Ginger Baker dead at 80

[BlueJean Baby]

RIP 😕

[rocknroll41]

RIP

[username]

Very sad news!

[The Dissident]

I hadn't heard any live Cream performances until I heard the news this morning. Watched a few 2005 performances. He was an amazing drummer, may he rest in peace

[lame ass security]

Very eclectic and talented guy.  Along with Bonham and Moon he's the drummer most people mention.

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

one of my mom's favorite bands was Cream.

RIP Ginger Baker!

She hates to see so many of her faves passing away. 

[Len Cnut]

Well...I am gutted, I don't mind tellin' ya.  A fuckin' hero of mine is dead.  Rock has been dead for a good while now and what we're slowly seeing now is the best of em dying off and with the death of ol' Ginge rocks seen one of its greatest off down the swannie, this man was a serious evolutionary leap for rock music, with possibly the greatest irony of his life being that he hardly even liked rock music, he was a jazz drummer.

I don't think there is any sensible argument against the statement that he was the greatest drummer that rock ever saw.  Moonie, for all his wild protean explosiveness could never be the free flowing time merchant Ginge was, by his own admission.  Same goes for Bonzo...and they both knew it too, didn't argue it when they were alive and wouldn't now.  He was a key fixture of the London blues scene, having played with Alexis Korner, Graham Bond etc etc etc, he was what was onstage when lads like The Yardbirds and the soon to be Stones turned up to watch blues and jazz on those stages, he then masterminded Cream, the band without which you could argue you'd have no Zeppelin, no Metal, the worlds first supergroup.  And arguably the best.

And thats not all, the man drove across the Sahara in a Jeep on his way to Nigeria to meet Fela Kuti to discover African music, the first man in western popular music to dip his toe (well, dive headlong into) world music, even so far as to step up a fuckin' recording studio in Lagos of all fuckin' places, the mad cunt.  But I'm not gonna go on about the mad antics or the abrasive personality stuff because ultimately its petty compared to his mammoth musical contribution, which I've barely touched upon here, I mean Ginger Bakers Airforce, Blind Faith, the man was a fuckin' legend.

I know a fella who knew him and his first wife and he says that the aggressiveness and lack of communication was to do with interviewer and fawning fans but as a person he was the most affable kind-hearted and helpful person you could meet.  They used to do up cars together and Ginge knew nothing about doing up cars but he used to turn up and be ultra inquisitive and help out all over the gaff.  He might've been a proper two-fisted Lewisham hardnut but he was also a musical genius, a man who could take a straight ahead rock song, give it a broad Jazz musicians timing and turn it into something beautiful.  Just listen to perhaps Creams most famous track, Sunshine of Your Love, listen to it carefully...what makes that song is not Claptons guitar, or Jack Bruces earthquake bass, its the fact that its on the down-beat, the 1 and the 3, making it thick and spacey at the same time, its glorious to listen to.

See you later Ginge, you mad old bastard.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Len Cnut

[DieselDaisy]

2 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Well...I am gutted, I don't mind tellin' ya.  A fuckin' hero of mine is dead.  Rock has been dead for a good while now and what we're slowly seeing now is the best of em dying off and with the death of ol' Ginge rocks seen one of its greatest off down the swannie, this man was a serious evolutionary leap for rock music, with possibly the greatest irony of his life being that he hardly even liked rock music, he was a jazz drummer.

I don't think there is any sensible argument against the statement that he was the greatest drummer that rock ever saw.  Moonie, for all his wild protean explosiveness could never be the free flowing time merchant Ginge was, by his own admission.  Same goes for Bonzo...and they both knew it too, didn't argue it when they were alive and wouldn't now.  He was a key fixture of the London blues scene, having played with Alexis Korner, Graham Bond etc etc etc, he was what was onstage when lads like The Yardbirds and the soon to be Stones turned up to watch blues and jazz on those stages, he then masterminded Cream, the band without which you could argue you'd have no Zeppelin, no Yardbirds. 

And thats not all, the man drove across the Sahara in a Jeep on his way to Nigeria to meet Fela Kuti to discover African music, the first man in western popular music to dip his toe (well, dive headlong into) world music, even so far as to step up a fuckin' recording studio in Lagos of all fuckin' places, the mad cunt.  But I'm not gonna go on about the mad antics or the abrasive personality stuff because ultimately its petty compared to his mammoth musical contribution, which I've barely touched upon here, I mean Ginger Bakers Airforce, Blind Faith, the man was a fuckin' legend.

I know a fella who knew him and his first wife and he says that the aggressiveness and lack of communication was to do with interviewer and fawning fans but as a person he was the most affable kind-hearted and helpful person you could meet.  They used to do up cars together and Ginge knew nothing about doing up cars but he used to turn up and be ultra inquisitive and help out all over the gaff.  He might've been a proper two-fisted Lewisham hardnut but he was also a musical genius, a man who could take a straight ahead rock song, give it a broad Jazz musicians timing and turn it into something beautiful.  Just listen to perhaps Creams most famous track, Sunshine of Your Love, listen to it carefully...what makes that song is not Claptons guitar, or Jack Bruces earthquake bass, its the fact that its on the down-beat, the 1 and the 3, making it thick and spacey at the same time, its glorious to listen to.

See you later Ginge, you mad old bastard.

Few days ago he was going about his business, messing around with his olive trees and wood carvings. Then Len decided to use his picture on mygnr and jinxed the bugger.

[Len Cnut]

1 minute ago, DieselDaisy said:

Few days ago he was going about his business, messing around with his olive trees and wood carvings. Then Len decided to use his picture on mygnr and jinxed the bugger.

He stopped olive farming years ago.  After that Cream Reunion gig he went to South Africa and bought a load of polo horses.  Then he jacked that in and came back to England, amid some controversy cuz his housekeeper there claimed to be his wife, saying they had relations and she had a stake in his earnings/fortune.  He responded in court by saying if they had sexual relations she should be able to describe his genitals because they have something distinct about them (presumably other than ginger pubes ).  She couldn't do it.  Then he was back in England.  He's been all over the place since the olive farming in Italy, that was yonks ago.

[soon]

Cream was among the first rock bands I heard - second to the Beach Boys. And they were the first hard rock band Id heard. Loved it. Cracked the world open. That syncopated tom fill in SOYL's riff was not lost on me even then. Sadly I quickly took a dislike for Clapton and kinda forgot about them to some extent. Undeniably an all time great.

RIP

[Len Cnut]

6 minutes ago, soon said:

Cream was among the first rock bands I heard - second to the Beach Boys. And they were the first hard rock band Id heard. Loved it. Cracked the world open. That syncopated tom fill in SOYL's riff was not lost on me even then. Sadly I quickly took a dislike for Clapton and kinda forgot about them to some extent. Undeniably an all time great.

RIP

Claptons a fantastic guitar player.  I just don't think he's a very good songwriter, his best work for me was just as a straight guitarist in bands or doing blues stuff.

[soon]

14 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Claptons a fantastic guitar player.  I just don't think he's a very good songwriter, his best work for me was just as a straight guitarist in bands or doing blues stuff.

I think Im the opposite, I like Layla, Bell Bottom Blues, Wonderful Tonight and Tears in Heaven. But Im not too fussed about his playing, generally speaking. What I dislike the most is his covers of non blues songs. In Cream he ripped and he shines on Waters Pros And Cons of Hitchhiking where he brings really tasty stratocastor blues.

I was turned off early on by Claptons attitude. Correct me if Im wrong but Clapton broke up Cream after a single bad concert review that suggested Clapton didnt play an original lick the entire show? I was hearing so much new music that Claptons attitude was enough to get Cream lost in the shuffle.

I shall check out Bakers world music 

Edited October 7, 2019 by soon

[Len Cnut]

Just now, soon said:

I think Im the opposite, I like Layla, Bell Bottom Blues, Wonderful Tonight and Tears in Heaven. But Im not too fussed about his playing, generally speaking. What I dislike the most is his covers of non blues songs. In Cream he ripped and he shines on Waters Pros And Cons of Hitchhiking where he brings really tasty stratocastor blues.

I was turned off early on by Claptons attitude. Correct me if Im wrong but Clapton broke up Cream after a single bad concert review that suggested Clapton didnt play an original lick the entire show? I was hearing so much new music that Claptons attitude was enough to get Cream lost in the shuffle.

He also hates blacks and foreigners

[soon]

5 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

He also hates blacks and foreigners

Haha, well that too then. I hate his boring 'box pattern' guitar licks, how he butchers JJ Cale numbers, how he married Sherryl Crow whom I wanted to marry, and he's a fucking racist. Fuck Eric Clapton. Why couldnt he die instead?! 

[Len Cnut]

1 minute ago, soon said:

Haha, well that too then. I hate his boring 'box pattern' guitar licks, how he butchers JJ Cale numbers, how he married Sherryl Crow whom I wanted to marry, and he's a fucking racist. Fuck Eric Clapton. Why couldnt he die instead?! 

I’ve never been one to let a bit of racial prejudice get in the way of my appreciation for someones musical talent, the two have got almost nothing to do with each other, it might make him a cunt as a person but I don’t care about the person, the person is none of my business.

[soon]

21 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

I’ve never been one to let a bit of racial prejudice get in the way of my appreciation for someones musical talent, the two have got almost nothing to do with each other, it might make him a cunt as a person but I don’t care about the person, the person is none of my business.

You brought up his racism 

[Len Cnut]

44 minutes ago, soon said:

You brought up his racism 

I was helping to round out your well argued case   Weird though innit, black blues loving bloke, can't stand blacks   I didn't know he was married to Sheryl Crow.

Quote

I shall check out Bakers world music

Fela Kuti, his collaborator, is a legend in his own right.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Len Cnut

[soon]

35 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

I was helping to round out your well argued case   Weird though innit, black blues loving bloke, can't stand blacks   I didn't know he was married to Sheryl Crow.

Fela Kuti, his collaborator, is a legend in his own right.

Haha, well thanks for the assistance  'How can he hate blacks if he plays guitar like one?' 

I love Fela! There was a theatrical production about him a number of years back that I really wish I couldve seen.

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

8 hours ago, Len Cnut said:

He also hates blacks and foreigners

Has Eric confirmed this? I hope not since you know he was influenced by many black guitar players especially playing the blues.

I think anyone that can play an instrument with heart is amazing. I have no musical talent at all. My brother is an amazing drum and he taught himself. I guess it skipped me. lol

 

[Len Cnut]

3 hours ago, dontdamnmeuyi2015 said:

Has Eric confirmed this? I hope not since you know he was influenced by many black guitar players especially playing the blues.

I think anyone that can play an instrument with heart is amazing. I have no musical talent at all. My brother is an amazing drum and he taught himself. I guess it skipped me. lol

 

This was his statement:

Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands … So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country … I don’t want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white … The black wogs and coons and Arabs and f*cking Jamaicans don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man … This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for f*ck’s sake? … Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!”

[Rovim]

2 hours ago, Len Cnut said:

This was his statement:

Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands … So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country … I don’t want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white … The black wogs and coons and Arabs and f*cking Jamaicans don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man … This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for f*ck’s sake? … Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!”

He was always a cunt. Amazing talent though.