Godspeed, Mr. Baker
• Gifted and volatile superstar drummer Ginger Baker, best known for his stints in the groundbreaking supergroup Cream, as well as Blind Faith and Ginger Baker’s Air Force, among others, died Sunday in England at the age of 80. Baker had long struggled with drug addiction and had been in ill health of late, and a Sept. 25 Facebook post alerted his fans to his dire condition, saying, “Announcement. Ginger is critically ill in hospital. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you everyone.”
Baker was a member of rock’s first supergroup — Cream, featuring Eric Claptonand the late bassist Jack Bruce. Later, with Clapton and Steve Winwood, Baker was a member of the post-Cream supergroup Blind Faith. As perfectly described in Chris Morris‘ excellent in-depth piece in Variety, “A flamboyant, hard-pounding performer with a temper as fiery as the red hair that gave him his nickname, Baker ranged through blues, psychedelia, hard rock, jazz-rock fusion, world music, and post-punk during his tempestuous career, which spanned six decades.”
Baker was also a notoriously volatile and difficult talent, as evidenced in Jay Bulger‘s 2012 documentary Beware of Mr. Baker — which commenced with a sequence in which he hit the filmmaker with a cane.
Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Cream; the group reunited for a series of concerts in London and New York in 2005 and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the following year.
As recently as 2013, Baker had been active in a new quartet, the Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion, but his worsening heart condition lead to open-heart surgery in June 2016. He recovered sufficiently to resume playing sporadically. Earlier this year Baker participated in a “Drum Legends” summit in England, where he played Cream songs alongside Spencer Davis Group veteran Pete York and former Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell. Baker is survived by his fourth wife, Kudzai Machokoto; a son, Kofi; and two daughters, Ledaand Ginette.
Benztown has made available an audio tribute to Ginger Baker, written and voiced by Bill Royal and produced by Tom Green.
