Cream had the potential to be one of the greatest bands of all time. However, some personal animosity and record label politics got in the way of having a long and illustrious career. Cream was founded by Eric Clapton in 1966 after he left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and the guitar god had a very ambitious vision in mind. That was to put together a supergroup comprised of some of the most talented musicians on Earth. Clapton did achieve this feat, although Cream only lasted for two years, as the band officially broke up in 1968.
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Cream was somewhat doomed from the start, and the facet that partially made them doomed was the hatred that Ginger Baker harbored for Jack Bruce. In addition to the hatred between the band members, Cream’s record label, Atlantic, also pushed the band to no end for the sake of financial gain. So, in essence, Cream’s career was always seemingly bound to be short-lived.
The Greedy Record Label & Dueling Bandmates in Cream
Before the founding of the band, Baker and Bruce actually shared the stage. However, Bruce thought that would seemingly be the last time they did. He believed this because Ginger Baker had charged him with a knife during their show. Consequently, both Baker and Bruce were, of course, reluctant to join the band. However, they were able to put their beef aside for a short while.
According to Jack Bruce, Atlantic Records is the one to blame for the band’s breakup. Thanks to the starpower Cream entailed, Atlantic knew they could make a pretty penny off the group. Furthermore, they also laid out a strict power dynamic in the band that perturbed Bruce and Baker. Bruce recalled to Guitarist magazine, per Farout, that “Felix Pappalardi was told there had been an executive decision that Eric had to front the band, and I was going to be the bass-player guy who stood in the background quietly.”
Ultimately, that drove a spike through the already heated relationships in the band. What also evoked the same reaction was that Atlantic records made Cream work to no end with no break.
“It was enjoyable until they broke the band’s spirit by putting us on the one-nighters for seven months without anybody to help us,” Bruce said. “That was what destroyed us.”
As stated previously, Cream was not dealt the best hand for success. However, during their two short years, they cemented themselves as an iconic rock band with tunes such as “White Room” and “I Feel Free”.
Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
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