all still alive and talking again, no Cream reunions are planned for the near future.
Recently, Rolling Stone.com has featured the band, and Sirius Radio stations "Classic Vinyl" and "Deep Tracks" are heavily playing their songs. This has led some to speculate that a reunion may be in the works.
Discography
- 1966 - Fresh Cream
Fresh Cream is Cream's December 1966 debut album. It was the first LP release of producer Robert Stigwood's new "Independent" Reaction Records label. It reached number 6 in the UK in February 1967 and - eventually - number 39 in the US in August 1968...
- 1967 - Disraeli Gears
Disraeli Gears is the second album by British blues-rock group Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach #5 on the UK album chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching #4 on the American charts. The album features the two...
- 1968 - Wheels of Fire
Wheels of Fire is the name of a double album recorded by Cream. The release was largely successful, scoring the band a #3 peak in the UK and a #1 in the US, and became the world's first platinum-selling double album....
- 1969 - Goodbye
Cream tribute songs
- Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, New Age, and country and western music into his recordings.Guitar Player magazine calls Johnson "One of the most...
and Alien Love Child - "Last House on the Block"
- Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police and Eric Burdon & The Animals.-Early life:...
- "Big Thing"
- Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith...
- "East Timor"
External links