The reason why Eric Clapton called Cream “a glorious mistake”
They say the brightest flame burns the quickest, and there are few bands that sum this up better than Cream. The group, consisting of guitarist Eric Clapton, drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, cast a shadow over the whole of rock ‘n’ roll. How could they not? They were arguably the world’s first supergroup, the band that broke Eric Clapton in America, and unlike most bands put together for their instrumental abilities, actually had the songs to back it up.
‘Badge’, ‘I’m So Glad’, ‘Strange Brew’, ‘White Room’, the band’s back catalogue is utterly undeniable, long before you get to ‘Sunshine of Your Love’, arguably one of the most famous riffs in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. The world completely agreed with me, too, where they didn’t just make a name for themselves but became one of the biggest outfits in the world at their peak, having sold 15 million albums to date.
The wildest part of all of this? That the band achieved this in about two years flat. They debuted in July 1966 and by November 1968 had split up, leaving behind an enviable back catalogue and a legion of fans who would be eager to see where the band would go next. With all that in mind, why on earth would Clapton of all people refer to it as a “mistake“, in an interview with Guitar World?
When asked where the band fits into his perspective, Clapton recalled that period with a strange regret. He said: “It was very intense; it actually seems like we were together for three or four years, but in fact it was very short. I think my overall feeling about it now is that it was a glorious mistake. I had a completely different idea of what it would be before I started it, and it ended up being a wonderful thing, but nothing like it was meant to be.”
Why would Eric Clapton consider Cream to be a mistake?
Perhaps he’s referring to the fact that Cream, at its core, was his idea. Prior to the band, Eric Clapton had been a sideman in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. With his reputation as possibly the best electric guitarist in the world growing by the day, he wanted to branch out. Not quite forming his own group, but at least be on equal footing with his bandmates. This led to him tapping up Baker and Bruce for the rhythm section.
On a purely musical level, this was essentially the one rhythm section in the British music scene that could hold a candle to Clapton. So, it was a smart move in that sense, and precisely no others. Clapton was aware of the ocean of bad blood that existed between Baker and Bruce, considering the madman drummer once came at the latter with a knife onstage, while playing a gig together.
Clapton assumed that the two would be able to, if not put their differences aside, then at least live with them for the sake of some great music. To be fair to the lads, the fact that they did just that for two whole years is a show of herculean effort on their parts. However, as Clapton mentions further in the interview, the band quickly became the Ginger and Jack show when he wanted it to be a democracy.
He said, “I just didn’t have the assertiveness to take control. Jack and Ginger were the powerful, dominant personalities in the band; they sort of ran the show and I just played. I just went with the flow in the end, and I enjoyed it greatly, but it wasn’t anything like I expected it to be at all.”
Perhaps that’s what counts in the end. It may have been a mistake, but if all mistakes came with so many upsides, we’d all be trying to make them.
