What was the first ever supergroup?
The supergroup is a strange thing. Bringing together a collection of wildly accomplished musicians under one banner is fundamentally a risky move. To reach such heights that qualify them to enter such a star-studded milieu, they have to be one-track-minded and so dedicated to the quality of their art that everything else in their lives falls by the wayside. Just ask Fantômas frontman Mike Patton. However, somewhat astoundingly, it has worked many times, with the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Traveling Wilburys, Audioslave, and Them Crooked Vultures just a handful of excellent examples.
There was a time when supergroups were all the rage. After all, when it was an idea that had legs, and music was still consumed primarily by selling records, the concept of people’s highly mythologised artistic heroes coming together for a project was precisely the kind of thing that would sell masses of records, pack out venues, and lead to a media frenzy that would only bolster the label and artist’s coffers further.
Furthermore, despite the reality of it being a risk and not working due to musicians’ typically tricky and stubborn nature, the notion of bringing together storied musical minds for a more concrete project than simply a fleeting song or guest appearance on the maracas, is genius. Why should one artist have to pull a band along using only the strength of their artistry when they could join up with other titans and form a sonic leviathan where the skillful parity did the work? It made sense to bring such Galacticos together.
While the supergroup is a rarity today, with the likes of Fantômas doubting that they will ever return, 3/5 of The Traveling Wilbury’s dead, and the concept generally outdated due to music moving on and different forms of collaboration becoming all the rage, some of the best examples will always remain so, however fleeting they might have been. The first-ever supergroup was so influential that it even helped change rock music for the better and continues to be significant today.
So, who were the first-ever supergroup?
You might have guessed it. The first supergroup was Cream, the psychedelic rock pioneers that brought together the finest guitarist in London, Eric Clapton – formerly of The Yardbirds – the most scintillating bassist around in Jack Bruce, and the country’s most technically gifted drummer, Ginger Baker. Although Bruce and Baker famously hated each other, with the roots of this feud when they were in The Graham Bond Organisation, when the drummer formed the group in 1966, Clapton’s one condition was that the Scottish bassist join too.
Baker hated Bruce so much that Clapton’s suggestion made him nearly crash the car, but he eventually acquiesced. The band released their debut album, Fresh Cream, later that year. It featured the indomitable instrumental ‘Toad’, a pioneering moment in that it is a five-minute drum solo from Baker, who confirmed himself as a genius with it practically overnight. It was a clear signal of all the brilliance to come.
Cream are a strange group in that they were only together for two years before imploding because Bruce and Baker’s feud had deepened beyond any hope of repair. Their final album, the aptly titled Goodbye, arrived in February 1969, a while after they’d split in November the previous year, but they’d already achieved more than most. Their second album, 1967’s Disraeli Gears, is a staple of the psychedelic rock genre. It soundtracked the countercultural revolution that year with songs like ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ and ‘Strange Brew’.
There’s no surprise that an array of supergroups arose in Cream’s wake. This included CSN, Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, and, of course, Clapton’s later project, Blind Faith.
