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Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger among musicians paying tribute to Cream drummer Ginger Baker

CNN

October 6, 2019, 3:44 PM

Rock legends Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger were just a few of the artists to pay tribute on social media to Cream drummer Ginger Baker, who died Sunday.

Jagger said Baker was “a fiery but extremely talented and innovative drummer,” while McCartney called him a “wild and lovely guy” on Twitter.

Baker was 80 when he died in the U.K.

Other tributes to Baker came from Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“Sad news hearing that Ginger Baker has died. I remember playing with him very early on in Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated. He was a fiery but extremely talented and innovative drummer,” Jagger tweeted.

In his tribute, McCartney highlighted that the 1973 “Band on the Run” album his band Paul McCartney and Wings recorded was in Baker’s ARC Studio in Lagos, Nigeria. “Sad to hear that he died but the memories never will. X Paul,” McCartney tweeted.

McCartney’s fellow Beatle, drummer Ringo Starr, called Baker an “incredible musician” and a wild and inventive drummer in a tweet.

Flea tweeted that Baker was a “wildman” who played the drums with “so much freedom.”

Van Zandt said that Baker was “one of the greatest drummers of all time” and suggested that anyone unfamiliar with Cream’s music start by listening to the band’s second album, “Disraeli Gears.”

“Sad to hear of the passing of a great drummer, Ginger Baker,” guitarist Steve Hackett tweeted.

Mike Portnoy, a co-founder of Dream Theater, tweeted that it was a “very sad day in the drum world” as Baker took “rock drumming to a whole new level of expression.”

Formed in 1966, the band consisted of Baker, bassist Jack Bruce and guitarist Eric Clapton. Their hits include “Sunshine of Your Love,” “White Room,” “Crossroads” and “Strange Brew.”

Cream is considered to be the first rock supergroup, as the band was formed by already established musicians. Cream also is one of the first examples of a rock power trio featuring only guitar, bass and drums, with all three members contributing vocals.

The band split in 1968 after two years and reunited for the first time in 1993 when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

Twelve years later, Cream played their first full reunion shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Bruce died in October 2014 at age 71.

Clapton, now 74, released his most recent solo album, “I Still Do,” in 2016.

In 2006, the band received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. In 1968, the band was nominated for a Grammy as Best New Artist.

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