Steve Winwood

Ginger Baker , one of The Most innovative and influential drummers in rock music, has died at the age of 80 years.

One of the founders of the Cream , he is with Blind Faith , Hawkwind and Fela Kuti in a long and varied career.

His Style combines the lyricism of jazz with the raw energy of The Rock . A critic said, watching him, as was witness "".

But he was also temperamental and argumentative character, whose behavior often led to on-stage punch-ups. to play

nicknamed Ginger for his flaming Red Hair , the musician Peter Edward Baker in Lewisham, South London , was born just before the second World War .

His father, a bricklayer, was killed in action in 1943, and he was raised in near poverty by his mother, stepfather and aunt.

A restless student, he joined a local gang in his youth and was involved in the theft. If he tries to stop gang members attacked him with a razor.

His early ambitions was to ride in The Tour de France, But he was forced to quit the sport when, at the age of 16, his bike got "Caught Up " with a taxi. Instead, he took up drums.

"I was always banging on the desks in the school," he recalled. "So all The Kids will say, 'Go on, go and play The Drums ", and I sat down and I was able to play.

"It is A Gift from God. You either have it or you don't have it. And I have: Time . Natural Time . "

The strong legs, he had developed, which helped on long bike rides with him, playing The Double -Bass Drum set-up, which he favored, and Baker soon talked His Way into his first gig.

He played with jazz acts such as Terry Lightfoot and Acker Bilk , But the Style - fragmented, and aggressive, But articulate and persistent, was often a strange fit.

Instead, he tended in the direction of London's burgeoning blues scene and, in 1962, joined Alexis Korner 's Blues Incorporated on the recommendation of Charlie Watts to join who was leaving the Rolling Stones,.

He won early fame as a member of the Graham Bond organization, in addition to bassist Jack Bruce , But it was her collaboration with Eric Clapton in Cream , and that all three superstars.

One of rock's first "supergroups", they fused blues and psychedelia to dazzling effect on songs such as Strange Brew , Sunshine of your Love", "Badge" and I Feel Free . They sold More Than 35 million albums and is The World 's first platinum-CD have been awarded for their LP Wheels of Fire.

Together with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Band expanded the vocabulary of heavy rock, especially during the riotous live shows, in which the three musicians stretch simple riffs in a long, exploratory improvisations.

"It was As If Something Else had taken," Baker once said to play with Cream . "You are not to play. Listen to this fantastic sound, they are a part. And your part is just... happened. It was A Gift , and we had three in abundance. "

But the volatility is fueled, your ideas was rooted in hostility. Baker and Bruce, the arguments were frequent and violent, even Clapton tears at once. Once Baker tried to make the end of one of Bruce's solos by Bouncing a stick off of his Snare Drum , and in Bruce's head.

"So I grabbed my Double Bass ," Bruce later recalled, "and destroyed him and his kit. "

The Band broke up, finally, after two years, and four albums, with a farewell concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1968.

"Cream came and went almost in the blink of an eye, But left an indelible mark on rock music," wrote Colin Larkin the encyclopedia of Popular Music .

the Bands, which they built on their template, including Deep Purple , Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin - impressed, not that the Baker was.

"I don't believe that Led Zeppelin filled The Void that Cream left, But she made a lot of money"

after The Band 's demise, he, together with Clapton and Steve Winwood to form Blind Faith , followed by the ambitious 10-piece Air Force , combining his interests in jazz and Afro-fusion.

While the instrumentation was of a high standard, the eclectic mix of jazz, blues, African music, and an abundance of percussion, three drummers were - was never going to inspire a mass following.

After a Studio album and a live concert at The Royal Albert Hall , the Air Force , however, due to personnel changes, eventually crashed and burned.

The drug in connection with the death of his friend Jimi Hendrix , convinced Baker it was Time to go to the London music scene and to get.

He left Britain To Live in Nigeria, where he performed with Fela Kuti , and built his own recording Studio . He helped Paul Mccartney record of The Classic wings album Band On The Run, even if their relationship sour over claims paid to the he was never.

Financial problems of one kind or another followed him during all this Time , and he eventually lost control of his Studio .

away from the music, he took to rally and, somewhat incongruous, developed A Love of polo, building a considerable collection of ponies, in spite of his tendency to get hurt.

"I have a lot of traps that have destroyed my body," "you had a piece of my hip bone out and screw him in the neck. "

In the 1980s he played with John Lydon 's Public Image Ltd, while they continue to reject, new bands, combines his African and Western musical influences, such as African force and Middle Passage .

While commercial success, his reputation remained to him, especially with a new generation of drummers, remained high.

"His playing was revolutionary," said Neil Peart , drummer of the Canadian band Rush. "He has raised The Bar for what could be drumming rock. "

Cream were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, shortly to The Reunion to play three songs, then teamed up in 2005 for a series of concerts in London and New York .

Almost inevitably, the performance ended with Baker and Bruce to a fight on the stage.

"It's a knife-edge thing for me and ginger," Bruce said later. "Today, we are living happily together, in different continents. although I thought to move the bat at him. He is still close a bit. "

Baker had, in fact, to South Africa , where he buy The Reunion money, polo ponies, and the financing of the veterinary hospital.

In 2012, he became the subject of a highly entertaining Documentary Beware of Mr Baker -that illustrate how his jaw-dropping drumming was neither wild nor as extraordinary as his personal life.

In the first scene, the musician was seen, as attacking Director Jay Bulger with a metal cane, explained: "I'm going in the hospital. "He moved later to reflect to the bottom, cantankerously, was on The Trail of broken bands, ex-wives and neglected children, which he left in his Wake.

Contributors marveled at his talent, But little else. "He influenced me as a drummer, But not as a person," recalled Free Simon Kirke , who toured with Cream .

In later years, he break was ravaged by disease, most of his ribs, and then with the diagnosis of a degenerative spine condition and The Onset of the emphysema.

"God is punishing me for My Past wickedness by keeping me alive and in as much pain as He can,"

The musicians battled osteoarthritis for the recording of their last album, Why? 2014. Two years later, he underwent surgery on the Open Heart , and announced his retirement from touring.

"Exactly, doctor... big shock seen... no more gigs for this old drummer. Everything is," he wrote.

"Of all the things that I never thought it would be my heart. "

Baker ' s death, will see how he celebrated like a rock most influential musician, But he scoffed at such awards, noted: "drummer are really Nothing More than Time -keepers. "

He told rhythm magazine: "It's The Drummer -to make the job, The Other guys sound good. "

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Source of news: bbc.com