It is nearly unbelievable that“Cream” was only together for two years.

Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker got together in 1966 and formed Cream. Their idea for this group was to play music that was different and influence the growth of new sounds, and they were very successful. They went on to sell millions of albums and play to sell out venues everywhere.

With Eric Clapton’s ‘bluesy’ guitar sound and occasional lead vocals, Jack Bruce as the lead singer/songwriter and bassist and Ginger Baker as their drummer, the band would have a major impact on the world of hard rock and influence many heavy metal bands of the future.

Music fans were already familiar with Eric Clapton from his days with the Yardbirds and Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but it was not until Cream that Eric Clapton became known as a guitar god.

In December of 1966, Cream released their first album titled “Fresh Cream“.  The album was rooted in “Blues” but had a different sound which appealed to the kids awaiting a new sound.  It reached British Top Ten in just a few months and left growing “Cream” fans salivating for more.  The more would come nearly a year later in the form of what has become a classic album titled Disraeli Gears.

Disraeli Gears was loaded with hits.  The album dabbled in hard rock, psychedelic rock and blues. It was an instant success in Britain and the United States of America.  The album reached number 5 on the charts.

Disraeli Gears’ greatest hit was “Sunshine of your Love”, but it would be hard to chose a best song on that album because of it’s quality and genius frombegin to end.

1. Strange Brew     2:46
2. Sunshine Of Your Love
3. World Of Pain    3:02
4. Dance The Night Away    3:34
5. Blue Condition    3:29
6. Tales Of Brave Ulysses    2:46
7. Swlabr    2:31
8. We’re Going Wrong    3:27
9. Outside Woman Blues    2:25
10. Take It Back    3:05
11. Mother’s Lament

Cream released  a double album titled “Wheels of Fire”.  The album had two discs, one recorded in studio, while the other was recorded live in San Francisco.  This album topped the American music charts and put the rock group into a “supergroup” status.  The band is known to be the first “supergroup” and their double album Wheels of Fire” is the first double album to go platinum.

Cream disbanded  at it’s peak.  They played their last concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 26, 1968, but the band had one more album left in them: they released their appropriately titled “Goodbye” album in early 1969.

Iron Butterfly began forming it’s band in San Diego in 1966 when band leader Doug Ingle and drummer Ron Bushy got together.  Soon after the formation of Iron Butterfly, the band moved to Los Angelas California where they began playing in local clubs.  It was not very long before they secured a recording contract and in 1968 the band released their first album titled, Heavy, which went on to be a contributor to the heavy metal tag to this genre of music.

After the band was signed, they began touring with The Doors and Jefferson Airplane which gave them a lot of exposure, but soon after the release of their first album, the group was dismantled when bassist Jerry Penrod, vocalist, Darryl DeLoach and guitarist Danny Weis left the band.  Jerry Penrod was replaced by Lee Dorman and Danny  Weis was replaced by Erik Brann.

The new revamped group  recorded their most popular album “In A Gadda Da Vida” later that year.  The album went on to sell over four millionduplicates and was the first album to receive platinum certification after the RIAA instituted the award.

Iron Butterfly’s follow up album “Ball” went gold, but never reached their previous album’s popularity.  The declining popularity of Iron Butterfly was further strained when Erik Braunn left the group.  He was replaced by Mike Pinera and Larry Reinhardt.

Iron Butterfly broke up in 1971, and althoughBraunn and Bushy tried to rejuvenate the group in the mid 1970′s, they were unsuccessful.