Following the death of Ginger Baker at the age of 80, many of the artists he collaborated with or influenced turned to social media to pay tribute to the late Cream drummer.
“Ginger Baker, great drummer, wild and lovely guy,” Paul McCartney tweeted Sunday, soon after the drummer’s death was announced. “We worked together on the ‘Band on the Run’ album in his ARC Studio, Lagos, Nigeria. Sad to hear that he died but the memories never will.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea wrote on Instagram, “So much freedom in his playing. What a wildman. Rhythms we’ve hear all our lives he plucked them out of the sky. Rest In Peace Ginger Baker.”
“One of the greatest drummers of all time. Begin with Cream’s Disraeli Gears,” Steven Van Zandt tweeted.
Baker died Sunday at a London hospital, nearly two weeks after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer’s family announced he was “critically ill.”
The family of Baker’s Cream band mate Jack Bruce said in a statement, “The Bruce family would like to extend their sincere condolences to Ginger Baker’s family, friends and fans. Surviving a love hate relationship, Ginger was like an older brother to Jack, their chemistry was truly spectacular. RIP Ginger, one of the greatest drummers of all time.”
