Ginger Baker, towering drummer and Cream cofounder, has died at 80

Ginger Baker, one-third of the blues-rock supergroup Cream and a percussionist known almost as much for his fiery temperament as his virtuosity on the drums, died Sunday in Britain. He was 80. Widely considered one of the best rock drummers of all time, Baker started off playing jazz. He formed Cream in the mid-1960s with bassist Jack Bruce and guitarist Eric Clapton. The group became one of the most successful bands of the 1960s, with hits like "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room," and "I Feel Free."

After Cream disbanded in 1968 amid enmity between Baker and Bruce, Baker and Clapton briefly joined with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech to form Blind Faith. Baker then moved to Africa, where he collaborated with Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, and he later played with Public Image Ltd. and his own combos and groups, including Ginger Baker's Air Force. Cream was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and the band reunited for a tour a decade later.

Baker was born Peter Edward Baker in 1939; his father, a bricklayer, died in World War II when Ginger was 4. Baker, who used two bass drums and pounded out complex polyrhythms, was often grouped with fellow iconic rock drummers John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and The Who's Keith Moon, but he considered himself better than both. "John Bonham once made a statement that there were only two drummers in British rock 'n' roll; himself and Ginger Baker," he wrote in his memoir Hellraiser: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Drummer. "My reaction to this was, 'You cheeky little bastard!'" You can get a sense of his chops on the Cream song "Toad," featuring an extended drum solo.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

And if you don't mind the NSFW language, you can learn more about Baker's influence and personality in the trailer to the 2012 documentary Beware Mr. Baker. Peter Weber