In most articles about rock bands and music the talk always seems to default to either the guitar player or the lead singer. Rarely does the drummer ever get their due, but one name to me stands head and shoulders above most all other drummers and that is Ginger Baker.

Whether or not you acknowledge his technical skills as the greatest of all time, he truly was a pioneer in that he re-defined the drummers role in the band as an equal. Other than a handful of jazz drummers, most people couldn’t name the drummer in their favorite band and Ginger did so because of his legendary style and soloing.

He was the first drummer in a major rock band that would make every song that (Cream) did his own unique drumming composition as well as the guitar and bass did. I go back and listen to old cream tunes and focusing in strictly on the drumming even though the rest of the song is a classic too.

I remember reading that John Bonham idolized Ginger because of the fact that he brought the role of the drummer to such a fore front. He opened the door for so many great drummers like Bonham, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Alan White, Ian Paice, etc…

I have probably heard at least 5 or 6 different versions of “Toad” which is definitely the standard drum solo format song (check out the similarities of the way Led Zep’s “Moby Dick” was structured after it) and each time I hear it, it just blows me away. Each time it is completely different. Ginger just has such great articulation and subtleties to his playing that if you listen closely you keep hearing new things.

The latest version of “Toad” I heard was on the Cream Reunion Tour at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 and Ginger (who is well into his sixties) was just as amazing as he ever was.

I know to most people the drums are just a background instrument, but to me they can make or break a song and certainly a band as well. A band can survive with a mediocre or good drummer, but a great drummer elevates any band into the stratosphere and that is why I still love listening to Cream, because I will never get tired of hearing the energy Ginger created.

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