R.I.P. Ginger Baker.

[alaskaleftybass]

My gosh, the times I grew up in look so ancient and old fashioned now. Yet it was our generation who moved the dial on modern rock and roll...

Rest in Peace, Mr. Baker. Thank you for the years you gave us.

 

[delta7fred]

Warthog maybe?

Nah, that would have been too easy, we were 16/17 y.o. at the time so it was probably deep and meaningful (or more likely vaguely sexual).

 

[Robscott]

Nah, that would have been too easy, we were 16/17 y.o. at the time so it was probably deep and meaningful (or more likely vaguely sexual).

What are ya sayin', warthogs don't have sex? Actually, seeing the way they look, probably not.....

 

[roller]

Watch this if you've never seen it... lotta fun...

 

[Basshappi]

Sadness.
An Icon of the instrument and a pioneer of rock music.
Rest In Peace Mr. Baker and thank you for all the great music.

 

[jim nolte]

The first band I ever saw live was the Beatles in’65,the second was Cream in ‘68, those two performances changed my life,RIP Ginger and Jack.

 

[jerry]

A great drummer who always was on a path of artistic discovery.
Fly on Ginger...……………………………………………….

 

[bobyoung53]

He was the first drummer to make me notice drummers.

He said he used to play parties for years with just drum sticks before he could afford a proper drum kit.

Amazed he lasted longer than Jack, given his penchant for heroin.

Invalid Link Removed

Alcohol is much worse for the body than heroin, it's the junky lifestyle that kills most of them at a young age.

 

[seilerbird]

RIP Ginger, one of the greatest.

He smoked, drank and did drugs all his life and he still lived to 80. I wonder how long he would have lived if he led a clean life?

 

[bobyoung53]

Ginger was one of the guys who surprised you when he made it past 40-50, we lost a huge talent, one of the top drummers of all time, up there with Gene Krupa. If you've never heard this album it's really good.

 

[walking Bass]

RIP Ginger, one of the greatest.

He smoked, drank and did drugs all his life and he still lived to 80. I wonder how long he would have lived if he led a clean life?

70 and perhaps not as happily. Cream was the first rock band that lead from a life completely dominated by the blues. Rock on Ginger!

 

[brianrost]

Cream was what made me want to play bass. I followed both Jack and Ginger through their post-Cream careers, Clapton not so much (great live, spotty on records). While they went back to the power trio well a few times with mixed results what I loved most was the stuff they did that was totally unlike Cream.

I got to see Ginger perform one time, back in the mid 1980s in Cambridge, MA. While waiting for the club to open the doors, a passerby saw the small line of us standing in the snow trying to keep warm and asked who was performing. When we told him it was Ginger, the guy said "Wow, I thought he was dead!". Little did I know that Ginger's best albums were still in the future. "Unseen Rain" with Jonas Hellborg on ABG may be my favorite, with "Middle Passage" a close second.

PS: Ginger's autobiography "Hellraiser" is well worth the read, especially his descriptions of frustrations with Jack over the years.

 

[IamGroot]

Alcohol is much worse for the body than heroin, it's the junky lifestyle that kills most of them at a young age.

Yes, I agree. My kids were amazed in their residencies to see pretty healthy junkies - until they put stuff in their PIC lines.

The injection related infection (esp at the heart) and impurities impact on kidneys take a toll.
Overdose, etc.

 

[MbyHJDCheetah]

Sad to hear of.
RIP Ginger Baker.

 

[bassbones2]

Middle passage (produced by Bill Laswell) is a must listen......



JB

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

RIP. I used to spin his Baker/Frissel/Haden record all the time on my old college radio show in the 90's. Such a fantastic album.

 

[pbass62]

RIP Mr Baker a true gem

 

[Diddywah]

I gave this some heavy rotation in the late 80´s

 

[The Mogpipe]

Ginger Baker, wild and brilliant Cream drummer, dies aged 80

Sad stuff. It sucks getting old and seeing the greatest muscians on Earth pass on. One after the other. But so it goes.

 

[Fat Freddy]

G'bye Ginge....