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Ginger Baker, the prodigiously talented and volcanically temperamental rock drummer who helped form Cream, rock-and-roll’s first supergroup, and inspired awe and imitation in a generation of drummers, died on Oct. 6. He was 80. The Associated Press reported Baker’s family saying on Twitter that he died Sunday: “We are very sad to say that Ginger has passed away peacefully in hospital this morning.” Gary Hibbert, a media representative for Baker’s family, confirmed his death, the AP said. Cream, a trio that included guitarist-singer Eric Clapton and bassist-singer Jack Bruce, set a powerful standard for “supergroups,” bands composed of independent star...

Legendary CREAM drummer Ginger Baker is "critically ill" and in the hospital, his family has revealed. "Please keep him in your prayers tonight," the family wrote in a brief statement posted to Baker's official Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon. Baker, who turned 80 in August, has experienced a number of health issues in recent years. In 2016, he underwent open heart surgery, which forced him to cancel a run of tour dates. During recovery, a fall also left him with swollen legs and feet. In 2013, he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and he is also said to...

Jack Bruce, the singer and bassist for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Cream, has passed away, his family confirmed the musician's passing on his Facebook page. He was 71. "It is with great sadness that we, Jack’s family, announce the passing of our beloved Jack: husband, father, granddad, and all round legend. The world of music will be a poorer place without him, but he lives on in his music and forever in our hearts," the Bruce family wrote. Bruce's publicist added, "He died today at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family." No other details were...

It would be fair to say that the crashy culmination of NASA's LCROSS mission on October 9th was a technical success but a public-relations fizzle. LCROSS on final approach LCROSS and its Centaur rocket prepare to crash into the Moon. NASA On the plus side, the engineering team for LCROSS (short for Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) delivered as promised, deftly driving a spent 2½-ton Centaur rocket into a target zone near the Moon's south pole only 2 miles (3½ km) across. Four minutes later, after flying through the debris cloud raised by the rocket's crash, an instrument-packed 600-kg...

It’s a special thing when artists who’ve achieved greatness in their own right join forces to create a new musical entity. We’ve been blessed with a number of these “supergroups”: Blind Faith, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Velvet Revolver and Golden Smog, to name just a few. When a supergroup clicks, it can be magical. But when they don’t work…look out. The Million Dollar Quintet It’s a little-known fact that the Million Dollar Quartet —Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins— was originally a quintet. The fifth member of this historic December 4, 1956, Sun Studios jam...