Cream

Cream formed in 1966 with Eric Clapton on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass and vocals, and Ginger Baker on drums. Their debut album 'Fresh Cream' came out that same year, and they quickly became known for stretching blues and pop into something heavier and more expansive. Songs like 'Sunshine Of Your Love' and 'White Room' turned into radio staples, built around Clapton's solos, Bruce's melodic bass lines, and Baker's forceful drumming.

They were only active for about two years, but in that time they recorded four studio albums that mixed blues covers with their own material. Their version of Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads' became a live showpiece, and tracks like 'Strange Brew' and 'I Feel Free' showed their knack for tight, psychedelic-tinged pop. The band's sound was less about a single genre and more about the push-and-pull between three strong players.

Cream broke up in 1968, not long after their peak. The reasons were fairly ordinary, creative differences, the strain of touring, and the general friction that comes with a power trio. What they left behind was a compact catalog that influenced a lot of the hard rock and jam bands that came after, mostly because it proved you could be both a blues act and a stadium act at the same time.