Story of Cream radio show

COMPANION BLOG
The Story of Cream
All the detail talked about in the show PLUS links to all the songs referred to in the show.

PODCAST
Listen again to The Story of Cream

THE STORY OF CREAM

Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce came together in 1966 to form the first “supergroup” – Cream.

Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker first played together in Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated.  They left along with Graham Bond to form the Graham Bond Trio.  This morphed into the Graham Bond Organisation.  Bruce and Baker’s relationship was volatile to say the least.  Urban legend has it that  Baker once pulled a knife on Bruce.  Bruce moved on and joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, before spending a short time with the highly successful Manfred Mann.

Eric Clapton stared out in the Roosters, before joining Casey Jones and the Engineers for just seven gigs.  His first taste of success came when he moved on to replace Top Topham in the Yardbirds.  He found the Yardbirds too pop orientated and joined blues legend John Mayall.  Clapton and Bruce first played together in Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

Ginger Baker approached Eric Clapton about forming a group.  He agreed – but only if Jack Bruce completed it.

They each came with impressive musical pedigrees.  The show explores what the three guys were up to before they formed Cream and the highlights of Cream’s short but illustrious career.

PLAYLIST

1 Robert Johnson – Cross Road Blues
2 John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers – Key to Love
3 Manfred Mann – Pretty Flamingo
4 Cream – Crossroads

ROCK’N’ROLL UNRAVELLED SHOW

How rock’n’roll came about, it’s transition into rock music in the mid-1960s and the array of rock genres which followed in the late 1960s and ‘70s.

Blues, R&B, rock’n’roll, rock, prog, folk rock, country rock, psychedelia, glam, early metal, punk, new wave +++… will all find their way into the shows. Plus artists and bands, some well known and others who are more on the cult side. Stories behind classic singles and albums, record labels, venues, gigs… Not forgetting the people behind the scenes: producers, managers, promoters, writers, Svengalis – the people who made it all happen.

If it’s relevant to the music of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, I’ll be talking about it.
All this and great music, although, some you’ll recognise and some you might well be hearing for the first time.

COMPETITION
Win a copy of
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled

For this month’s question and
TO ENTER the competition…

The names go into a hat and the lucky winner selected at random.

I’ll post the book to the lucky winner
anywhere in the world…

Rock’n’Roll Unravelled – THE BOOK

Derek Shelmerdine, author of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled.

In its unique three-part format
Timeline + What Happened Today? + Pocket Histories
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk.

Not just the story of the music but also the social events which shaped it. The Vietnam War, Civil Rights struggle and so many other factors because they had such an influence on the music of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.

Record Collector magazine review
“Shelmerdine has made a painstaking effort to document pretty much every event that would prove significant in shaping popular music … a comprehensive guide… invaluable.”

TO BUY Rock’n’Roll Unravelled

RADIO APPEARANCES

The Story of Cream was first broadcast
on Access North West 4 March 2019

For all Derek Shelmerdine‘s Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Shows.
…..and appearances on all radio stations.

…..and all podcasts