Ginger Baker, Rock’s First Superstar Drummer

On 6 October 2019, the world was saddened by losing another pillar and one of the most respectable and influential drummers, Ginger Baker.
Baker was well-known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s. He pioneered jazz fusion and world music (English phrases for styles of music from non-Western countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music). He merged jazz and African rhythms. And from there, he earned the title, “Rock’s First Superstar Drummer”.
His drumming was often compared to the famous jazz drummer, Art Blakey. And though he may not be flashy or strangely fast, he was undoubtedly innovative with his twin bass drums, and showing his skills for African-influenced beats.

EARLY DAYS

19 August 1939, Peter Edward Baker was born in Lewisham, South London. And because of his flaming red hair, he was called “Ginger”. He started playing drums when he was about 15 years old. He also took lessons from one of the best British jazz drummers in the early 1960s, Phil Seamen.

 

SUPER GROUP!

Baker became more popular when he joined the super rock trio, Cream, with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce in the 1960s. And even though the band lasted only for two years, they have inspired many blues-based rock bands. During live performances, their improvisations and drum solos are lengthy. And here are a few of them:

 

 

 

The Toad live at the Royal Albert Hall, 1968

 

 

They also performed this on May 2005 at the same venue!

 

And here’s Spoonful’s extended version, live during their Farewell concert in 1968 at the Royal Albert Hall

 

 

But before the super group, Baker was part of Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, whom he was recommended by another legendary percussionist/drummer Charlie Watts (who later became the drummer of The Rolling Stones). And from this group, he met Jack Bruce and Graham Bond. And a year later, the three left the group and formed the Graham Bond Organisation. In 1966, Bruce joined forces with Eric Clapton as part of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. After learning about the Mayall’s group lineup, Baker approached Clapton with a view of forming a new group, a more experimental band. Clapton was so keen, but he wants Bruce to sing and play bass. Dare to guess what happened next??? Well, Baker agreed! And that’s the brief history of the supergroup Cream, and the rest is history…

 

 

Aside from those bands, Baker has been part of many groups, and here is his Discography:

Solo

• Ginger Baker at His Best (1972)
• Stratavarious (Polydor, 1972)
• Ginger Baker & Friends (Mountain, 1976)
• Eleven Sides of Baker (Sire, 1977)
• From Humble Oranges (CDG, 1983)
• Horses & Trees (Celluloid, 1986)
• No Material (ITM, 1989)
• Middle Passage (Axiom, 1990)
• Unseen Rain (Day Eight, 1992)
• Ginger Baker’s Energy (ITM, 1992)
• Going Back Home (Atlantic, 1994)
• Ginger Baker The Album (ITM, 1995)
• Falling Off the Roof (Atlantic, 1996)
• Do What You Like (Polydor, 1998)
• Coward of the County (Atlantic, 1999)
• African Force (2001)
• African Force: Palanquin’s Pole (2006)
• Why? (2014)

Blind Faith

• Blind Faith (Polydor, 1969)

Cream

• Fresh Cream (Polydor, 1966)
• Disraeli Gears (Polydor, 1967)
• Wheels of Fire (Polydor, 1968)
• Goodbye (Polydor, 1969)
• Live Cream (Polydor, 1970)
• Live Cream Volume II (Polydor, 1972)
• BBC Sessions (2003)
• Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 (Reprise, 2005)

The Storyville Jazz Men and the Hugh Rainey Allstars

• Storyville Re-Visited (1958) also featuring Bob Wallis and Ginger Baker

Alexis Korner Blues Incorporated

• Alexis Korner and Friends (1963)

Graham Bond Organisation

• Live at Klooks Kleek (1964)
• The Sound of ’65 (1965)
• There’s a Bond Between Us (1965)

Ginger Baker’s Air Force

• Ginger Baker’s Air Force (Atco, 1970)
• Ginger Baker’s Air Force II (Atco, 1970)

Baker Gurvitz Army

• Baker Gurvitz Army (Janus, 1974)
• Elysian Encounter (Atco, 1975)
• Hearts on Fire (Atco, 1976)
• Flying in and Out of Stardom (Castle, 2003)
• Greatest Hits (GB Music, 2003)
• Live in Derby (Major League Productions, 2005)
• Live (Revisited, 2005)

Fela Kuti

• Fela’s London Scene (EMI, 1971) – uncredited
• Why Black Man Dey Suffer (African Sounds, 1971)
• Live! (Regal Zonophone, 1972)

Hawkwind

• Levitation (Bronze, 1980)
• Zones (Flicknife, 1983)
• This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic (Flicknife, 1984)

others

• Album by Public Image Ltd (Elektra/Virgin, 1986)
• Unseen Rain with Jens Johansson and Jonas Hellborg (Day Eight, 1992)
• Sunrise on the Sufferbus by Masters of Reality (Chrysalis, 1992)
• Cities of the Heart by Jack Bruce (CMP, 1993)
• Around the Next Dream by BBM (Capitol, 1994)
• Synaesthesia by Andy Summers (CMP, 1996)
• Coward of the County by Ginger Baker and the Denver Jazz Quintet-to-Octet (DJQ2O) (Atlantic, 1999)

And here’s more of Ginger Baker:

 

Most of the time, Baker was categorized as a rock drummer, but according to him, he preferred to be called a jazz drummer, or simply “a drummer”. He was credited as one of the pioneers of double bass drumming in rock. His main influences were Art Blakey, Max Roach, Baby Dodds, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, and his teacher Phil Seamen.

 

The Setting of the Sun

 

 

Throughout his life, Baker has been struggling with heroin addiction. It all started at the London clubs while he was still a jazz drummer in the 1960s. It was in 1981 when he was able to quit permanently after he moved into a small Italian village where he took up olive farming.
According to Baker, he had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease due to his years of heavy smoking, and he also had chronic back pain from degenerative osteoarthritis in February 2013. And in February 2016, he canceled all his gigs because he was diagnosed with “serious heart issues”. In late March of the same year, he was set for surgery. And as he was recovering from his open-heart surgery, he had a bad fall in June 2016 which caused him swollen legs and feet.
It was 25 September 2019 when Ginger Baker reported that he was in a hospital and critically ill. His family asked his fans to include him in their prayers. And on 6 October 2019, at the age of 80, Ginger Baker passed away at a hospital in Canterbury.

 

 

Baker’s Legacy

 

Described by Eric Clapton as a “Fully formed musician”, Ginger Baker’s style has influenced many well-known drummers including Peter Criss, John Bonham, Phil Collins, Ian Paice, Stewart Copeland, Terry Bozzio, Alex Van Halen, and Nick Mason.

Aside from Eric Clapton, here are what others say about Ginger Baker!

Neil Peart: “His playing was revolutionary – extrovert, primal, and inventive. He set the bar for what rock drumming could be. […] Every rock drummer since has been influenced in some way by Ginger – even if they don’t know it”.

Stewart Copeland: He personally is what drums are all about

Author and columnist Ken Micallef of Classic Rock Drummers: “The pantheon of contemporary drummers from metal, fusion, and rock owe their very existence to Baker’s trailblazing work with Cream“.

Drum! Magazine: “one of the most imitated ‘60s drummers”, and “he forever changed the face of rock music”. Also, the magazine listed Baker as one of the “50 Most Important Drummers of All Time”.

Rolling Stone Magazine: Considered Baker as the “drummer who practically invented the rock drum solo”. He was voted the 3rd greatest drummer of all time on a reader poll, and also in 2016, he also ranked 3rd on “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time”.

Modern Drummer magazine: “one of classic rock’s first influential drumming superstars of the 1960s” and “one of classic rock’s true drum gods”.

AllMusic (An American online music database): described Baker as “the most influential percussionist of the 1960s”, and said that “virtually every drummer of every heavy metal band that has followed since that time has sought to emulate some aspect of Baker’s playing”.

 

 

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Thank you very much once again for your precious time, hope to see you in my next article!