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00:03:22,649 --> 00:03:27,313
We was out at Stanford University one
night and they was out at Filmore West
2
00:03:28,355 --> 00:03:31,153
and we got a chance to get together,
and what a group.
3
00:03:31,191 --> 00:03:34,991
Jesus Christ, I knew I had
a lot to learn when l saw them play.
4
00:03:35,028 --> 00:03:37,019
Regards to what Eric said about me,
5
00:03:37,063 --> 00:03:40,464
I think they were
one of the greatest three-piece groups.
6
00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:44,527
My first time hearing Cream
was in about 1967,
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00:03:46,239 --> 00:03:50,073
about the same time I heard
Jimi Hendrix, l was living in Virginia,
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00:03:50,110 --> 00:03:52,101
near Newport News.
9
00:03:52,145 --> 00:03:56,445
I heard the aIbum DisraeIi Gears, and
l heard that before l heard Fresh Cream
10
00:03:56,516 --> 00:03:59,212
and I went back
and l found Fresh Cream.
11
00:03:59,252 --> 00:04:02,779
It was a whoIe different
kind of music for me.
12
00:04:03,790 --> 00:04:08,250
You know, just Iike Jimi Hendrix's music
was different, it was strange,
13
00:04:08,295 --> 00:04:12,493
but what I Iiked about it was that there
was a lot of blues involved in the music.
14
00:04:13,533 --> 00:04:17,936
I thought it was cooI, Jack Bruce
and his wailing vocals, that was great,
15
00:04:17,971 --> 00:04:22,067
and nobody eIse was
playing bass like that at that time.
16
00:04:22,108 --> 00:04:26,704
Hendrix and us basicaIIy had created
this very large audience
17
00:04:26,746 --> 00:04:32,343
of peopIe who were turned on
to instrumental, vocal, loud music,
18
00:04:32,385 --> 00:04:35,183
rock'n'roII, I guess, with bIues in it.
19
00:04:35,221 --> 00:04:40,352
First time I heard them was on the radio,
l think it was Sunshine Of Your Love.
20
00:04:43,730 --> 00:04:45,721
Being a drummer,
21
00:04:45,799 --> 00:04:53,103
just Iistening to how unique at that time
the drumming was, cos it blew me away.
22
00:04:53,139 --> 00:04:56,108
lt was simple but yet it was complicated.
23
00:04:56,142 --> 00:04:58,940
But more importantly it had feel to it.
24
00:04:58,979 --> 00:05:04,781
RoIIing Stone wrote an articIe
in l think 1967 or '68,
25
00:05:06,620 --> 00:05:10,954
and it was ''WiII Cream
stand the test of time?''
26
00:05:13,827 --> 00:05:16,660
lt did, and it will, l think.
27
00:05:17,897 --> 00:05:21,924
It was reaIIy something
extraordinarily good
28
00:05:22,002 --> 00:05:24,436
that happened, musically.
29
00:05:24,471 --> 00:05:30,000
It was one of the earIy heavy metaI
bands, probably, without knowing it.
30
00:05:30,076 --> 00:05:33,773
Because when they...
when we disbanded Cream
31
00:05:33,813 --> 00:05:36,373
and they weren't around any more,
32
00:05:36,416 --> 00:05:41,319
Led ZeppeIin fiIIed the void, and became
the first official heavy metal band.
33
00:05:41,354 --> 00:05:45,552
So maybe Cream was
the forerunner of that.
34
00:05:53,433 --> 00:05:56,732
It was an exciting thing
to hear them playing together
35
00:05:56,770 --> 00:05:58,761
and you could see the possibilities
36
00:05:58,838 --> 00:06:02,171
and it didn't take Iong
before it gelled together
37
00:06:02,242 --> 00:06:07,009
and they found the things that did work
and didn't work and took off from there.
38
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:13,246
From that point on, it was an extremeIy
exciting thing, as everybody knows.
39
00:12:02,402 --> 00:12:06,498
Everybody was
such a close-knit musical community,
40
00:12:06,539 --> 00:12:10,305
everybody had to Iive in London
if you wanted to work.
41
00:12:11,344 --> 00:12:15,405
I'd been so famiIiar with Jack's pIaying
right from the very start
42
00:12:15,481 --> 00:12:19,110
when he was with
Alexis Korner's Blues lncorporated,
43
00:12:19,152 --> 00:12:23,145
and a coupIe of years before that
when he was on the jazz circuit
44
00:12:23,189 --> 00:12:27,592
pIaying upright bass with Ginger...
Ginger and Graham Bond.
45
00:12:27,627 --> 00:12:31,723
So I was...
l'd heard Jack Bruce for years,
46
00:12:31,798 --> 00:12:35,234
so I was famiIiar with him
as a person and as a player.
47
00:12:35,268 --> 00:12:37,862
l'd played with Ginger for a long time,
48
00:12:37,904 --> 00:12:41,431
we were kind of a far-out
free jazz rhythm section.
49
00:12:41,474 --> 00:12:44,807
We used to pIay
places like the Flamingo.
50
00:12:45,912 --> 00:12:49,712
It was kind of Ornette CoIeman
kind of free jazz, really.
51
00:12:51,417 --> 00:12:55,751
But we aIso... Then we had
the R&B thing with Graham.
52
00:12:56,889 --> 00:13:00,290
There was some festivaI
that the Yardbirds were playing at.
53
00:13:00,359 --> 00:13:04,125
We aII sat in.
Eric... That's the first time l met Eric.
54
00:13:05,465 --> 00:13:07,456
He played with the Yardbirds,
55
00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:10,901
we were aII on the same circuit
of pubs and clubs,
56
00:13:10,937 --> 00:13:16,341
and probabIy about a year before
he joined me and left the Yardbirds.
57
00:13:16,375 --> 00:13:18,366
He wasn't that remarkable.
58
00:13:18,411 --> 00:13:21,403
But obviousIy he was
the only one you'd look for
59
00:13:21,481 --> 00:13:25,440
if you were gonna hear the Yardbirds
at that time and if you were a blues lover.
60
00:13:25,518 --> 00:13:29,545
But it was remarkabIe reaIIy
how quickly Eric progressed
61
00:13:29,589 --> 00:13:33,355
and that was probabIy because
he had no one to play with
62
00:13:33,392 --> 00:13:36,452
so he put a Iot of time in
listening to records
63
00:13:36,496 --> 00:13:39,863
and getting his foundations right.
64
00:13:40,900 --> 00:13:45,963
When Eric Ieft the Yardbirds it was great,
cos he didn't really live anywhere.
65
00:13:46,038 --> 00:13:48,506
l had a spare room at my house
66
00:13:48,541 --> 00:13:53,308
and that gave him free access to my
huge - at that time - record collection
67
00:13:53,346 --> 00:13:56,338
which was a pretty hefty blues archive.
68
00:13:56,382 --> 00:13:59,783
So he feIt right at home
in more ways than one.
69
00:13:59,819 --> 00:14:03,619
We did Iisten to so many records
together and get excited about them
70
00:14:03,656 --> 00:14:06,648
and they found their way
into the repertoire.
71
00:14:06,692 --> 00:14:10,128
I especiaIIy Iiked
the blues material that he did,
72
00:14:10,196 --> 00:14:13,825
like the live album that came out
73
00:14:13,866 --> 00:14:16,426
with Crossroads on it and Spoonful.
74
00:14:17,270 --> 00:14:22,503
Those were songs that I had to spend
a whole lot of time in my bedroom
75
00:14:22,542 --> 00:14:26,535
Iistening to what was going on.
Those were great numbers.
76
00:17:56,589 --> 00:17:58,580
So l got fed up with Graham,
77
00:17:58,624 --> 00:18:02,424
Graham was going in the opposite
direction to what l was going.
78
00:18:02,461 --> 00:18:05,658
I'd been running the band
for about three years
79
00:18:05,698 --> 00:18:10,761
and I decided that I wanted to get
my own band together.
80
00:18:13,172 --> 00:18:16,573
The first person that came to mind
was Clapton.
81
00:18:16,609 --> 00:18:20,705
So I turned up in Oxford,
where Eric was playing with John Mayall.
82
00:18:20,746 --> 00:18:23,613
It was in a big haII...
83
00:18:23,649 --> 00:18:27,312
Eric saw me in the dressing room,
l went in the interval,
84
00:18:27,353 --> 00:18:30,151
and he said, ''Oh, man, you gotta sit in.''
85
00:18:30,189 --> 00:18:33,784
So l said, ''Yeah, l'd love to.'' So...
86
00:18:33,826 --> 00:18:39,128
Then we... Everybody stood up
and bang, it happened, immediately,
87
00:18:39,198 --> 00:18:42,099
it really changed the whole gig.
88
00:18:43,102 --> 00:18:46,162
So after their gig, l said to Eric,
89
00:18:46,238 --> 00:18:51,733
''I'm getting a band together,
would you like to join the band?''
90
00:18:52,978 --> 00:18:56,141
And he said yeah straightaway.
91
00:18:57,316 --> 00:19:00,114
Eric said, ''What about a bass player?''
92
00:19:00,786 --> 00:19:03,346
And l said, ''Hmm...''
93
00:19:04,590 --> 00:19:06,785
He said, ''What about Jack?''
94
00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,329
Ginger fired me
from the Graham Bond band
95
00:19:11,397 --> 00:19:14,662
but I refused
because he wasn't the band leader.
96
00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:17,897
Jack and l had had several altercations
97
00:19:18,938 --> 00:19:21,133
during the Graham Bond days.
98
00:19:21,173 --> 00:19:23,937
l went, ''l really don't know
99
00:19:23,976 --> 00:19:27,571
''but you're right,
he's a fucking good bass player.''
100
00:19:31,584 --> 00:19:34,644
l said, ''l dunno, l'll go and see him.''
101
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,154
So next day l went round to Jack's flat
102
00:19:37,189 --> 00:19:41,023
and I haven't seen Jack now
for about six months.
103
00:19:41,060 --> 00:19:43,790
I knocked on the door
and there was Jack,
104
00:19:43,829 --> 00:19:46,229
and he was surprised to see me as well.
105
00:19:46,265 --> 00:19:48,460
We sat down and had a cup of tea
106
00:19:48,501 --> 00:19:52,096
and I toId him what was going on,
like seeing Eric,
107
00:19:53,639 --> 00:19:55,630
everything that was happening,
108
00:19:55,674 --> 00:19:58,074
and did he wanna come with us?
109
00:19:59,178 --> 00:20:01,339
And he said yeah, and that was it.
110
00:20:02,214 --> 00:20:05,547
It was sort of Iike,
let bygones be bygones sort of thing.
111
00:20:05,584 --> 00:20:09,247
The first time we pIayed
was in Ginger's house,
112
00:20:09,321 --> 00:20:12,256
a IittIe semidetached house in Neasden
113
00:20:12,291 --> 00:20:18,093
It was Iike, out the back was the WeIsh
Harp, an artificial lake, a reservoir,
114
00:20:18,130 --> 00:20:21,463
and the kids all used to play over there.
115
00:20:21,500 --> 00:20:23,832
lt was like fields all around it.
116
00:20:23,869 --> 00:20:26,736
And we're pIaying
and it's really happening
117
00:20:26,772 --> 00:20:30,765
and we Iooked out the back - you couId
see out through the French windows -
118
00:20:30,809 --> 00:20:35,473
and up on the hiII above
was just a pile of young kids,
119
00:20:35,514 --> 00:20:37,505
but all dancing, freaking out,
120
00:20:37,550 --> 00:20:40,383
they'd come
from all over the Welsh Harp,
121
00:20:40,419 --> 00:20:42,819
they'd heard us and they were digging it.
122
00:20:42,855 --> 00:20:47,690
And that was great, it happened,
it was magic immediately.
123
00:20:50,529 --> 00:20:55,899
Hanging out, that's... Bands start
as a result naturally when guys hang out.
124
00:20:55,935 --> 00:21:00,065
You get musicians that Iike one another
and hang out, they'll become a band.
125
00:21:00,105 --> 00:21:04,474
Yeah, it was pretty instantaneous,
there was something there.
126
00:21:04,510 --> 00:21:09,311
Ginger and myseIf had pIayed a Iot
over the years before,
127
00:21:09,348 --> 00:21:11,646
you know, jazz things,
Alexis and Graham.
128
00:21:13,586 --> 00:21:19,650
With Graham Bond we pIayed
320 or 330 gigs a year.
129
00:21:21,660 --> 00:21:23,651
lt saves you practising.
130
00:21:25,030 --> 00:21:30,866
And then the combination of Eric's,
at the time, very pure blues playing
131
00:21:30,903 --> 00:21:36,603
and our kind of pushing him
beyond what he thought his limits were.
132
00:21:37,476 --> 00:21:39,467
lt was very exciting.
133
00:27:50,148 --> 00:27:52,946
The thing about Cream,
the interesting thing
134
00:27:52,985 --> 00:27:55,351
was the freedom that there was,
135
00:27:55,387 --> 00:27:59,346
that any of the instruments couId be
the lead instrument on stage,
136
00:27:59,391 --> 00:28:02,258
or even on record, but mainly on stage.
137
00:28:02,294 --> 00:28:06,060
At any time, the drums couId be pIaying
the melody, or the guitar,
138
00:28:06,098 --> 00:28:08,293
or the bass, or the voices, or whatever.
139
00:28:08,333 --> 00:28:12,565
When you pIay and you get
into that sort of situation,
140
00:28:12,637 --> 00:28:16,971
it's as if something else takes over,
141
00:28:17,009 --> 00:28:20,103
you're not conscious of playing...
142
00:28:21,079 --> 00:28:25,448
but you're Iistening to this
fantastic sound that you're a part of.
143
00:28:25,517 --> 00:28:27,508
Your part is just happening.
144
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,753
lt's just happening, it's like total freedom.
145
00:28:31,790 --> 00:28:36,227
You can practise forever
and get the most amazing technique
146
00:28:36,261 --> 00:28:38,422
and say nothing with it at all.
147
00:28:39,731 --> 00:28:43,599
If you haven't got...
lt's a gift that some people have,
148
00:28:43,635 --> 00:28:46,069
and we three had it in abundance.
149
00:28:47,105 --> 00:28:50,268
And it so happened
that for that period of time
150
00:28:50,308 --> 00:28:56,543
that thing, reaIIy working together, just...
we couldn't help but do.
151
00:28:57,382 --> 00:29:00,180
They did start off
with a lot of Eric's input
152
00:29:00,218 --> 00:29:04,882
and that wouId've showed up
in all the blues things
153
00:29:04,956 --> 00:29:09,290
that maybe Jack and Ginger
weren't quite as familiar with.
154
00:29:09,361 --> 00:29:13,730
Then the improvisationaI thing,
that's a jazz quality,
155
00:29:13,799 --> 00:29:17,895
and that's totaIIy where Ginger and Jack
came from, a jazz background,
156
00:29:17,936 --> 00:29:19,927
so that was their forte.
157
00:29:21,306 --> 00:29:26,676
And Eric, of course, was never pIaying
the same any night in the Bluesbreakers.
158
00:29:27,579 --> 00:29:32,846
None of my musicians ever do, because
blues is part of jazz and we improvise.
159
00:29:32,918 --> 00:29:36,183
lt's never the same any night in a row.
160
00:29:36,221 --> 00:29:39,884
But the free-form aspect of it,
161
00:29:39,958 --> 00:29:43,724
where you abandon the changes
or appear to abandon the changes,
162
00:29:43,795 --> 00:29:48,289
that's a jazz device and that was
right up the alley of Jack and Ginger.
163
00:29:48,333 --> 00:29:52,269
lt's interplay between the musicians.
164
00:29:52,304 --> 00:29:54,864
lf they were talking
165
00:29:54,906 --> 00:29:59,866
then, without their voice, if they were
talking through their instrument,
166
00:29:59,911 --> 00:30:01,902
then that's what you're hearing.
167
00:30:01,947 --> 00:30:03,938
My guitar voice is my voice,
168
00:30:03,982 --> 00:30:07,110
and what I sing
is what l can't do on the guitar.
169
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:10,584
When you're singing, there are words,
170
00:30:10,622 --> 00:30:14,820
there's a IyricaI content you put across
that you're not doing with a guitar.
171
00:30:14,860 --> 00:30:17,454
The guitar is a universal language.
172
00:36:00,238 --> 00:36:03,674
What I've aIways Iiked
about Eric's guitar playing
173
00:36:03,708 --> 00:36:06,108
is the fact that he talks to you.
174
00:36:07,078 --> 00:36:09,706
His guitar playing is conversational.
175
00:36:09,747 --> 00:36:11,840
And he takes his time.
176
00:36:11,916 --> 00:36:15,181
l guess hence the name Slowhand.
177
00:36:15,220 --> 00:36:17,211
He was born with a gift and...
178
00:36:18,056 --> 00:36:21,355
and just had a direction.
179
00:36:21,392 --> 00:36:23,792
l don't think l've ever...
180
00:36:23,828 --> 00:36:27,025
untiI Iater on in my Iife,
accepted it as a gift,
181
00:36:27,065 --> 00:36:30,125
cos that's...that takes a bit of...
182
00:36:31,669 --> 00:36:33,864
retrospect, you know,
183
00:36:33,905 --> 00:36:37,705
to Iook back and reaIise
that it wasn't just a coincidence
184
00:36:37,742 --> 00:36:39,733
that you happened to be a guitar player.
185
00:36:39,777 --> 00:36:43,770
But at the time I wanted to do it because
l liked the music, l liked that style,
186
00:36:43,815 --> 00:36:47,808
and it seemed to me a IittIe bit strange
that l was the only one that did.
187
00:36:47,852 --> 00:36:53,415
At the time that I started pIaying,
most guitar players were trying to be...
188
00:36:54,425 --> 00:36:56,689
follow other white players.
189
00:36:56,761 --> 00:37:01,892
I was much more...very raciaI about it,
l wanted to be like a black guitar player
190
00:37:01,933 --> 00:37:08,168
and that, to me, it's a bit of a strange
situation. l've never figured that out.
191
00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:15,509
It was, er...between the age
of 16, 1 7 to 20, 21
192
00:37:16,548 --> 00:37:20,314
that I put aII of my heart
and learning into it.
193
00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:24,813
l forgo... l forwent everything else.
194
00:37:24,856 --> 00:37:26,847
l didn't...
195
00:37:26,891 --> 00:37:29,223
go out, go drinking or anything,
196
00:37:29,260 --> 00:37:34,857
I just stayed at home and Iearned aImost
24 hours a day from listening to records.
197
00:37:34,899 --> 00:37:38,300
But I was deadIy serious
about what l wanted to be.
198
00:37:44,309 --> 00:37:48,211
As I rock the pedaI,
you can hear it through the amplifier,
199
00:37:48,279 --> 00:37:51,544
it takes bass off and puts trebIe on,
like that.
200
00:37:52,750 --> 00:37:55,742
So the voIume isn't going down
very much
201
00:37:55,787 --> 00:37:57,778
but the tone is going wah-wah.
202
00:37:57,822 --> 00:38:01,815
That's probabIy the most important
part of it, being serious about it,
203
00:38:01,859 --> 00:38:04,589
or finding a kind of music that you like.
204
00:38:05,597 --> 00:38:08,862
And not just have it to be pop music
or be popular,
205
00:38:08,900 --> 00:38:11,027
your motive has got to be right,
206
00:38:11,069 --> 00:38:16,632
to be serious about being a certain kind
of musician and then fulfilling that.
207
00:38:21,613 --> 00:38:27,574
AII these runs are put together
from old phrases l first started on, like...
208
00:38:32,056 --> 00:38:36,618
And now they're just aII messed up with
other things l learned like that, which is...
209
00:39:56,741 --> 00:40:00,939
I received a phone caII
from Jack and Ginger...
210
00:40:01,746 --> 00:40:05,842
- I didn't have a phone.
- Well, it was a call from the studio,
211
00:40:05,917 --> 00:40:09,910
saying, ''We've written this song
and we need a lyric for it,
212
00:40:09,954 --> 00:40:12,445
''would you like to come and have a go?''
213
00:40:12,490 --> 00:40:18,588
They both worked with me as...
backing my poetry and music situation.
214
00:40:18,629 --> 00:40:23,589
Jack did one or two gigs with me Iater
but also Ginger worked with me...
215
00:40:23,634 --> 00:40:27,331
- We did gigs with you?
- Yeah, a couple of jazz and poetry gigs
216
00:40:27,371 --> 00:40:29,862
- on string bass, remember?
- Yeah.
217
00:40:29,907 --> 00:40:33,001
At the Jeanette Cochrane Theatre
you did one.
218
00:40:33,077 --> 00:40:36,672
But I think reaIIy you were trying to work
with Ginger, initially.
219
00:40:36,714 --> 00:40:40,377
We did, to start with, Ginger pIayed
on that big concert we did in '61 ...
220
00:40:40,418 --> 00:40:44,286
- No, I mean, to do with Cream songs.
- Well, Ginger knew me better.
221
00:40:44,355 --> 00:40:46,949
- At the beginning you started to work...
- Yeah.
222
00:40:46,991 --> 00:40:50,085
- ..but you didn't hit it off.
- No, that's right. And...
223
00:40:50,161 --> 00:40:53,255
So l got you because you didn't hit it off.
224
00:40:53,297 --> 00:40:55,697
You got the backlash, yeah.
225
00:40:55,733 --> 00:40:59,430
I came out of the so-caIIed
Beat Generation,
226
00:40:59,470 --> 00:41:03,566
I came out of Kerouac
and Ginsberg and all those people.
227
00:41:04,609 --> 00:41:07,100
But at the same time,
the music that l liked
228
00:41:07,145 --> 00:41:10,308
probabIy had more infIuence on me
than they did,
229
00:41:10,348 --> 00:41:14,910
Iike bIues things, Robert Johnson,
T-Bone Walker, people like that,
230
00:41:14,952 --> 00:41:20,083
the Iyrics of those things probabIy had
more influence on me than other poetry.
231
00:41:20,158 --> 00:41:24,458
The process of writing
was very much the music first
232
00:41:24,495 --> 00:41:29,694
and then Pete and myseIf working,
hammering out the images.
233
00:41:29,734 --> 00:41:33,135
So he's very...he's very kind of prolific.
234
00:41:33,171 --> 00:41:35,571
l felt that what l was writing was...
235
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:38,905
I've aIways feIt this,
in the best things that we wrote,
236
00:41:38,943 --> 00:41:43,346
I feIt that I was just transIating the music
into words, it was there already.
237
00:41:43,381 --> 00:41:46,145
He wouId have
half a dozen ideas a minute,
238
00:41:46,184 --> 00:41:49,381
and I wouId say,
''No, l don't like that one,''
239
00:41:49,420 --> 00:41:54,016
just from the point of view of singing,
some things sing better than others.
240
00:41:55,293 --> 00:41:58,387
l didn't care what it meant, really.
241
00:41:58,429 --> 00:42:02,126
- As Iong as it feIt good.
- lf it felt good then it would work.
242
00:43:17,742 --> 00:43:23,305
One funny story is
the Sunshine Of Your Love story, really,
243
00:43:23,347 --> 00:43:25,144
because, er...
244
00:43:25,182 --> 00:43:28,208
we were sitting there
in Bracknell Gardens
245
00:43:29,020 --> 00:43:34,822
and we...it was, Iike, five in the morning,
we'd been writing for hours and hours
246
00:43:34,859 --> 00:43:38,260
and we were reaIIy getting fed up
with each other as well.
247
00:43:38,296 --> 00:43:44,257
Then suddenIy Jack in desperation
grabbed his double bass - this is true -
248
00:43:44,302 --> 00:43:46,463
he grabbed his old double bass...
249
00:43:47,505 --> 00:43:49,564
and said, ''What about this?''
250
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:51,801
and played this riff, and l went,
251
00:43:51,876 --> 00:43:57,007
Iooked out the window and it's getting
light so l said, ''lt's getting near dawn...''
252
00:44:00,117 --> 00:44:05,487
I got to know Jimi very weII
and we became very close friends.
253
00:44:06,557 --> 00:44:10,789
Jimi, on a TV show once, stopped
and went into playing Sunshine.
254
00:44:11,829 --> 00:44:15,629
He really dug Cream, very much, yeah.
255
00:44:44,528 --> 00:44:48,726
We'd Iike to stop pIaying this rubbish
and dedicate a song to the Cream,
256
00:44:48,799 --> 00:44:51,563
regardIess of what kind of group
they might be,
257
00:44:51,635 --> 00:44:55,435
we'd Iike to dedicate to Eric CIapton,
Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.
258
00:45:39,917 --> 00:45:45,253
I was very, very proud
to be a friend of Jimi Hendrix.
259
00:45:45,289 --> 00:45:47,951
He was very... He encouraged me a lot.
260
00:45:47,992 --> 00:45:51,484
I think he is not with us
because he was...
261
00:45:51,529 --> 00:45:53,895
because nobody cared
about him enough.
262
00:45:53,931 --> 00:45:58,095
And I think nobody cared enough
about us then either.
263
00:46:05,209 --> 00:46:09,669
Strange Brew was Hey Lordy Mama,
a blues thing that Eric did.
264
00:46:09,713 --> 00:46:13,615
There was a guy in the studio
called Felix Pappalardi
265
00:46:14,752 --> 00:46:16,743
and we didn't know him.
266
00:46:16,787 --> 00:46:20,883
There was Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin,
Ahmet Ertegun
267
00:46:20,958 --> 00:46:24,450
and this guy, FeIix PappaIardi,
who none of us knew.
268
00:46:25,262 --> 00:46:28,254
They introduced him to us, and he said,
269
00:46:28,299 --> 00:46:34,465
''That track you've just done, wouId you
mind if l took it home, took the vocal off
270
00:46:34,505 --> 00:46:36,837
''and put a song on top?''
271
00:46:36,874 --> 00:46:39,342
And we said, ''No, man, go for it.''
272
00:46:42,012 --> 00:46:45,709
He came back next day
with Strange Brew.
273
00:46:46,517 --> 00:46:49,850
That was it, we were...you know, yeah.
274
00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:54,050
He wanted to produce a record
and we said, ''Yeah, man, go for it,''
275
00:46:54,091 --> 00:46:56,082
and he became our producer.
276
00:46:58,462 --> 00:47:00,453
He was a great guy to work with.
277
00:47:39,537 --> 00:47:41,971
Listen, a band's as good
as its drummer.
278
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:47,539
A mediocre band with
a mediocre drummer's mediocre, right?
279
00:47:47,578 --> 00:47:52,379
A mediocre band with a good drummer
becomes a good band.
280
00:47:52,416 --> 00:47:57,217
A reaIIy good band with a good drummer
becomes a super band.
281
00:47:57,254 --> 00:48:03,386
The thing that I got from Ginger
was that drums are a musical instrument.
282
00:48:04,695 --> 00:48:06,686
There's more than just the hits,
283
00:48:06,730 --> 00:48:11,064
there are nuances, there are dynamics,
there are colours.
284
00:48:11,101 --> 00:48:14,093
You've got so many sounds
on a drum kit,
285
00:48:14,138 --> 00:48:16,572
not just boom-bash, boom-bash.
286
00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:21,168
You've got so many different sounds on
a drum kit, depending on how you hit it,
287
00:48:22,279 --> 00:48:24,804
where you hit it, you know.
288
00:48:26,016 --> 00:48:30,316
And it's using these sounds
in the right place
289
00:48:31,555 --> 00:48:34,149
that makes the music better.
290
00:48:34,191 --> 00:48:38,685
This is what Baby Dodds did
and what Max Roach does,
291
00:48:38,729 --> 00:48:43,325
what EIvin does, what Art BIakey did,
what everybody does.
292
00:48:43,400 --> 00:48:46,267
You make the other guys sound good.
293
00:48:46,303 --> 00:48:49,670
You make the other guys sound good,
that's your gig.
294
00:48:49,707 --> 00:48:51,698
The interpIay between the band
295
00:48:51,742 --> 00:48:54,540
infIuenced every band
that was happening,
296
00:48:54,578 --> 00:48:58,378
incIuding VaniIIa Fudge,
including probably Hendrix's bands.
297
00:48:58,415 --> 00:49:00,781
We used to play with all those guys.
298
00:49:00,818 --> 00:49:03,753
And it was, Iike, you know,
they were, like, it.
299
00:49:03,787 --> 00:49:06,415
The trio, everybody was a superstar.
300
00:49:07,458 --> 00:49:09,449
Ginger did a phenomenal job.
301
00:49:17,268 --> 00:49:21,432
There were peopIe who may have pIayed
double bass before
302
00:49:21,472 --> 00:49:27,206
but nobody pIayed 'em
as a musical, separate part
303
00:49:27,278 --> 00:49:30,076
the way Ginger Baker did.
304
00:49:30,114 --> 00:49:34,312
What he pIayed on the kick drums was...
were unique patterns
305
00:49:34,351 --> 00:49:37,752
that shifted across
what he was doing over the top.
306
00:49:37,788 --> 00:49:39,779
Other people played double kick drum
307
00:49:39,823 --> 00:49:44,055
but it was usuaIIy just because one foot
wasn't fast enough, to speed things up.
308
00:49:44,094 --> 00:49:47,586
l thought that was just one more step.
309
00:49:48,632 --> 00:49:54,036
He reaIIy now had four Iimbs
to express two levels of playing.
310
00:49:54,071 --> 00:49:56,062
lt blew me away.
311
00:50:04,615 --> 00:50:08,984
I think one of the greatest things
l ever heard on drums
312
00:50:09,019 --> 00:50:10,611
was Toad.
313
00:50:11,555 --> 00:50:15,184
l'd never heard anything as fluid before.
314
00:50:19,296 --> 00:50:21,787
ln drums, you have one hit at a time,
315
00:50:21,832 --> 00:50:24,960
it's a very percussive,
short duration note
316
00:50:25,035 --> 00:50:28,630
yet somehow everything kind of fIowed
and it rolled.
317
00:56:15,185 --> 00:56:17,779
l think it was in Texas on the...
318
00:56:18,422 --> 00:56:21,391
big tour, the '68 tour,
319
00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:27,621
where Eric just said,
''Man, l've had enough.''
320
00:56:27,664 --> 00:56:29,894
And l said, ''Yeah, man, so have l.''
321
00:56:30,901 --> 00:56:33,461
And that was it, the end of the gig.
322
00:56:34,838 --> 00:56:38,706
We toId Stigwood, I don't know
whether he believed it or what.
323
00:56:38,742 --> 00:56:44,180
We did what we set out to do and
l think we couldn't have done any more.
324
00:56:44,214 --> 00:56:47,012
I think it Iasted
just the right length of time
325
00:56:47,050 --> 00:56:49,245
to make the little statement that we had.
326
00:56:49,319 --> 00:56:53,050
I never thought that I wouId
be in a commercially successful band,
327
00:56:53,090 --> 00:56:57,789
I didn't set out to do that in my Iife,
it just happened that way.
328
00:56:57,828 --> 00:57:01,730
I'm very gIad that it did, though.
lt was a great experience.
329
00:57:02,799 --> 00:57:06,929
I didn't reaIIy ever wanna be
tied down to a band.
330
00:57:06,970 --> 00:57:09,700
The minute it started to get too...
331
00:57:09,740 --> 00:57:11,731
too much like a prison,
332
00:57:12,609 --> 00:57:15,669
or too routine, then l'd wanna get out.
333
00:57:15,712 --> 00:57:18,909
Just the gypsy side of me,
just moving on.
334
00:57:18,949 --> 00:57:20,940
lt was...
335
00:57:20,984 --> 00:57:22,815
lt was just the end of it.
336
00:57:22,853 --> 00:57:26,687
We did the goodbye Cream concert
at the Albert Hall,
337
00:57:26,757 --> 00:57:31,854
and we did the Goodbye aIbum
which was some of that tour live
338
00:57:31,895 --> 00:57:34,455
and we did three tracks in LA.
339
00:57:36,466 --> 00:57:38,457
And that was it, yeah.30224
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