50 years ago: Cream “Sunshine of Your Love” charted

Sunshine of Your Love Cream

Writer(s): Peter Brown, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton (see lyrics here) Released: December 1967 First Charted: January 6, 1968 Peak: 5 US, 6 CB, 4 HR, 1 CL, 25 UK, 3 CN, 18 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.0 video, 300.94 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 1966, Eric Clapton had established himself as the premiere blues guitarist in Britain, thanks to stints in the Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Feeling confined by the latter group, he and fellow Bluesbreaker Jack Bruce formed a power trio with drummer Ginger Baker, who’d worked with Bruce in the Graham Bond Organisation. The resulting supergroup, Cream, only lasted two years but had a lasting impact on rock music. “No song illustrates this better than “Sunshine of Your Love,” which mixed hard rock with aspects of psychedelia to wonderful effect. The song centers around what is perhaps one of the most simplistic guitar riffs of all time, courtesy of ‘Slowhand’ himself, Eric Clapton. In many ways though, restraint is what propels “Sunshine of Your Love” forward, although Clapton’s remarkable skill with the guitar are on prominent display throughout the solo section.” UCR “Vocal duties are shared between Clapton and Jack Bruce, as the latter’s menacing bass gives the song it’s hefty low end. Drummer Ginger Baker cuts slightly loose during the song’s chorus, but otherwise keeps time as if he were in a military band.” UCR The lyrics were written by Peter Brown, a beat poet who was friends with Baker and Bruce. He also wrote the words for Cream’s songs “I Feel Free” and “White Room.” SF Bruce based the song a distinctive bass riff he developed after seeing Jimi Hendrix in concert on January 29, 1967, at the Saville Theatre in London. WK As Clapton said, “it was strictly a dedication to Jimi.” WK After Cream released “Sunshine of Your Love,” “the guitar legend began adding the song to his concert setlists,” UCR Unaware that he’d inspired the song. SF According to Bruce, Booker T. Jones and Otis Redding heard the song before its release and both said it would be a smash. SF Atlantic Record’s Ahmet Ertegun initially dismissed it as “psychedelic hogwash,” SFSF Resources: SF Songfacts UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (6/20/2013). “Top 100 Classic Rock Songs” WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/1/2022.

Today in Music (1967): Cream Disraeli Gears released

Disraeli Gears Cream

Released: November 2, 1967 Peak: 4 US, 5 UK, 10 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Strange Brew (Clapton/Collins/Pappalardi) [2:50] (6/18/67, 5 CL, 17 UK, 23 AU, 4 DF) Sunshine of Your Love (Brown/Bruce/Clapton) [4:13] (1/13/68, 5 BB, 6 CB, 2 GR, 4 HR, 1 CL, 25 UK, 3 CN, 18 AU, 1 DF) World of Pain (Collins/Pappalardi) [3:05] Dance the Night Away (Brown/Bruce) [3:36] Blue Condition (Baker) [3:32] Tales of Brave Ulysses (Clapton/Sharp) [2:49] (6/67, 10 CL, 23 AU, 13 DF) Swlabr (Brown/Bruce) [2:34] (12/67, 3 CN, 14 DF) We’re Going Wrong (Bruce) [3:29] Outside Woman Blues (Reynolds) [2:27] Take It Back (Brown/Bruce) [3:08] Mother’s Lament (traditional) [1:47] Total Running Time: 33:02 The Players: Eric Clapton (guitar, vocals) Jack Bruce (bass, vocals) Ginger Baker (drums)

Rating: 4.211 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The threesome of Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and legendary guitarist Eric Clapton forming the band Cream was a monumental effort of jazz, blues, and psychedelic rock during the British rock period of the late 1960s. Cream, with their raw fury of intense sound, was renowned for their rare talent of taking songs of complex arrangements and making them an act of spontaneous beauty during live shows.” AMG “Disraeli Gears, their second release, was an essential landmark recording that brought listeners to the direction they were soon to take with Wheels of Fire. Taking on a circus-spinning arsenal of sounds and effects, Cream's fashionable art is a blend of highly sustained drenched distortion, rampant percussion, and a kaleidoscope of various musical textures and colors, both in melody and rhythm.” AMG “Each of Disraeli Gears’ list of 11 tunes is original in format, containing it own unique brands of dashing blues-laden guitar riffs by Clapton, as well as thick basslines and smashing drum leads.” AMG The album saw “the group veering away, quite heavily, from their blues roots and induldging in more psychedelic sounds.” WK “Highlights of the record feature Clapton's awe-inspiring and soul-gripping guitar leads, including hits such as Sunshine of Your Love and Tales of Brave Ulysses.” AMG The former features co-lead vocals from Bruce and Clapton while “the latter is a magical poem laced into a line of mesmerizing chordal changes. Disraeli Gears is a definitive staple of early British rock and a sensational addition to the avid classic rock listener.” AMG Strange Brew “was based on a 12-bar blues song called ‘Lawdy Mama.’” WK “Take It Back,” which featured Bruce on harmonica, “may have been inspired by the contemporary media images of American students burning their draft cards.” WK Those two songs and Clapton’s arrangement of Outside Woman Blues are “the most blues-like tunes on the album.” WK Amusingly, the album’s title came about when Mick Turner, one of the band’s roadies, was talking to Clapton about getting a racing bike with “disraeli” gears. What he meant was “derailleur” gears. Benjamin Disraeli was the name of a 19th century British Prime Minister. WK The classic album cover is a psychedelic collage designed by Australian artist Martin Sharp. His goal was to capture what he called the “warm fluorescent sound” of the band’s music. WK The same cover was used for the 1997 Cream box set Those Were the Days. Notes: Cream’s official output during their short existence consisted of two studio albums and two albums of both studio and live material. The Cream box set Those Were the Days is an excellent way to get all of that material, with all the studio material on 2 discs and the live material on 2 more. The live discs also encompass the two Live Cream collections released soon after the band dissolved in 1970 and 1972.

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Shawn Haney WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 4/7/2008; last updated 11/16/2023.