Ginger Baker

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Ginger Baker

| image = Ginger Baker in 1984.jpg

| caption = Baker performing in 1984

| alt =

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Peter Edward Baker

| alias =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|08|19|df=y}}

| birth_place = Lewisham, South London, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|10|06|1939|08|19|df=y}}

| death_place = Canterbury, Kent, England

| genre = {{hlist|Rock|blues rock|jazz rock|Afrobeat}}

| occupation = Drummer

| years_active = 1950s–2015

| label = {{hlist|Polydor|Warner Bros.|Island}}

| past_member_of = {{hlist|Blues Incorporated|the Graham Bond Organisation|Cream|Ginger Baker's Air Force|Blind Faith|Ginger Baker and Friends|Baker Gurvitz Army|Hawkwind|Atomic Rooster|Masters of Reality|BBM|Ginger Baker Trio}}

| associated_acts =

| website = {{URL|gingerbaker.com}}

}}

Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer.{{Cite book |title=Hellraiser The autobiography of the World's Most Famous Drummer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SGtDwAAQBAJ |last1=Baker |first1=Ginger |last2=Baker |first2=Ginette |publisher=John Blake |isbn=978-1-844-5496-65|date = 7 June 2010}} His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pioneered both jazz fusion and world music.{{Cite book |first=Adam |last=Budofski |title=The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power and Invention |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLxJAgAAQBAJ |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-423-4766-03}}

Baker gained early fame as a member of Blues Incorporated and the Graham Bond Organisation, both times alongside bassist Jack Bruce, with whom Baker would often clash. In 1966, Baker and Bruce joined guitarist Eric Clapton to form Cream, which achieved worldwide success but lasted only until 1968, in part due to Baker's and Bruce's volatile relationship. After working with Clapton in the short-lived band Blind Faith and leading Ginger Baker's Air Force, Baker spent several years in the 1970s living and recording in Africa, often with Fela Kuti, in pursuit of his long-time interest in African music.{{Cite AV media |title=Beware of Mr. Baker |year=2012 |people=Bulger, Jay (director) |medium=Documentary |publisher=SnagFilms}} Among Baker's other collaborations are his work with Gary Moore, Masters of Reality, Public Image Ltd, Hawkwind, Atomic Rooster, Bill Laswell, jazz bassist Charlie Haden, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, and Ginger Baker's Energy.

Baker's drumming is regarded for its style, showmanship, and use of two bass drums instead of the conventional single one, after the manner of the jazz drummer Louie Bellson. In his early days, he performed lengthy drum solos, most notably in the Cream song "Toad", one of the earliest recorded examples in rock music. Baker was an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Cream in 1993, of the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2008,{{Cite web |url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/modern-drummers-readers-poll-archive/#_ |title=Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014 |work=Modern Drummer |access-date=10 August 2015}} and of the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2016.{{Cite web |url=http://www.classicdrummerhalloffame.com/ginger-baker |title=Classic Drummer Hall of Fame, Ginger Baker Induction Page, 2016 |website=Classic Drummer Hall of Fame |publisher=Classic Drummer |access-date=17 January 2017}} Baker was noted for his eccentric, often self-destructive lifestyle, and he struggled with heroin addiction for many decades. He was married four times and fathered three children.

Early life

Peter Baker was born in Lewisham, South London; he was nicknamed "Ginger" for his shock of flaming red hair.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ginger-baker-rock-drumming-colossus-of-cream-dies-at-80/2019/10/06/f1aff9ae-e828-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html|title=Ginger Baker, rock drumming colossus of Cream, dies at 80|first=Andrew|last=Marton|date=6 October 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}} His mother, Ruby May (née Bayldon), worked in a tobacco shop. His father, Frederick Louvain Formidable Baker, was a bricklayer employed by his own father, who owned a building business, and was a lance corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals in World War II; he died in the 1943 Dodecanese campaign.See the notes to the 1994 Atlantic Records album Going Back Home by the Ginger Baker Trio Baker went to Pope Street School, where he was considered "one of the better players" in the football team, and then to Shooter's Hill Grammar School. While at school he joined Squadron 56 of the Air Training Corps, based at Woolwich and stayed with them for two or three years.

Career

Baker began playing drums at around 15 years of age.{{Cite web |last=Bruney |first=Gabrielle |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a29378151/cream-drummer-ginger-baker-dead/ |title=Cream Drummer Ginger Baker Has Died at Age 80 |work=Esquire |date=6 October 2019 |access-date=6 October 2019}} In the early 1960s he took lessons from Phil Seamen, one of the leading British jazz drummers of the post-war era.

=Early bands=

In the 1960s he joined Blues Incorporated, where he met bassist Jack Bruce. The two clashed often, but would be rhythm section partners again in the Graham Bond Organisation, a rhythm and blues group with strong jazz leanings.{{Cite web|last=Hughes|first=Rob|title=Drink, drugs, suicide, and the apocalyptic genius of Graham Bond|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-apocalyptic-story-of-graham-bond|work=Louder Sound|date=5 October 2018|access-date=6 October 2019}} Their relationship was so volatile that Baker once attacked Bruce with a knife during a concert.

In March 1963, Baker played in the Johnny Burch Octet with Burch, Jack Bruce, Mike Falana, Stan Robinson, John Mumford and others.The Guardian - [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/26/jack-bruce Obituary, Jack Bruce Obituary]Discogs - [https://www.discogs.com/release/13556910-Johnny-Burch-Octet-Jazzbeat- Johnny Burch Octet – Jazzbeat]Jazz Journal 12 May 2019 - [https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2019/05/12/johnny-burch-octet-jazz-beat/ Audio Reviews, Johnny Burch Octet : Jazz Beat By Matthew Wright]

= Cream =

File:CreamDutchTV1968.jpg

Despite this volatile relationship, Baker and Bruce reunited in 1966 when they formed Cream with guitarist Eric Clapton. A fusion of blues, psychedelic rock and hard rock, the band released four albums in a little over two years before breaking up in 1968.{{Pop Chronicles|53}}

= Blind Faith =

Baker then joined the short-lived "supergroup" Blind Faith, comprising Eric Clapton, bassist Ric Grech from Family, and Steve Winwood from Traffic on keyboards and vocals. They released only one album, Blind Faith, before breaking up.{{Cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|title=Steve Winwood Remembers Ginger Baker: 'I Was Lucky to Play With Him' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/steve-winwood-ginger-baker-blind-faith-tribute-895483/|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=6 October 2019|access-date=6 October 2019}}

= Ginger Baker's Air Force =

In 1970 Baker formed, toured and recorded two albums with fusion rock group Ginger Baker's Air Force.Eder, Bruce. "[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ginger-bakers-air-force-mn0001247217/biography Ginger Baker's Air Force]". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2019

= 1970s =

Following Air Force, Baker created the short-lived "Ginger Baker Drum Choir", which released a sole single on Atco Records (and Polydor in Germany) in 1971.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-10-07/ginger-baker-ten-songs-playlist|title=Ten wild, waaay out-there Ginger Baker drum performances|date=7 October 2019|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=18 October 2019}} The 45 RPM record featured a three-piece drum ensemble and "call and response" vocals, with the song "Atunde! (We are here)" and "Atunde! (part 2)" on its A and B sides.

In November 1971, Baker decided to set up a recording studio in Lagos, then the capital of Nigeria. He decided that it would be an interesting experience to travel to Nigeria overland across the Sahara. Baker invited documentary filmmaker Tony Palmer to join him and the film Ginger Baker in Africa follows his odyssey as he makes his journey and finally arrives in Nigeria to set up his studio.{{Cite book |last=Feld |first=Steven |title=Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2012 |page=[https://archive.org/details/jazzcosmopolitan00feld/page/263 263] |isbn=978-0822351627 |url=https://archive.org/details/jazzcosmopolitan00feld/page/263 }} After many frustrating setbacks and technical hitches, Batakota (ARC) studios opened at the end of January 1973, and operated successfully through the seventies as a facility for both local and western musicians. Paul McCartney and Wings recorded the song "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" for Band on the Run at the studio, with Baker playing a tin can full of gravel.{{Cite web |title=The Official History 1972-1974 |url=http://www.gingerbaker.com/gingerbakerhistarchivehome.htm#histarchive72-74 |website=GingerBaker.com |access-date=3 April 2018}}

Baker sat in with Fela Kuti{{Cite web|title=Ginger Baker on Fela Kuti (1999) |url=http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/02/ginger-baker-on-fela-kuti-1999/|website=Arthur Magazine |access-date=23 October 2017 |date=2 November 2009}}{{Cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p52057|pure_url=yes}}|author=Dougan, John|title=Fela Ransome-Kuti|publisher=AllMusic| access-date=13 February 2010}} during recording sessions in 1971 released by Regal Zonophone as Live!{{Cite web| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r29760|pure_url=yes}}|title=Ginger Baker. Live with Fela Kuti|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=13 February 2010}} Fela also appeared with Baker on Stratavarious (1972) alongside Bobby Gass,{{Cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1200|pure_url=yes}}|title=Stratavarious|publisher=AllMusic| access-date=13 February 2010}} a pseudonym for Bobby Tench from the Jeff Beck Group. Stratavarious was later re-issued as part of the compilation Do What You Like (1998).{{Cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3618|pure_url=yes}}|title=Ginger Baker compilations|publisher=AllMusic}} Baker formed Baker Gurvitz Army with brothers Paul and Adrian Gurvitz in 1974 (encouraged by manager Bill Fehilly). The band recorded three albums, Baker Gurvitz Army (1974), Elysian Encounter (1975) and Hearts on Fire (1976), and the band toured through England and Europe in 1975. The band broke up in 1976, not long after the death of Fehilly in a plane crash.{{Cite web |title=The Official History 1974-1976 |url=http://www.gingerbaker.com/gingerbakerhistarchivehome.htm#histarchive77-80 |website=GingerBaker.com |access-date=3 April 2018}}

= 1980s =

File:Ginger Baker 1980.jpg

After the failure of the recording studio in Lagos, Baker spent most of the early 1980s on an olive farm in a small town in Tuscany, Italy. During this period, he played little music.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/05/ginger-baker-cream-interview|title=Ginger Baker: 'I came off heroin something like 29 times'|first=Edward|last=Helmore|date=5 January 2013|website=The Guardian}}

In 1980, Baker joined Hawkwind after initially playing as a session musician on the album Levitation. He left in 1981, after a tour. Live material and studio demos from that period which Baker participated in were included on two Hawkwind albums, released later in the 1980s. In 1985, he worked with producer Bill Laswell on Horses & Trees and then performed as a session musician on Album by Public Image Ltd.{{Cite web|last1=Hunt|first1=Dennis|title=Ginger Baker Goes Back to the Want Ads|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-25-ca-1169-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=4 April 2018|date=25 December 1988}}

Baker moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s intending to become an actor. He unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of the Homeless Man in the 1989 "Weird Al" Yankovic comedy film UHF{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/interviews-uhf-weird-al-yankovic-music-news-184941199.html|title=Revisiting 'Weird Al' Yankovic's under-appreciated 'UHF': Ellen DeGeneres & Ginger Baker's lost auditions, the brilliance of 'Spatula City,' and why it was rated PG-13|date=19 July 2019 |publisher=Yahoo|access-date=7 October 2019}} and appeared in the 1990 TV series Nasty Boys as Ginger.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048486/|title=Ginger Baker|publisher=IMDb|access-date=18 August 2018}}

= 1990s =

In 1992 Baker played with the hard rock group Masters of Reality with bassist Googe and singer/guitarist Chris Goss on the album Sunrise on the Sufferbus.Raggett, Ned. "[https://www.allmusic.com/album/sunrise-on-the-sufferbus-mw0000095642 Sunrise on the Sufferbus]". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2019

BBM (Bruce Baker Moore) formed in 1993. The short-lived power trio with the line-up of Baker, Jack Bruce and Irish blues rock guitarist Gary Moore{{Cite web |first=Paul |last=Collins |title=Review: Around The Next Dream – BBM |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r203496|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=13 August 2009}} recorded the album Around the Next Dream, released 1994.

Baker lived in Parker, Colorado between 1993 and 1999, in part due to his passion for polo. Baker not only participated in polo events at the Salisbury Equestrian Park, but he also sponsored an ongoing series of jam sessions and concerts at the equestrian centre on weekends.{{Cite web |last=Hooper |first=Joseph |title=Harmonic Convergence? Ginger Baker's Crazy Story |url=http://observer.com/1999/06/harmonic-convergence-ginger-bakers-crazy-story |work=The New York Observer |access-date=3 March 2014|date=7 June 1999}} His past drug history increasingly caused him problems with U.S. immigration, so in 1999 he sold his property in Parker and moved to South Africa.'Outstanding in His Field', an article in 'Westword' Denver free weekly newspaper. In 1994, he formed the Ginger Baker Trio with bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Bill Frisell.

= 2000s and 2010s =

On 3 May 2005, Baker reunited with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce for a series of Cream concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden. The London concerts were recorded and released as Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 (2005).{{Cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=Royal Albert Hall: London May 2-3-5-6 2005 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/royal-albert-hall-london-may-2-3-5-6-2005-mw0000398296 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=18 July 2018}} In a Rolling Stone article written in 2009, Bruce is quoted as saying, "It's a knife-edge thing between me and Ginger. Nowadays, we're happily co-existing in different continents [Bruce, who died in 2014, lived in Britain, while Baker lived in South Africa] ... although I was thinking of asking him to move. He's still a bit too close".{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/15784/93392 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913115650/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/15784/93392 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2012 |title=The Devil and Ginger Baker |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=7 October 2015}}

File:Ginger Baker 2011.JPG

In 2008 a bank clerk, Lindiwe Noko, was charged with defrauding Baker of almost R500,000 ($60,000).{{Cite news |title=Bank clerk defrauds drummer |url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Bank-clerk-defrauds-drummer-20080830 |publisher=news24.com |date=31 August 2008 |access-date=31 August 2008}} Baker said he had hired Noko as a personal assistant, paying her £7 per day (about R100) for performing various errands, and alleged she used this position to uncover his private banking information and make unauthorised withdrawals.{{Cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Sebastien |title=Cream drummer Ginger Baker defrauded |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2656363/Cream-drummer-Ginger-Baker-defrauded.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2656363/Cream-drummer-Ginger-Baker-defrauded.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The Telegraph |access-date=18 July 2018 |date=31 August 2008}}{{cbignore}} Noko claimed that the money was a gift after she and Baker became lovers. Baker replied, "I've a scar that only a woman who had a thing with me would know. It's there and she doesn't know it's there."{{Cite news |title=Cream drummer may flash ginger nuts in court |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/06/ginger_nuts/ |first=Lester|last= Haines|work=The Register |date=11 June 2008 |access-date=11 June 2008}} Noko pleaded not guilty but was convicted of fraud. In October 2010 she was sentenced to three years of "correctional supervision", a type of community service. Baker called the sentence "a travesty".{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8076094/Ginger-Bakers-assistant-avoids-jail-over-theft.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8076094/Ginger-Bakers-assistant-avoids-jail-over-theft.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |title=Ginger Baker's assistant avoids jail over theft |first1=Aislinn |last1=Laing |access-date=22 April 2014 |date=20 October 2010}}{{cbignore}}

His autobiography Hellraiser was published in 2009. Throughout 2013 and 2014, he toured with the Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion, a quartet comprising Baker, saxophonist Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, bassist Alec Dankworth, and percussionist Abass Dodoo. In 2014 Baker signed with Motéma Music to release the album Why?{{Cite web |url=http://motema.com/motema-signs-legendary-drummer-ginger-baker/|title=Motéma Signs Legendary Drummer Ginger Baker |publisher=Motéma Music |access-date=22 July 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140320213708/http://motema.com/motema-signs-legendary-drummer-ginger-baker/ |archive-date=20 March 2014}}

Documentaries

Ginger Baker in Africa (1971) documents Baker's drive by Range Rover, from Algeria to Nigeria, across the Sahara. At his destination, Lagos, he sets up a recording studio and jams with Fela Kuti.{{Cite web |last=Welsh |first=Claire |url=https://www.factmag.com/2019/10/06/iconic-drummer-ginger-baker-has-died-aged-80/ |title=Iconic drummer Ginger Baker has died aged 80 |work=Fact |date=6 October 2019 |access-date=6 October 2019}}

In 2012, the Jay Bulger documentary film Beware of Mr. Baker about Baker's life had its world premiere at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where it won the Grand Jury Award for best documentary feature. It received its UK premiere on BBC One on 7 July 2015.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Mekado |title='Beware of Mr. Baker' and 'Gimme the Loot' Win Grand Jury Prizes at SXSW |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/beware-of-mr-baker-and-gimme-the-loot-win-grand-jury-prizes-at-sxsw/ |work=The New York Times |access-date=26 March 2012 |date=14 March 2012}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/may/15/ginger-baker-beware-mr-baker-interview |title=Meeting Ginger Baker: an experience to forget |access-date=22 April 2014 |website=The Guardian |first1=Michael |last1=Hann |date=15 May 2013}}

Style and technique

Baker cited Phil Seamen, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones and Baby Dodds as main influences on his style.{{Cite web| title=Ginger Baker interview November 2010| work=retrosellers.com| url=http://www.retrosellers.com/features337.htm| access-date=16 August 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084429/http://www.retrosellers.com/features337.htm| archive-date=19 August 2014| df=dmy-all}} Although he was generally considered a pupil of Seamen, Baker stated that he was largely self-taught and he only played some exercises with Seamen.{{Cite web | title=Baker's back|work= idrummag.com| url=http://www.idrummag.com/interviews/bakers-back/ |date= 10 February 2013 |access-date=27 December 2016}}

Baker's early performance attracted attention for both his musicality and showmanship. While he became famous during his time with Cream for his wild, unpredictable, and flamboyant performances that were often viewed in a vein similar to that of Keith Moon from the Who, Baker also frequently employed a much more restrained and straightforward performance style influenced by the British jazz groups he heard during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although he is usually categorised as having been a "rock drummer", Baker himself preferred to be viewed as a jazz drummer, or as just "a drummer".{{Cite AV media | people=Baker, Ginger | title=Cream: Classic Artists | medium=DVD | publisher=Image Entertainment, Inc. | year=2006}}

Along with Moon, Baker was credited as one of the early pioneers of double bass drumming in rock.{{Cite web|last1=Nyman|first1=John|title=Double Bass Legends: A Short History|url=http://drummagazine.com/double-bass-legends-a-short-history/|website=Drum!|access-date=30 December 2017|date=22 March 2013}} He recollected that in 1966 he began to adopt two bass drums in his setup after he and Moon watched drummer Sam Woodyard at a Duke Ellington concert.{{Cite web|title=Ginger Baker - Drums|url=http://jazzwisemagazine.com/features/jazzwise-the-player/11113-ginger-baker-drums|website=Jazzwise|access-date=29 December 2017|date=29 January 2010}} According to Baker:

Every drummer that ever played for Duke Ellington played a double bass drum kit. I went to a Duke Ellington concert in 1966 and Sam Woodyard was playing with Duke and he played some incredible tom-tom and two bass drum things, some of which I still use today and I just knew I had to get a two bass drum kit. Keith Moon was with me at that concert and we were discussing it and he went straight round to Premier and bought two kits which he stuck together. I had to wait for Ludwig to make a kit up for me, which they did—to my own specifications. So Moonie had the two bass drum kit some months before I did.

File:Ginger baker Drm Set 3210570969 5fe3599bb1.jpg drumset (2009)]]

Baker preferred light, thin, fast-rebounding drum sticks (size 7A), usually held using a matched grip.{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Ginger |title=Hellraiser: The Autobiography of The World's Greatest Drummer |publisher=John Blake |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-8445-4966-5}} Baker's playing made use of syncopation and ride cymbal patterns characteristic of bebop and other advanced forms of jazz, as well as the frequent application of African rhythms.{{Cite web | title=10 Ways To Sound Like Ginger Baker |first= Andy |last= Ziker |work= drummagazine.com| url=http://drummagazine.com/10-ways-to-sound-like-ginger-baker/ |date= 10 October 2014 |access-date=27 December 2016}}

In his early days, he developed what would later become the archetypal rock drum solo, with the best known example being the five-minute-long instrumental "Toad" from Cream's debut album Fresh Cream (1966). Baker was one of the first drummers to move his left foot between his left bass drum pedal and hi-hat pedal to create various combinations. Somewhat atypically, Baker mounted all of the tom-toms on his drum kit in a vertical fashion, with the shells of the drums perpendicular to the floor, as opposed to the more common practice of angling the rack toms toward the player.

Baker's most recent kit was made by Drum Workshop. He used Ludwig Drums until the late 1990s. All of his cymbals were made by Zildjian; the 22-inch rivet ride cymbal and the 14-inch hi-hats he used were the same ones he used during the last two Cream tours in 1968.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ginger-baker.com/|title=Ginger Baker's drum kit|publisher=ginger-baker.com|access-date=13 February 2010}}

Legacy

File:GingerBaker1997.jpg

Baker's style influenced many drummers, including John Bonham,{{Cite web | title=Blokes|work= alex reisner's led zeppelin site | url=http://ledzeppelin.alexreisner.com/bonham.html|access-date=3 June 2016}} Peter Criss,{{Cite web | title=Peter Criss Interview 8/5/97|work= kissasylum.com | url=http://www.kissasylum.com/KissHell/pc_interview1.html |access-date=29 July 2014}} Neil Peart,{{Cite magazine | title=The Devil and Ginger Baker| first=Jay | last=Bulger |magazine=Rolling Stone | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-devil-and-ginger-baker-20090820 |date=20 August 2009 |access-date=28 July 2014}} Stewart Copeland,{{Cite web|title=Stewart Copeland: Interview |work=effingham.net |url=http://www.effingham.net/bishop/CopelandInterview.htm |date=July 1997 |access-date=28 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104211749/http://www.effingham.net/bishop/CopelandInterview.htm |archive-date= 4 January 2015}} Ian Paice,{{Cite web | title=Ian Paice: Q&A|work= Stuff | url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/blog-on-the-tracks/3032762/Ian-Paice-Q-A |date=5 November 2012 |access-date=14 August 2014}} Terry Bozzio,{{Cite book |first=Hugo |last=Pinksterboer |title=The Cymbal Book |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |page=22}} Dave Lombardo,{{Cite web| title=Dave Lombardo: These Are My Top 3 All-Time Favorite Double-Bass Drummers|work= ultimate-guitar.com| url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/entertainment/dave_lombardo_these_are_my_top_3_all-time_favorite_double-bass_drummers.html|access-date=20 November 2015}} Tommy Aldridge,{{Cite web| title=Interview with Tommy Aldridge| work=mikedolbear.com| url=http://mikedolbear.com/story.asp?StoryID=1598&Source=Archive&txtSearch=| access-date=29 July 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609111944/http://mikedolbear.com/story.asp?StoryID=1598&Source=Archive&txtSearch=| archive-date=9 June 2015| df=dmy-all}} Bill Bruford,{{Cite web | title=Interview:Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Earthworks)|work= hit-channel.com | url=http://www.hit-channel.com/interviewbill-bruford-yesking-crimsongenesisearthworks/571 |date=10 April 2012 |access-date=28 July 2014}} Alex Van Halen,{{Cite web | title=Alex Van Halen: Bashing and Crashing In the Here and Now| first= Ken |last=Micallef |work=Modern Drummer | url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2008/01/alex-van-halen/ |date=15 January 2008 |access-date=1 August 2014}} Danny Seraphine{{Cite web| title=Danny Seraphine: Interview 1997| work=chicago-web.net| url=http://www.chicago-web.net/Chicagoboard1/Interviews.html| access-date=25 August 2014| archive-date=26 August 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114000/http://www.chicago-web.net/Chicagoboard1/Interviews.html| url-status=dead}} and Nick Mason.{{Cite web | title=The 30 Year Technicolor Dream | first=Phil |last=Sutcliffe | work=Mojo | url=http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1484-gilmour-mason-wright-30-year.html#post23744 | date=July 1995 | access-date=23 July 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711045614/http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1484-gilmour-mason-wright-30-year.html#post23744 | archive-date=11 July 2011 | df=dmy-all}}

Modern Drummer magazine described him as "one of classic rock's first influential drumming superstars of the 1960s" and "one of classic rock's true drum gods".{{Cite web | title=The Greats: Ginger Baker|work=moderndrummer.com| url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2010/03/ginger-baker/ |date= 12 March 2010 |access-date=9 December 2014}} AllMusic described him as "the most influential percussionist of the 1960s" and stated that "virtually every drummer of every heavy metal band that has followed since that time has sought to emulate some aspect of Baker's playing".{{Cite web| url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3618|pure_url=yes}}|title=Ginger Baker|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=15 October 2010}} Although he is widely considered a pioneer of heavy metal drumming, Baker expressed his repugnance for the genre.{{Cite web | title=Legendary Cream Drummer Ginger Baker: 'I Loathe And Detest Heavy Metal'|work=blabbermouth.net | url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/legendary-cream-drummer-ginger-baker-i-loathe-and-detest-heavy-metal/ |date= 14 June 2015|access-date=21 November 2015}}

Drum! magazine listed Baker among the "50 Most Important Drummers of All Time" and has defined him as "one of the most imitated '60s drummers",{{Cite web| title=50 Most Important Drummers of All Time| work=drummagazine.com| url=http://www.drummagazine.com/features/post/50-most-important-drummers-of-all-time/P3/| date=16 August 2011| access-date=24 September 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016134452/http://www.drummagazine.com/features/post/50-most-important-drummers-of-all-time/P3| archive-date=16 October 2014| df=dmy-all}} stating also that "he forever changed the face of rock music".{{Cite web | title=Hot Licks: Classic Ginger Baker '60s Drum Parts| first=Brad |last=Schlueter |work=drummagazine.com | url=http://www.drummagazine.com/lessons/post/hotlicks-ginger-baker-in-the-60s/ |date= August 2007 |access-date=24 September 2014}} He was voted the third greatest drummer of all time in a Rolling Stone reader poll and has been considered the "drummer who practically invented the rock drum solo".{{Cite magazine | title=Rolling Stone Readers Pick Best Drummers of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-20110208/9-ginger-baker-0020302 |date= 8 February 2011}} In 2016, he was ranked 3rd on Rolling Stone{{'}}s "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".{{Cite magazine|title=100 Greatest Drummers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-drummers-of-all-time-20160331/ginger-baker-20160328 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=April 2016 |access-date=22 April 2016}} According to author and columnist Ken Micallef in his book Classic Rock Drummers: "the pantheon of contemporary drummers from metal, fusion, and rock owe their very existence to Baker's trailblazing work with Cream".{{Cite book |first=Ken |last=Micalief |title=Classic Rock Drummers |publisher=Backbeat Books |year=2007 |page=10}} Neil Peart has said: "His playing was revolutionary – extrovert, primal and inventive. He set the bar for what rock drumming could be. [...] Every rock drummer since has been influenced in some way by Ginger – even if they don't know it".

Personal life

Baker was infamous for his irascible personality and violent temper, as well as for confrontations with musicians and fans.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/oct/06/ginger-baker-wild-and-brilliant-cream-drummer-dies-aged-80|title=Ginger Baker, wild and brilliant Cream drummer, dies aged 80|last=Beaumont-Thomas|first=Ben|date=6 October 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=6 October 2019|issn=0261-3077}} Rolling Stone reporter David Fricke wrote in 2012 that even in old age, "you get close to Baker at your peril."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beware-of-mr-baker-a-documentary-about-the-genius-and-terror-of-drummer-ginger-baker-232253/|title=The Genius and Terror of Drummer Ginger Baker|last=Fricke|first=David|date=4 December 2012|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=6 October 2019}}

Baker was married four times and fathered three children. Baker and his first wife, Liz Finch, had their first child, Ginette Karen, on 20 December 1960. Baker's second daughter, Leda, was born 20 February 1968. Baker's son, Kofi Streatfield Baker, was born in March 1969 and named after Baker's friend, Ghanaian drummer Kofi Ghanaba.{{Cite book |first=Ginger |last=Baker |title=Ginger Baker: Hellraiser: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Drummer |publisher=John Blake Publishing Ltd |year=2010}} Kofi himself is also a drummer, notably playing with Uli Jon Roth and Glenn Hughes.{{cite web |title=Music of Cream |website=Music of Cream |date=14 March 2017 |url=https://www.musicofcream.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128085718/https://www.musicofcream.com/ |archive-date=28 January 2023 |url-status=dead |access-date=27 June 2023}}

= Illness and death =

{{wikinews|Influential rock drummer Ginger Baker dies at age 80}}

Baker struggled with heroin addiction throughout his life, having begun using the drug in the 1960s while a jazz drummer in London clubs. Each time he travelled to Africa, he would get sober temporarily only to relapse. He estimated that he stopped using the drug around 29 times during his life, but was only able to quit permanently after moving to a small Italian village in 1981 where he took up olive farming.

In February 2013, Baker said he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from years of heavy smoking, and chronic back pain from degenerative osteoarthritis. In February 2016, Baker was diagnosed with "serious heart issues" and cancelled all future gigs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gingerbaker.com/blog/ginger-is-shocked-by-the-news-of-his-health/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505062347/http://www.gingerbaker.com/blog/ginger-is-shocked-by-the-news-of-his-health/|url-status=dead|title=Ginger is shocked by the news of his health|date=27 February 2016|archive-date=5 May 2016|website=gingerbaker.com}} Writing on his blog, he said, "Just seen doctor ... big shock ... no more gigs for this old drummer ... everything is off ... of all things I never thought it would be my heart ..."{{Cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Ginger Baker Cancels Tour Due to 'Serious Heart Problems' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ginger-baker-cancels-tour-due-to-serious-heart-problems-20160228 |access-date=12 May 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=28 February 2016}} In late March 2016, it was revealed that Baker was set for pioneering treatment. "There are two options for surgery and, depending on how strong my old lungs are, they may do both." He added, "Cardiologist is brilliant. Yesterday he inserted a tube into the artery at my right wrist and fed it all the way to my heart—quite an experience. He was taking pictures of my heart from inside—amazing technology ... He says he's going to get me playing again! Thanks all for your support".{{cite web |title=Ginger Baker facing surgery |url=https://www.hollywood.com/general/ginger-baker-facing-surgery-60559415 |website=hollywood.com |date=24 March 2016 |access-date=16 May 2022}} In June 2016, it was reported he was recovering from open heart surgery, but had also suffered a bad fall, which had caused swollen legs and feet.{{Cite web|author=Leda |url=http://www.gingerbaker.com/blog/ |title=Ginger Baker's Blog – Life and times of |website=Gingerbaker.com |access-date=22 July 2017}}

On 25 September 2019, Baker's family reported that he was critically ill in hospital, and asked fans to keep him in their prayers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/26/cream-ginger-baker-critically-ill|title=Cream drummer Ginger Baker critically ill in hospital|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|date=26 September 2019|work=The Guardian}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/cream-ginger-baker-critically-ill-hospital-family-2551376|title=Cream's Ginger Baker is "holding his own "after being admitted to hospital in critical condition|first=Rhian|last=Daly|date=30 September 2019|website=NME}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/creams-ginger-baker-is-holding-his-own-in-hospital/|title=CREAM's GINGER BAKER Is 'Holding His Own' In Hospital|date=29 September 2019|website=Blabbermouth.net}} Baker died on 6 October 2019 at the age of 80, at a hospital in Canterbury from complications of COPD.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ginger-baker-rock-drumming-colossus-of-cream-dies-at-80/2019/10/06/f1aff9ae-e828-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html|title=Ginger Baker, rock drumming colossus of Cream, dies at 80|first=Andrew|last=Marton|quote=died Oct. 6 at a care home in Canterbury, England. |date=6 October 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{Cite web|last=Keepnews|first=Peter|title=Ginger Baker, Superstar Rock Drummer With U.K. Band Cream, Is Dead at 80|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/06/arts/music/ginger-baker-dead.html|work=The New York Times|date=6 October 2019 |quote=died on Sunday in a hospital in southeastern England |access-date=6 October 2019}}{{Cite web| title=Ginger Baker: Legendary Cream drummer dies aged 80| publisher=BBC| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49827436| date=6 October 2019| access-date=6 October 2019}}{{cite book |last=Lentz III |first=Harris M. |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2019 |date=28 October 2020 |publisher=McFarland |page=22 |isbn=9781476640594 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gW0HEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36}} On 23 October 2019, a private funeral service was held in Canterbury, Kent, with close family and friends.

Discography

Sources:{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ginger-baker-mn0000655273/discography|title=Ginger Baker | Album Discography|publisher=AllMusic}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gingerbaker.com/music/gingerbakermusichome.htm|title=Ginger Baker's Discography|website=gingerbaker.com}}

;Solo

Ginger Baker at His Best (1972)
Stratavarious (Polydor, 1972)
Eleven Sides of Baker (Mountain/Sire, 1976/1977)
From Humble Oranges (CDG, 1983)
Horses & Trees (Celluloid, 1986)
No Material (ITM, 1989)
Middle Passage (Axiom, 1990)
Unseen Rain (Day Eight, 1992)
Ginger Baker's Energy (ITM, 1992)
Going Back Home (Atlantic, 1994)
Ginger Baker The Album (ITM, 1995)
Falling Off the Roof (Atlantic, 1996)
Do What You Like (Polydor, 1998)
Coward of the County (Atlantic, 1999)
African Force (2001)
African Force: Palanquin's Pole (2006)
Why? (2014)

;The Storyville Jazz Men and the Hugh Rainey Allstars

Storyville Re-Visited (1958) also featuring Bob Wallis and Ginger Baker

;Alexis Korner Blues Incorporated

Alexis Korner and Friends (1963)

;Graham Bond Organisation

Live at Klooks Kleek (1964)
The Sound of '65 (1965)
There's a Bond Between Us (1965)

;Cream discography

Fresh Cream (Polydor, 1966)
Disraeli Gears (Polydor, 1967)
Wheels of Fire (Polydor, 1968)
Goodbye (Polydor, 1969)
Live Cream (Polydor, 1970)
Live Cream Volume II (Polydor, 1972)
BBC Sessions (2003)
Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 (Reprise, 2005)

;Blind Faith discography

Blind Faith (Polydor, 1969)

;Ginger Baker's Air Force

Ginger Baker's Air Force (Atco, 1970)
Ginger Baker's Air Force II (Atco, 1970)

;Baker Gurvitz Army

Baker Gurvitz Army (Janus, 1974)
Elysian Encounter (Atco, 1975)
Hearts on Fire (Atco, 1976)
Flying in and Out of Stardom (Castle, 2003)
Greatest Hits (GB Music, 2003)
Live in Derby (Major League Productions, 2005)
Live (Revisited, 2005)

;with Fela Kuti

Fela's London Scene (EMI, 1971) – uncredited
Why Black Man Dey Suffer (African Sounds, 1971)
Live! (Regal Zonophone, 1972)

;with Hawkwind

Levitation (Bronze, 1980)
Zones (Flicknife, 1983)
This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic (Flicknife, 1984)

;with others

All Things Must Pass by George Harrison (Apple, 1970)
Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings (Apple, 1973)
Album by Public Image Ltd (Elektra/Virgin, 1986)
Unseen Rain with Jens Johansson and Jonas Hellborg (Day Eight, 1992)
Sunrise on the Sufferbus by Masters of Reality (Chrysalis, 1992)
Cities of the Heart by Jack Bruce (CMP, 1993)
Around the Next Dream by BBM (Capitol, 1994)
Synaesthesia by Andy Summers (CMP, 1996)
Coward of the County by Ginger Baker and the Denver Jazz Quintet-to-Octet (DJQ2O) (Atlantic, 1999)

Citations

General references

{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Ginger |last2=Baker |first2=Ginette |title=Ginger Baker, Hellraiser: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Drummer |publisher=John Blake |location=London |date=7 June 2010 |isbn=9781844549665 |oclc=847740966 |url={{Google books|4SGtDwAAQBAJ|page=frontcover|plainurl=yes}}}}