(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
In conversations about the greatest drummers of all time, Ginger Baker is almost always the name at the top. Beyond his obvious knack for unparalleled percussionist technique, Baker was also something of a prodigy, especially when it came to viewing music as a holistic entity. After all, he understood that drumming wasn’t just a mere component, but part of a bigger, broader and oftentimes improvised artistic expression.
What makes this particular statement even more true is that it seemed to be one shared with many major players across the board, from Eric Clapton to John Bonham. In their eyes, Baker wasn’t just an exceptional drummer but someone who knew how to be around the instrument and the broader production, evoking a certain charm that felt refreshing and revolutionary. As Bonham noted, “[Baker] was the first to come out with this ‘new’ attitude—that a drummer could be a forward musician in a rock band, and not something that was stuck in the background and forgotten about.”
Everything in Baker’s life, from his drumming to his external antics, was deemed explosive by nature and unapologetically himself, no matter the situation. Those who met him—famous peers or otherwise—often evaluated him as someone who you either loved or hated, with his self-assuredness often interpreted as either artistic brilliance or egotistical stand-offishness. Either way, he never held back his opinions, especially when it came to disregarding the talents or achievements of others.
Many of these instances came from a personal place of disdain or confusion, with certain musicians acting in a way that made Baker feel undermined—something he had no time for and made him feel the need to push back where it hurt. Other times, it concerned the musicians’ material, which, if it was bad, made Baker feel intensely put off, aggravated about ever coming close to what others considered to be “art”, when it was just, in his view, pure nonsense.
Bands Ginger Baker hated:
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