2/3s of Cream Gone

Drummer Ginger Baker finally succumbed to death after cheating it for many years. He was 80.

Bassist Jack Bruce passed in 2014.

Which leaves ‘Slowhand’ Eric Clapton, 74, the most famous of a once-powerhouse trio from the late ’60s; they were the first supergroup ever.

Bruce’s bass work was jazzy and very much created his own counter-melodies to go with Clapton’s solos. Baker’s tom-tommy drumming was distinctly different from other drummers of the day. He played his own melodies while the others went their own way.

And yet somehow it all hung together when they played opening and closing themes to songs, evident in such classics as “Crossroads”, “White Room”, “Crossroads”, and “Sunshine of Your Life”. Theirs was a very experimental, loose aggregation, more akin to a jazz than rock group except for Clapton’s high-pitched solos. They were ultimately more musically interesting than the Jimi Hendrix Experience although Clapton and many other guitarists of the day were wowed by and bowed down to the legendary Hendrix and his unique guitar sounds and solos..

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