RIP - Ginger Baker

[OtayBW]

Ginger Baker is reported to have died peacefully in a hospital earlier today in the UK. For me, he was the seminal drummer of the late 60's, whose work with Jack B. and Eric C. will never be equaled. RIP.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ig4IJgRjGU

[cua90]

His playing in Cream’s cover of ‘Born Under a Bad Sign’ was so good

[DeBike]

A great drummer!

[AJosiahK]

A great drummer!

Truly one of the best

[pdxharth]

Rocking some Spoonful with my pre-ride oatmeal right now.

Ginger made me appreciate the drums before I understood how important they are.

RIP (he needs it, it seems).

[572cv]

The bbc obit noted that his first goal was to ride in the TDF, but he wrecked his bike into a taxicab.... however, the strength in his legs from cycling let him power those double bass drums… cool. I saw him play with Blind Faith; amazing sound. I can always bring to mind the drumming in ‘I feel free’. Many thanks.

[retrofit]

The drum rifts on the Wheels of Fire album are truly some of the best in rock.
Saw Cream in 1968 at Selland Arena, Fresno, CA. Tickets were $3.50. Warm-up band? Blue Cheer.

RIP.

[GOTHBROOKS]

no love for those ginger baker air force lps (because they kind of stink)

[colker]

There is an interesting documentary on Ginger Baker. JOhn Lydon is there talking about how much integrity Baker always had.

[KJMUNC]

Sad to wake up to this news today, but he has been in poor health for many years so it wasn't unexpected.

Check out the documentary "Beware Mr. Baker". Great piece of work.

He was a true original.....in the documentary they interview a long list of famous musicians/drummers and ask the question who is the greatest rock drummer: of course they all answer "Ginger".

Already listed to Disraeli Gears today for him. RIP.

[el cheapo]

Yes he was a great drummer. He was so good that he could get by with an "attitude". When I lived in L.A. saw a trade paper advertisement for a rock drummer with the notation...no Ginger Bakerz.

[redir]

Just listen to how complex and perfect this is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ey8dFqM98&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR21y65vZmFNdn3FkEX1lAhYhRAV6ZyegC_3RuJyx cGlhK-J4kcVkxjc984

Ginger lived the reputation of a wild man drummer too that's for sure, he had a hell of a run.

[bthornt]

Indisputably one of the greatest rock drummers ever, but I think an important thing to note is that he wasn't limited to this type of music. He was also successful as a jazz drummer (early in his career and later with Sonny Sharrock) and his work with Fela Kuti shows that he was more than capable in the "world music" genre.

He was great with Cream and Blind Faith, but check out his drumming on the album "Sunrise on the Sufferbus" as a member of Masters of Reality.

[rounder]

Rip Ginger. Cream was the first great band I ever heard.

[gasman]

Indisputably one of the greatest rock drummers ever, but I think an important thing to note is that he wasn't limited to this type of music. He was also successful as a jazz drummer (early in his career and later with Sonny Sharrock) and his work with Fela Kuti shows that he was more than capable in the "world music" genre.

He was great with Cream and Blind Faith, but check out his drumming on the album "Sunrise on the Sufferbus" as a member of Masters of Reality.

This

He was the drummer I most admired when I used to play. I played along to a lot of Cream songs though my drumming sucked I learned enough to really admire him. I’m bummed to hear the news.

[goonster]

no love for those ginger baker air force lps (because they kind of stink)

OK, but redeemed by the work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6W_07sxw-k) he did with Fela.

(Also: Tony Allen really needs to be more of a household name.)

This is a man who quit heroin some twenty-nine times (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/05/ginger-baker-cream-interview), and lived to see his eightieth birthday.
R.I.P. to a musician who leaves quite a legacy, about whom it cannot be said that he led an uneventful life.

[fa63]

Ginger Baker obituary in the Guardian; it is a great read:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/oct/06/ginger-baker-obituary?CMP

[colker]

Ginger Baker obituary in the Guardian; it is a great read:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/oct/06/ginger-baker-obituary?CMP

A true rebel.

[colker]

I was never much of a Cream fan and run away from virtuoso rock musicians but when you listen to sunshine of your love it´s those drums turn that band into sophisticated music.

[colker]

Baker and Bill Laswell on this extraordinary song.
Baker again is original and sets the tone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq7JSic1DtM

[charliedid]

RIP Ginger

You were indeed a one in a million drummer and character to be sure. You were no Eddie Money but few are.

[thwart]

This is a man who quit heroin some twenty-nine times (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/05/ginger-baker-cream-interview), and lived to see his eightieth birthday.

Wonder if the physical workout that drummers go through during a several hour performance had something to do with that longevity.

RIP to (arguably) rock's greatest drummer, and a man who lived a very full life.

[redir]

By the way, I'm surprised no one mentioned this but, speaking of physicality, Ginger baker trained to be a professional cyclist with dreams of racing in the Tour De France. Those dreams were crushed when he had an accident with a Taxi cab. But no doubt he was in very good physical condition which helped with drumming. Later on in life he apparently became very good at Polo.

[FlashUNC]

The bbc obit noted that his first goal was to ride in the TDF, but he wrecked his bike into a taxicab.... however, the strength in his legs from cycling let him power those double bass drums… cool. I saw him play with Blind Faith; amazing sound. I can always bring to mind the drumming in ‘I feel free’. Many thanks.

By the way, I'm surprised no one mentioned this but, speaking of physicality, Ginger baker trained to be a professional cyclist with dreams of racing in the Tour De France. Those dreams were crushed when he had an accident with a Taxi cab. But no doubt he was in very good physical condition which helped with drumming. Later on in life he apparently became very good at Polo.

Uh, someone did.

[redir]

Uh, someone did.

sheepish grin

[efixler]

[QUOTE=goonster;2603466]OK, but redeemed by the work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6W_07sxw-k) he did with Fela.

(Also: Tony Allen really needs to be more of a household name.)

Agree on both counts. Horses and Trees is also a great record and opened a pathway to me into whole bunch of other things.

[efixler]

Sorry, messed up editing the quote on the post above and I can't seem to delete it!

[oliver1850]

Heard a short interview with Baker on XM tonight while I was working. He made a comment about being a jazz drummer who couldn't make any money at that, so turned to rock. I got to thinking about when I might have first heard Ginger, and came to the conclusion that it was when "Sunshine of Your Love" was an AM radio hit in 1967 - I was 8 years old. Masters of Reality's "Sunrise on the Sufferbus" was the last thing I heard that he played on, and it's a great album start to finish. I have to admit that I haven't heard much of what he did between Blind Faith and Masters of Reality - a span of 20 years. What's worth hearing, and what isn't?

[marciero]

I was never much of a Cream fan and run away from virtuoso rock musicians but when you listen to sunshine of your love it´s those drums turn that band into sophisticated music.

That song in particular exemplified his disgruntlement regarding royalties. He had a point-take away that signature groove and it aint the same song. On the other hand melodies are about the only thing you can copyright. In any case, he should have insisted on writing credit on the front end. Easy to say in hindsight.

[dumbod]

Sad to wake up to this news today, but he has been in poor health for many years so it wasn't unexpected.

Check out the documentary "Beware Mr. Baker". Great piece of work.

He was a true original.....in the documentary they interview a long list of famous musicians/drummers and ask the question who is the greatest rock drummer: of course they all answer "Ginger".

Already listed to Disraeli Gears today for him. RIP.

Beware Mr. Baker is really interesting. It turns out that the movie was produced by a couple of my neighbors. I asked one of them if Baker was as crazy as he seemed. His response? “You have no idea.”

Great drummer though.

[Dekonick]

Did he play with P.I.L. as well? Talk about an interesting twist if true...

[fa63]

Just like everything else, drumming is constantly evolving and drummers continue to push boundaries that were once thought unimaginable. Toad was an amazing performance at its time, and it is still a great listen for me (especially as a fellow drummer), but it pales by some of the stuff people play these days. I give you the human drum machine David Diepold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIPITxkzBVk

You might say, that is too fast/not rhythmic enough (he is covering a song by another drummer, by the way), but trust me, what he is doing is far more complex/technical than what Ginger Baker has ever done.

All that said, that doesn't change the fact that Ginger Baker was one of the greatest of his time. I will also be curious to hear what drummers will sound like in another 40 years (assuming I am still alive by then) :)

Just listen to how complex and perfect this is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ey8dFqM98&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR21y65vZmFNdn3FkEX1lAhYhRAV6ZyegC_3RuJyx cGlhK-J4kcVkxjc984

Ginger lived the reputation of a wild man drummer too that's for sure, he had a hell of a run.

[Dino Suegiù]

Baker and Bill Laswell on this extraordinary song.
Baker again is original and sets the tone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq7JSic1DtM
Ginger Baker did played with P.I.L. on "Album", but not on that song. Tony Williams played drums on "Rise", which indeed is really a great song.

Did he play with P.I.L. as well? Talk about an interesting twist if true...
Yes, for 4 tracks on P.I.L.'s "Album" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album_(Public_Image_Ltd_album)), with a lot of other incredible musicians.

[beeatnik]

Middle Passage was the first non indie, non punk album that I dug in my first year at the University of California at Berkeley. Axiom was (is?) a cool label. I think they were calling it jazz when it was released.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/middle-passage-mw0000308235

[charliedid]

Middle Passage was the first non indie, non punk album that I dug in my first year at the University of California at Berkeley. Axiom was (is?) a cool label. I think they were calling it jazz when it was released.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/middle-passage-mw0000308235

Great LP