The Day Cream Formed

The original Cream only existed for just over two years, but no one can say those two years had little impact on the broader musical landscape of the time.

In Cream, the world found what many considered then and still consider today the first "supergroup." By that point, Eric Clapton had more than earned himself an impressive reputation as a guitarist with the Yardbirds and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Both bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker were members of the Graham Bond Organisation, another group toiling in the realm of British blues rock. Bruce joined the Bluesbreakers for a brief time, where he initially met Clapton.

All three of these musicians ran in the same circles – it was only a matter of time before an idea for a new group was hatched. Clapton in particular was well aware of the potential power of a trio. Bigger bands were one thing, but if you could anchor a small group around one lead guitarist...

"I'd seen Buddy [Guy] live and it was unbelievable," Clapton recalled to Uncut in 2004. "He was in total command and I thought, 'This is it.' So yes. That's where the idea came from. It seemed to me you could do anything with a trio – at least if you were a genius and a maestro like Buddy Guy."

How the Trio First Met

It was around this time that Clapton could be found popping up at Graham Bond shows and sitting in with the band. But Baker didn't know much about the guitarist then.

"I didn't realize who he was," Baker said in a 1997 interview with the writer Jim Clash. "To me, he was this young guy I got on extremely well with from the first time we met, and one hell of a guitar player. I was totally unaware that he had this huge following."

Baker wound up going to see Clapton in the Bluesbreakers, at which point he finally breached the subject of starting a new band.

"After the gig, [Baker] drove me back to London in his Rover," Clapton later recalled. "I was very impressed with his car and his driving. He was telling me that he wanted to start a band, and I had been thinking about it too. It was a sort of coincidence – synchronicity, really. We were thinking the same thing at the same time."

Read More: The Day Eric Clapton Announced Cream's Breakup

Of course, they needed a bassist, and Clapton immediately suggested Bruce, whom he'd enjoyed playing with in the Bluesbreakers, plus Bruce and Baker were already familiar with working together in Graham Bond. According to Clapton, Baker initially balked at the idea, saying he didn't "get on very well at all" with the bassist.

"Then I said I would only go in with Ginger if he would go in with Jack," Clapton recalled in 2004. "So he had to say OK."

How Cream Decided on Their Singer

One thing that hadn't yet been figured out was who would be the lead singer — the "frontman" of this new trio. Clapton had thought it would be him, following in the steps of fellow guitarist Buddy Guy.

"I was suffering from delusions of grandeur in that direction," he admitted, "because once I stepped into the reality of trying to realize my musical vision with Cream, it just disappeared. On the first day of rehearsal with Jack and Ginger it was obvious to me that I didn't have what it took."

Bruce didn't exactly volunteer himself for the position though. He became it "by default."

"When we first got together, we had a competition to see who wouldn't be the singer," he said in a 1997 interview, also with Jim Clash. "I didn't want to be singer, Eric didn't want to either. I guess I lost [Laughs]."

Cream was officially announced to the world via a cryptic news release from their manager, Robert Stigwood: "The first is last and the last is first, but the first, the second and the last are Cream. They will be called Cream." Just a couple weeks later, they played their first show on July 29, 1966 at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester.

Listen to Cream's Debut Single, 'Wrapping Papper'

In the end, the lineup simply made sense to the members of Cream.

"I think that band couldn't have happened if it had been any other drummer, another bass player, singer, guitarist," Bruce reflected. "I think with all successful musical groups, it's the individual personalities. It's like Duke Ellington and his great bands — you can't imagine Cootie Williams not being there, or Sam Woodyard. I couldn't imagine anyone else being in Cream."