CREAM: The Rise & Fall Of The World's First Supergroup
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Join me to discover the story of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker's supergroup Cream, from the band's earliest beginning through to their final bow.
I'm now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the channel, get access to ad free & bonus content, visit / jameshargreavesguitar
Thanks!
Many images and videos in my UA-cam content have been found online without any attribution or credit available. In many cases I have therefore not been able to add a credit in the videos themselves due to lack of information. If your image or video has been used and a credit is required, please email me with your details and evidence of authorship and a credit will be added into the video description.
Many thanks, JH.
![Eric Clapton BBC Documentary [1987]](/img/n.gif)
Hello all - just to respond to the millions of comments saying 'The Beatles were the first supergroup!' - The Beatles weren't technically a supergroup.
"A supergroup is a musical group formed with members who are already successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups." - Wikipedia
So Cream, Crosby Stills & Nash, or the Traveling Wilburys would all be considered supergroups, despite not being as big as the Beatles.
Cheers, JH
Cream wasn't even a SuperGroup, much less the world's first. They had 2 hits and they weren't even that great of songs. People who call this a jazz band are also quite crazy (including Baker). Listen to the WHite Room and Crossroads and tell me what parts of those songs resemble anything remotely close to Jazz. I'm sorry, Cream and Baker were both way overrated imo. That said, Clapton is great. (And I'm a drummer)
In,
@jo u❤ih inhhnhead6116
P
😮😢😢😢@@johnhead6116
Loved the video James, i'm a huge Cream fan and the video was smashing. Now all i want is a WHO video. Can anyone give me a thumbs up on that?
I love your statement " Ginger Baker joined him to continue the feud in the afterlife ". Brilliant.
"I'd been drinking a mixture of rum and Guinness in order to help with my withdrawal." That's the ticket, Ginger!! Mixing pirate juice with the fighting Irish should solve any problem.
Ginger on the rum oh no lol
I call it Go Go juice Matt NYC 😂😂
You can do it !!!......I have faith in you !!!....... don't give up !!!.............. Erik
@@mattsweeny3957*the Matt Sweeney*, that played in interviews with Lord Ace Frehley and Lord Keith Richards??
VERY CUTE
I got a Cream cassette tape for Christmas, at like twelve in the mid-70's. Didn't know who they were, but just now realize their influence on my parents at the time (and me). We had lived in England mid-60's, right outside of London and my dad was always playing great music. Thanks dad!
How did Ginger Baker live to 80 years old?
Amazing he made it past 30.
Toughness. He Was a Dick But The Thunder God.
Few dopers think that they'll live past 30. I didn't think so and now I'm 66, but there were a few close calls in my youth. Alcohol, the legal drug that is also a food, is the worst of all, except maybe tobacco.
He was too ornery to let the angel of death win.
Unfortunately, he always does eventually.
Amazing any of US followers are still alive to Note your Comment ? Rock and roll is here to stay !
Opiate addicts live a long tine.
I was at the London gig where Jimi Hendrix sat in with Cream.
He actually did two numbers- Killing Floor , as everybody knows, and they then did I’m a Man , the Bo Diddley one chord song.
The latter went on a bit.
Eric played throughout and didn’t appear to be the slightest bit fazed.
The story that Eric exited the stage was made up by Chas Chandler who was Jimi’s manager who was also there.
Jimi was very confident and took cente stage.
He went down well.
Shortly after he was on TV doing Hey Joe and I thought that’s the bloke from the college gig.
Lucky man !
Thank you for telling the truth about that story about Chas
When Jimi (first?) came to London, he wanted to jam with Eric, ....and was obsessed with 'Sunshine of Your Love' song.
I've watched a video in which he played Sunshine in place of the Hendrix song he was scheduled to play. @@brahmburgers
@@brahmburgers I heard that Jack came up with that unforgettable main riff of Sunshine, after he became inspired by attending an early 67 show of The Experience. Jimi inspired Jack, not the other way around.
PS. I went back into my old notes about the Jimi and Eric chain of events.
On Sunday, January 29, 1967. Jimi opened for the Who at the Saville Theatre in London. Eric (who already had his hair "permed" so it looked like Jimi's) and Jack Bruce were in the audience. In fact there are photos of Jimi and Eric standing next to each other from there, this night. Jack has mentioned that after he left the gig, this is when he came up with that monumental riff for "Sunshine of your Love". Then one week later on Sunday, February 5, 1967, also at the Saville Theatre. Jimi attends a Cream show.
And music was never the same.
Interesting to hear your perspective, based on first-hand experience. Another perspective was that Clapton declined to play 'Killing Floor' because the pace was too frenetic. But then Hendrix ripped through it - free form. Allegedly, Clapton was stunned.
I have the honour of getting a serious response from Ginger when he played in Glasgow back in 2017. People were asking him questions which had nothing to do with him and he shot them all down, I asked him about drumming with Art Blakey and he gave a heartfelt response about how much it meant to him and how Art brought out the best in him.
He also played like a master even in his late 70s, even though he only played a small set due to his health. Will never forget it.
(Had to edit as made an error with his age)
White room is my fav Cream song atm
Nice! He was one of the first true punks in my opinion. Zero time for anything he didn't like, but a heart of gold underneath - and a truckload of talent
Oh man, I saw At Blakey at the Lighthouse in Hermosa, California in the seventies. He was amazing! Not as great as Buddy Rich back then but still, beautiful. I was front and center and got two Incredible pics.
I'm just curious, ... Why would you worry about the "edit" tag?
@@NeilCrouse99 because I said he was in his 80s when he was in his 70s, corrected myself so it was accurate
Cream was the band if you played guitar in 1968
My first job was a caddy and with my first pay check I bought Creams Wheels Of Fire, the 1st Hendrix and Doors albums
Still they are my favorite albums
The joy of buying them with my own money
I almost saw Cream at the Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York in 1968. My friend and I were teenagers seated in the Theater eagerly awaiting our musical heroes to take the stage and blow our minds, when an announcement was made over the PA that the group had canceled. Bummer! We left thoroughly disappointed. Years later I read that their equipment hadn't arrived and that was the reason they had canceled. Seeing your excellent documentary, I now wonder if Ginger's drug problem as well as his ongoing feud with Jack Bruce wasn't the real reason they canceled. Best documentary I've ever seen on the group! Thank you!
Ginger and Jack were always at each other's throats. They were with Graham Bond in the early 60s, and Ginger pulled a knife on Jack during one violent altercation.
@@robjones2408 I had read that somewhere. Ginger had an awful temper. It went along with his fiery red hair ....
I was there too, I live in Roch cha cha!
@@joebloggs8636 As they say, Joe, it's a small world. We must be about the same age. I remember how disappointed we were. I think Vanilla Fudge agreed to extend their show to make up for Cream's cancellation. Or we could get a refund. My friend and I did neither. We just left. Did you decide to stay for the Vanilla Fudge? And I was wondering where did you go to high school? I went to West High ....
@@davidzimmerli489 Hi David, I was at East high,1973 was my graduation year. I left ,which was pretty stupid...Not sure why we did but I definitely regret it. It doesn't sound like me either because in those days we saw EVERYONE.Used to see Black Sheep with Lou ...I lived on the Eastside.
There are times I envy some of these musicians because of their talent and the way they've been remembered in the history of rock and roll.
However, when I hear about all their personal and drug problems, I don't envy being them one bit.
🕊️❤️🙏
Most comprehensive account of Cream I’ve seen in all my years of watching anything related to Cream. Well done.
48 years ago today 6/4/24 in Northeast Ohio music history, Cream performed a sold out show at Cleveland Music Hall. Canned Heat was the opening act. This was the second of two concerts Cream played in Northeast Ohio on back to back nights and the only time they played in the Cleveland/Akron area. Arigatou gozaimasu Sensei James. 🌸
I was 16 in 1966 and Cream knocked my socks off. I'm still a fan now at 72. They were so musically tight that you marvel that it was just 3 guys making all that wonderful noise! Definitely the greatest power trio ever in rock imo. I only have two live concerts on my 5000 song 60s/70s YTM playlist and one is the Cream 40th Anniversary concert over 4 nights at Prince Albert Hall in London in 2005. The entire concert is on YTM. Ginger said in, "Beware Mr. Baker," that he was a junkie for 20 years. Eric was doing massive amounts of coke so I'm told and Jack also dabbled in heroin before giving it up. But Jack was the best bass player in the 60s next to Paul McCartney only because Paul played bass on such a wide variety of songs. All 3 of them were the greatest musicians of their kind at the time and everybody admitted that. Their rendition of, "On the Road to Dreams," in 2005 got a long standing ovation. I know they were together in 66 and 67 but I don't think they were even together a full two years before they broke up.
They were the greatest , musician for musician ! I love the Beatles and Paul , and I play bass . Jack Bruce and John Entwistle were , I think , better . How you can play bass on " Born under a Bad Sign " and sing , is amazing . The vocals are off beat of the song ! Amazing !
As was I. What a time to be alive!
@@lonnietoth5765 Some people think it's easy to play and sing at the same time but it takes years of practice. Johnny Winter played rhythm, lead AND slide guitar while singing which is extremely hard. Jack Bruce's rhythm was totally in his head at all times even when his syncopation didn't match what Ginger was laying down. He would take a 5/4 song and seamlessly blend it into normal 4/4.
@@lonnietoth5765 IKR! I've been playing for 60 years. Guys like Paul and Johnny Winters and Jack Bruce made it look easy but it takes a few years of practice to be able to do rhythm and lead parts while you're singing. It comes natural to some but us peons have to learn the hard way.
@@lonnietoth5765 Yes, I sing and play routinely now but it took me at least 6 months to a year to feel comfortable. And I've been playing for 50+ years starting at age 7 so I'm very used to different rhythms but singing off the notes you're playing is fairly difficult.
This was simply excellent from start to finish. Combining and contrasting the memoirs is great. (Why isn’t it done all the time? This is the first I’ve seen.)
- What was their manager doing?
- Three strong personalities . It’s perhaps amazing they lasted as long as they did but you need strong personalities to produce great art.
- Great quotes about getting drowned in their own music.
Thank you.
Man, you've got the best stories. I don't know anywhere else i could ever have heard about Jack & Ginger rolling around in a fight on the stage .... with the audience singing "She Loves You" !!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Wrapping paper is one of my favorite songs! A nice little soft shoe shuffle 🤙🤙🤙
I was in my mid-teens when Cream formed. I was at a boarding school in Madrid Spain, already playing guitar in R&B bands. I ordered their 1st album by mail, and would sit on the floor with hi-fi speakers on each side, and listen to it over and over, volume high. It was in the ''common room' so the other boys in the room would have to hear it.
Bravo! Great job! (That's coming from the world's biggest JB & Cream fan!).
My first ever album was Disraeli Gears bought in 1969 at the age of 13. Been a huge Cream and Clapton fan ever since and thought I knew everything about them. Of course most of us knew about the Baker-Bruce animosity, but wasnt aware of the finer details as revealed here. Brilliant documentary, well done!
actually even though I am basically your vintage I knew nothing about that lol
I got that album much later when I was about 13 ....1983 ....we all thought it was great also, some music is timeless !!!!............. Erik
I also love Cream. I saw them at the Grandi Ballroom in Detroit, where i lived and grew up. The best concerts there and at the Eastown Theater.
This is by far the best Cream documentary ever made. Thank you, James.
Thanks so much! And you're welcome 🍻🍻
A little unfair to Jack. The part blaming Jack the most for the breakup. The breakup was due to a number of factors, as the narrator nevertheless outlines.
This filled in a lot of details of what I knew about Cream. White Room is still one of the best songs ever written in my thinking. Excellent!
Creme de la Creme, so to speak...
this channel deserves at least twice the subscribers because James appears to do the research for fact & detail 👍
Terrific! Clapton, Bruce and Baker are my favorite musicians ever. I always compare new heavy blues and rock bands to Cream and sadly they always fall far short.
Thanks, James. Cream is my favorite band. Growing up as a lad in the 60's, I found them to be a haunting, compelling, driving force. I constantly compared other bands to them and none could stand the competition. Right through to the final Royal Albert concert, I'm a die-hard fan. Perhaps, their egos and personality flare-ups were part of their genius? Who knows, but their music will be with me as long as I live. Cheers.
I was in my mid-teens when Cream formed. I was at a boarding school in Madrid Spain, already playing guitar in R&B bands. I ordered their 1st album by mail, and would sit on the floor with hi-fi speakers on each side, and listen to it over and over, volume high. It was in the ''common room' so the other boys in the room would have to hear it.
Yes, when I was a kid in those days, if you didn't love Cream it was like, "What in the hell is wrong with you?!" 8-)
Wow! What a monumental documentary on one of my favorite Rock bands!
You really put these puzzle pieces together and told the story like a good storyteller. 👍🏻
Thanks!
Cream was founded in July 1966. Buffalo Springfield debuted on April 11, 1966, at The Troubadour in LA. What a year! (Later, Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills became friends and played together.)
The flourishing of the music scene was huge with the Vietnam war and acid. It was like super fertilized sudden plant growth.,🪴✌️
There's a vid here now on YT of Jack ,on Hammond B(?) playing with Stills on a live set including Black Queen. Steve is a little over his skis on the vocal , but it is a bit of history , you shouldn't pass up.
Thanks for a great video. I went to see them in Gothenburg 1967. I was 13 years old and could not hear anything for two weeks. It was fantastic.
Gotta love bands that cant stand each other personally, yet write, record, and perform amazing music together. Makes you really think how out of this world music really is.
Dang James. This was an excellent summary. I rarely see such a concise retelling.
After all this time I never knew Cream was your favorite band. I would have bet the farm that it was Oasis... Thanks for the consistently high quality content.
Thank you so much for the video, James!
Best Regards from México
Enjoyed this very much......now it all makes sense....I must say I have experience with working with others riding high and then fighting to the point of not talking. It has helped me to understand how a band like cream can go through the ups and downs. I will say that in my case my partner and I rode high for a couple of years and then came crashing down...not even speaking any more....but I started a new business and sent an invite to him. He accepted it....we met and had lunch and then buried the past. Since then and even now we are best friends and cherish our glory days and are in constant contact....till the end we remain friends and that makes life worth living!
Best ever, most comprehensive, most acute, review, survey, and history of Cream, collectively (off and on, more off). So many of the greatest rock oeuvres of all time. Having the autobiography by each such a rich resource. This doco is an absolute gift to posterity. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 From the bottom of my heart ❤ one of the millions of Boomers fortunate enough to have been alive during the peak of popular and blues rock , indeed greatest of musical epochs. - POD, NZ
I started listening to Cream quite a few years ago. My Dad has always been a fan of Cream, mainly because of Eric Clapton. I think he went to the same school as Clapton, although my Dad was a few years below him. It's strange that the music my Dad would play when I was a kid, I listen to nowadays!! Blues, 1960's rock and Psychedelic stuff etc..
This documentary is the most comprehensive of the band I have ever seen - I would go as far to say definitive.
Well done!👏
There will never be another group like “Cream.” They are all geniuses in their own right.
Great bit of history here ... thanks for your work. Was fortunate enough to see/hear them 3 times. 1st (and best) at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, small venue (guessing 6k to 8k seats?), and got lucky with center seats, maybe 10 rows from front ... I think Albert King opened (saw The Who there also). Later, after their superstardom, at Anaheim Stadium and finally The Forum.
I love this presentation. To continue the feud in the afterlife phrase, has so much warmth, humor and assurance that it's not the end, I just love the phrase where it is. ❤❤❤
Fantastic overview of Cream. Thank you
This is the most excellent music documentary I have ever seen. Your attention to detail is simply amazing.
Wow, thank you!
Got to agree❤
Reviewing my faves, I love this group to pieces. I saw them at the Fillmore in San Francisco in 1967 when they had first formed!!
Great job. I really enjoyed the doc Beware of Mr. Baker and bought Ginger's book after watching your wonderful video. It's sad, but our heroes are getting older and passing on. Thanks again .
I saw them in 1968 in our little off the beaten path town in West Virginia. It really was not a show in the usual sense. Those three guys just got up on the riser and blew the roof off the place. Clapton and Bruce both had two Marshall stacks and Baker played with both power and technique. His drum had to be nailed to the riser. (Seriously).
My man!! I love all your Oasis videos, then your Beatles ones, but Cream... MY MAN!! 🙌 Thank you for this brother 🤗
That Rolling Stone review was sincere. If the editor in chief of the magazine didn't catch this conflict of interest, he should have been fired. But you have a right to your own opinions. All the things he says about cream, I have said about pink Floyd and tool. I also think cream sounds like shit live. I couldn't believe how bad the sound was at Lord Albert Hall. Cream indeed....
Very interesting narrative, luv the old pics. Thanks for posting this, really enjoyed it. 😎
Haven't heard much of Cream admittedly, but this channel has been so great in its storytelling that this will definitely still be a worthwhile watch. One thing that I've heard though, was that Ginger Baker did grow to heavily dislike the heavy metal scene which is very ironic since he greatly helped in creating it. Keep up the good work!
I think when Heavy Metal actually became a tangible genre in the 70s, some of the heavy rock musicians from the 60s who had inspired its creation were sceptical because they deemed it too unartistic, derivative and crass, despite the obvious musical influence. It was to be many years before Metal would taken seriously as an art form.
@alexneill8338 was metal taken seriously as an art form early in the 70s? Id say by many, depends on who you ask.
What???m Listen up Sonny..The Cream were The Shit...Matt NYC
Early 70s metal was garbage
Karl Marx, later in life, was asked if he was a Marxist. He said 'no.'
THANKS. I WAS KNOWN IN JR HI AS A CREAM fan. i drew a bowl of cream on my gym shirt. i actually dismissed the beatles at the time. my musical instincts were always topnotch!
Really good insight to this great band James...I was a fan from the start 1966 aged 12...I have all the original singles and LP's...I was at the Goodbye gig at the RAH (1st show) ...EC was the reason I took up guitar...They were such great innovaters from the UK (along with The Beatles who I also loved and saw live in Dec 1963 aged 9) - Cheers Gus
PS - as an aside...I played in a band that was hired to play the opening act to a showing of the BBC film of the Goodbye Cream concert on 26 Nov 1968 at the RAH...So can I say I supported Cream...?
I was 15 when Cream hit the scene. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Great job, James! I remember hearing Sunshine of your Love at a friend's house, shortly after its release. I kept asking my friend to keep playing the song numereous times on the turntable. To this day, Cream's music remains a part of my life -- 55 years later!
Thanks, James. I was there then but very young 12 in '66. Thanks for filling in the pic for me. Man, I loved this band. I still do.
"There will never be another band like Cream" -- Ginger Baker
“There will never be another person on Earth like me.”
- me
@@bderrick4944 So very true!
This documentary is amazingly and very carefully put together, taking quotes from the three autobiographies, and such. Awesome job! Thank you so much for this 👏🏼💯🎶
One added comment about Ginger. That, "Beware Mr. Baker," really gave me some insight into Ginger. The last thing he got from his father at age 5 (whom he dearly loved) was a short letter telling him, "Your fists are your best friend. They will help you." He wanted to be a tough guy like his dad.
I absolutely LOVE your channel 👍Superb, thank you
I do love this band and Derek and the Dominos are to me another strong band Clapton was a part of during his career. Cream's always one of my most favourite psychedelic bands.
yes, with derek and the dominoes clapton confronts his superior, DUANE !!
I only wish there was more footage of Derek and the Dominoes. The only time I've ever seen them was on the Johnny Cash show dvd. Great footage, but only a few songs and the only thing I can find on them. Would've been great if they had Duane come along.
Great story telling! Cream was my favourite band when I was a teenager. I used to listen to the live version of "crossroads" over and over. Saw them live in 1968 in Vancouver. It was a great concert and incredibly loud!
Thank you. Absolutely brilliant. A proper journey through Cream's history. Still the best band ever.
Fantastic documentary on Cream!
Saw Jack Bruce and Ginger in Baltimore, when?, sometime in the late 80s or 90s at Hammerjacks. The band was great. At the end, Ginger chanted, “God bless Jack Bruce!” Over and over. It was kind of sweet.
This is a brilliant doc. I thought I knew about Cream. I didn’t. I also learned the true reason that Eric got the nickname ‘Slowhand’ which - unlike what I had always been told - is nothing to do with his style of playing.
I worship Cream. Just in grade school when they formed. Thank goodness they rose above their differences to reunite at the Albert Hall in 05. Fortunately, I saw Baker in his final paradigm with his Denver jazz band before he left the country.
What a masterful job you've done here. I imagine it took countless hours to bring all this information together and organize it in such a coherent manner. Thanks so much!
Much appreciated :)
Despite the dearth of audio clips, this is a beautifully crafted documentary offering great insights and counterpoints into the dynamics of one of Rock's greatest bands from the players themselves. It's the first time I really came to understand the degree of strife within the band and why the members of Cream had little choice other than to pull the plug in '68.
This is the best Cream doco by a mile, James. As they are your favourite band, I hope you'll be doing more deep-dives in future, as I feel they are quite overlooked these days.
I enjoyed every minute of this documentary.There was so much going on at that time in England.
What a marathon video this is!
Wow, so much detail, great film and pics and what a fabulous story told here so extremely well!
Thanks so very much for this, more than entertaining and just amazing. RIP Jack and Ginger.
the fact Cream existed at all is a gift. Doesn't matter they were together so short
I saw Cream in concert in Denver in the late sixties. I was not at all impressed but later in life, I rediscovered their music and am now a fan. I started taking music lessons a couple years ago and I have a new found appreciation for the talent and skill level needed for Cream’s music. More recently, I discovered Derek and the Dominoes! Best ever!
I was skeptical for the first 30 seconds, but found it VERY well done!!! REALLY good documentary of the band that I learned through my older brother back in the late sixties here in the Detroit area.
Yep...Beware Mr Baker indeed. I always heard that Clapton spent a lot of time just keeping Bruce and Baker separated. That epic and masterful rendition of "Crossroads" with a sweating and maniacal Ginger literally pummeling the poor skins , and Jack tearing up his base strings will live on forever in memory..
Brilliant video! I was obsessed with Cream's first album when it came out (I was 17) and got to see them closeup for several gigs in the Café au Go Go (a small room) in NY on their first American tour. They were amazing live! My friend handed Eric's dropped pick to him - we always got the table right in front of him~
I don't know his situation at the time but after one set Eric & Jack helped Ginger offstage & there was a big puddle under Ginger's stool. We told ourselves it was sweat~
I was in my mid-teens when Cream formed. I was at a boarding school in Madrid Spain, already playing guitar in R&B bands. I ordered their 1st album by mail, and would sit on the floor with hi-fi speakers on each side, and listen to it over and over, volume high. It was in the ''common room' so the other boys in the room would have to hear it.
'Acrimonious circumstances' in two words pretty much sums up Ginger Baker's musical career - and his life.
His life was filled with conflict - most of it self-induced.
Arguably the best drummer of his generation, but hell-on-wheels to work with - in any capacity.if any bloke can be said to burn his candle from both ends, Ginger Baker is your man.
As a drummer and Cream fan from their start I have to say ,and I know this will piss off many, Ginger was not the greatest drummer of his generation or any other generation. He used African influences such as tom tom beats but he was no Buddy Rich , both had personality issues and to be in a band and win the popularity vote ,it is just as easy to be convivial than a total pain. When I hear him rubbish other drummers well he was a good drummer with a very bad attitude .
@@danielreily2701
I think that Ginger Baker thought of himself as a great drummer.
I'm not qualified to judge, but I do know how was in two great bands: Cream & Blind Faith - neither of which lasted.
I dont see how he's even close to the best drummer of his generation. And Ive been playing drums since the 70s.
@@johnhead6116
Well, as a drummer 🥁, you would know better than me about Ginger's skill level.
Perhaps I should have just said that Ginger Baker played in two of my favorite bands of that era: Cream and Blind Faith.
I am not qualified to address his technical proficiency, but I do know that he was a crazy fucker - as evidenced by what was revealed in the documentary on his life and career. ✌
Ginger..was the one..because in rock music..most guys cant even count 4
Me and a friend saw Ginger's jazz band in nyc at the Iridium in the late 90's. They sounded wonderful. We went to the green room and chatted with the band for almost an hour. Ginger was very nice and answered our questions, one other fan was in the room talking to Ginger as well. Ginger and his girlfriend left after 30-40 minutes. I asked Ginger a question about Clapton and I could tell from his answer that he really loved Eric and missed him. The documentary "Beware of Mr. Baker" is excellent.
Brilliant band, I've always loved them! Such an amazing trio. Thank you for this excellent synopsis, James!
James - I love all the information and tidbits about Cream that you strung together here. Apologies for telling you to do your homework in a previous comment. You obviously did a LOT of homework.
Outstanding job! I learned more in 58 minutes than I ever thought possible. You do incredibly thorough work. Please keep it coming. Cheers from Canada.
Thanks, will do!
You're great, and your content is awesome bro. Many thanks.
What an excellent documentary !! I’ve always loved Cream but after having seen this video, I know more about them than ever before and have gained even more respect for them. It never ceases to amaze me how bands feud those guys did and yet still deliver the goods. But that’s the mark of a great band.
What an amazing documentary; this one touches on many different points than all the others I’ve seen before. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thank you.
I recall quite vividly the first time I heard the opening for 'I Feel Free' on the radio. Wow! And 57 years later I am still thrilled to hear it. It signalled a shift from the music to the players - suddently the narrative was about the players, not just the songs.
Here are a few points:
- 'Alex Corner' should have read 'Alexis Korner'. The other two chaps in the early photo of Jack on acoustic bass are Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax and Cyril Davies of harp, both with the Korner and Davies band Blues Incorporated, which included Charlie Watts on drums. Korner and Davies founded the Ealing Club in Ealing, West London, which became the epicentre for the British blues scene before having a weekly residency at the Marquee Club. It was during one of those nights that the Rolling Stones first performed.
- The insinuation that Baker and Clapton chose to work together in Blind Faith is incorrect. Clapton, Rick Grech and Steve Winwood were rehearsing when Baker showed up one day and invited himself into the band. That band lasted an album and a tour before Clapton joined Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, the tour's opening act. That band had been recommended as an opener by George Harrison, who wanted to sign them to the Apple label and would later join them on their UK and Euro tour dates.
- I too read that 'Wheels of Fire' was awarded a platinum disc. In fact, it was said that the platinum disc was invented because of the success of that album. However, the website of the RIAA (which awards such discs) notes that it wasn't until 1976 that the platinum disc was introduced, and the first to score was the Eagles 'Greatest Hits', which has sold in excess of 30 million.
- Baker complaining about volume damaging his ears was ironic given all his smoking, toking, drinking and drugging.
- Baker's tune 'Waltz for a Pig' was the B-side of the Who's 'Substitute' and was a recording by the Graham Bond Organisation. At the time, the Who were in dispute with producer Shel Talmy. Though there was originally a Talmy-produced B-side, the dispute prompted the band to replace it with the GBO tune after the initial pressing run.
- When Clapton played on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', the guitar he played was the red Les Paul named 'Lucy'. He had previously gifted it to George. It previously belonged to John Sebastian of the Loving Spoonful, at which time it was a sunburst with a Bigsby string bender. Rick Derringer, then of the McCoys, was next to own it. He had it refinished in red, the Bigsby removed and possibly had the neck shaved (he's not a big lad). He didn't like the results so had the shop sell it...at which point Clapton purchased it.
- As someone else mentions below, your omission of BBM with Gary Moore and their album 'Around the Next Dream' is rather conspicuous. No, it isn't Cream, though one could argue that it came closer than what we saw with the Cream reunion gigs. I also have a bootleg live CD of Bruce and Moore with Gary Husband playing a UK club. Ferocious!
Thank you again. It is nice to see someone keeping the Cream story alive. You did a very fine job.
-
Wow! What a great presentation. No "please like and subscribe" bullsh*t. No filler. Just great.
You absolutely smashed it, very well done in all respects. Thank you.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your support!
And you’re very welcome
Awesome recreation of a stormy but glorious period of English rock. I was however disappointed of no mention of the song Crossroads, unless I missed it somewhere. I guess I'm jaded because the overall treatment was excellent with photos that brought it all back for me. Cream will live forever!
sunshine of your love. changed my life
Excellent documentation. These guys influenced me a lot with their Crossroads performance at the farewell in the Albert Hall bringing me back to playing the guitar.
Do us a favour and go back to NOT playing the guitar.
Mine too. Loved them since I was 10 in 1970. Best live band ever
Well done! I knew their famous songs and now I know the story of the group.
i knew jack and ginger did not get along but did not realize how intense it was....i was in the army from 68 to 71 and cream helped me keep my sanity....i did not realize they were THE cream at one time....very well done documentary....
Having only a basic understanding of Cream music, and the members backgrounds, this has been a wonderful learning experience.
For me at least, the human dynamics of a band's members often draw my focus away from the significance of the music itself.
However, to really understand and appreciate the brief, intense flame that was Cream, I really think it's important to understand both aspects.
Hugely appreciate your effort with this video, James! Well done for so effectively condensing all the background elements of this amazing band into one vid. 🙂👍
THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO, ABOUT A TRUE, " SUPER GROUP " . I WAS THERE, FOR ALL OF THE MUSIC , & IT WAS AWESOME ! THANK-YOU SO MUCH.-----------MJL, 77 Y/O
Excellent work, James! An epic and gripping account of one of THE best rock groups to come out of British music. I appreciate the professional presentation and reearch that it must have entailed - subscribed!
I watched Eric play in the 60's with the Yardirds at Manchester's Twisted Wheel, but for some reason never saw him play live again. I saw Ginger play with the Baker Gurvitz Army in the 70's, but I never saw Jack Bruce play live at all ... too late now
@JamesHargreavesGuitar, this is absolutely superb and exquisitely researched as usual. Please keep it going like this and all of the other material mate. This is all such very important cultural history and your ability to not only methodically consolidate it and weave it into timelines, but also to process it all and then articulate it coherently, engagingly and with balance and respect really is terrific. It’s clear that it comes from a place of passion, focused and perseverant special interest, authenticity and it ‘being all about the music’. I anticipate that is because these wonderful efforts are principally to satisfy your need to structure and make sense of the amazing but fragmented, scattered and occasionally hidden parts of these histories, and that is because the stories inform us _even more_ regarding what we hear in the the incredible music that was released along the way - it enriches and adds new layers to that enjoyment. My speculation here is in addition to that you have identified a talent within you for presenting, narrating and effectively informing others of what you find, and hence you ultimately bring it to us, share it and enrich us and our enjoyment as well.
I might be off the mark, but I reckon that I do get it mate 😉
The power of story-telling is immense for all us humans and you’re quite a natural.
So - from another collector and systemiser of the music (and much of the same music!) and the artefacts and the threads and scraps of knowledge… chapeau old boy. Absolutely top quality stuff mate. Give us a nudge if you’re ever near South Australia and I might do the same if and when we’re visiting the ‘out-laws’ in the UK. A few pints and tunes would be golden. I reckon we could talk for days about this stuff.
Thank you so much for this really comprehensive look on one of my fav bands of back in the day! Unfortunately I never got to experience them life on stage but of course they had been regular guests on my record player. I think until today their sound has an unparalleled magic to it. And I am glad that Clapton still dwells among us though Ginger and Bruce hopefully are harmonizing finally in the afterworld.
Well done 👏 👏👏
Thank you for your informative and enlightening video. During their time in San Francisco I was here in my teenage years appreciating all the fantastic music coming to the Fillmore West, Carousel Ballroom, Winterland and Shaggy Dog. The Cream was my favorite group, even more so than either, the Stones or Beatles. However my favorite of all time when it comes to psychedelic music was the man , Jimmy Hendrix.
Beautifully written and presented. Thanks for posting
Fantastic.
Just subbed . Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Thanks and welcome
Wow. An incredibly well done documentary about Cream. Thank you.