A confluence of commercial competition, artistic development, and technological advancements created an environment in the 1960s that fostered some of the greatest guitarists in history. Even though they never achieved the same level of success as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page—three of the most talented lead guitarists in English rock music—were all brought to the genre by the Yardbirds.
Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck had left the Yardbirds by the time Jimi Hendrix made his debut album with the Experience in 1967 and made waves in London. Jimmy Page stayed with the group, and in 1968 he brought in Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones to change the name of the group to Led Zeppelin. Clapton thrived in Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, while Beck started the Jeff Beck Group.
The two-year lifespan of the psychedelic trio, which formed in 1966, saw the release of four studio albums. Goodbye, the band’s final album, was a deliberate conclusion, as the name would imply. As hostilities between drummer Baker and bassist Bruce grew, Cream decided to call it quits. Baker is a virtuoso, if volatile. Despite being a small group of only three, the group seemed to consist of three titans in their respective fields, each with a distinct personality.
Bruce was the frontman of Cream, even though Clapton sang on a few of the band’s songs. He composed a lot of the song’s lyrics and had a wonderful voice in addition to being able to play complex bass lines. But when the Cream foret developed, they earmarked Clapton as the band’s focal point and lead singer.
In a 2015 interview with Forbes, Bruce talked about the early Cream studio sessions that produced the groundbreaking second album. “Eric was going to be the front man when we went to do our first recordings for Disraeli Gears on 61st Street with Atlantic in New York,” he disclosed. “I was just going to play bass and stay in the background.”
Clapton provided lead vocals on the lead single “Strange Brew”. This was among the first songs that Cream recorded for Disraeli Gears. Bruce recalled that Clapton was the band’s suggested frontman during the song’s recording. “Strange Brew” presented a peculiar scenario, according to Bruce. “What they did was take a different song that we had previously recorded the track for, ‘Hey Lawdy Mama’.
Bruce used the term “they” to refer to Atlantic Records. More especially to former president Ahmet Ertegun, who was a co-founder. “Take that backing track and write something,” Ahmed told Felix Pappalardi. And the following day, he returned with this “Strange Brew,” the speaker went on. “Instead of using album tracks, we would often write singles separately back in those days.”
Bruce was unable to receive any recognition for his songwriting contributions because Eric Clapton was being promoted as Cream’s frontman by Atlantic Records. “It was challenging to convince Atlantic to allow the recording of my songs,” he said. Still, things started to turn around when Bruce brought some well-known friends along. “Booker T. Jones and Otis Redding entered the session at about the same time, and they were very encouraging about the things I was trying to do, which is why they were accepted at all.”
Jack Bruce started to feel more confident about his songwriting after receiving this compliment. In any case, he said, “We were all very lucky to be in the same environment with them.” “There, Aretha Franklin was also recording.” Meeting those folks was a wonderful experience. They were our idols, and we were in awe of them!
