Cream

Without Cream, rock as we know it might sound very different today. The London-based band were only together for a brief couple years (1966-1968), but their success opened the door for subsequent generations of blues-rockers and power trios. The jazz-schooled chops of drummer Ginger Baker and bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce combined with the psychedelic heavy blues of Eric Clapton's stinging guitar for a level of improvisational skill never before heard in a rock context. After Baker and Clapton's reunion in Blind Faith, all three members of Cream went on to lengthy solo careers, ranging from Baker's experimental jazz and world music to Bruce's folk and jazz to Clapton's traditional blues and mainstream rock. In May 2005 the trio reformed to play four nights at their spiritual home, London's Royal Albert Hall. The reunion was then extended to New York's, Madison Square Gardens the following October.