35 Facts About Ginger Baker

Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker was an English drummer.

Ginger Baker's drumming is regarded for its style, showmanship, and use of two bass drums instead of the conventional single one, after the manner of the jazz drummer Louie Bellson.

Ginger Baker was an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Cream in 1993, of the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2008, and of the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2016.

Ginger Baker was noted for his eccentric, often self-destructive lifestyle, and he struggled with heroin addiction for many decades.

Ginger Baker was married four times and fathered three children.

Peter Baker was born in Lewisham, South London; he was nicknamed "Ginger" for his shock of flaming red hair.

Ginger Baker's father, Frederick Louvain Formidable Baker, was a bricklayer employed by his own father, who owned a building business, and was a lance corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals in World War II; he died in the 1943 Dodecanese campaign.

Ginger Baker began playing drums at around 15 years of age.

Ginger Baker then joined the short-lived "supergroup" Blind Faith, comprising Eric Clapton, bassist Ric Grech from Family, and Steve Winwood from Traffic on keyboards and vocals.

In November 1971, Ginger Baker decided to set up a recording studio in Lagos, then the capital of Nigeria.

Ginger Baker decided that it would be an interesting experience to travel to Nigeria overland across the Sahara Desert.

Paul McCartney and Wings recorded the song "Picasso's Last Words " for Band on the Run at the studio, with Ginger Baker playing a tin can full of gravel.

Ginger Baker formed Ginger Baker Gurvitz Army with brothers Paul and Adrian Gurvitz in 1974.

In 1980, Ginger Baker joined Hawkwind after initially playing as a session musician on the album Levitation.

Ginger Baker moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s intending to become an actor.

Ginger Baker unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of the Homeless Man in the 1989 "Weird Al" Yankovic comedy film UHF and appeared in the 1990 TV series Nasty Boys as Ginger.

Ginger Baker lived in Parker, Colorado between 1993 and 1999, in part due to his passion for polo.

On 3 May 2005, Ginger Baker reunited with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce for a series of Cream concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden.

Ginger Baker cited Phil Seamen, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones and Baby Dodds as main influences on his style.

Ginger Baker recollected that in 1966 he began to adopt two bass drums in his setup after he and Moon watched drummer Sam Woodyard at a Duke Ellington concert.

Ginger Baker preferred light, thin, fast-rebounding drum sticks, usually held using a matched grip.

Ginger Baker's playing made use of syncopation and ride cymbal patterns characteristic of bebop and other advanced forms of jazz, as well as the frequent application of African rhythms.

Ginger Baker was one of the first drummers to move his left foot between his left bass drum pedal and hi-hat pedal to create various combinations.

Somewhat atypically, Ginger Baker mounted all of the tom-toms on his drum kit in a vertical fashion, with the shells of the drums perpendicular to the floor, as opposed to the more common practice of angling the rack toms toward the player.

Ginger Baker's style influenced many drummers, including John Bonham, Peter Criss, Neil Peart, Phil Collins, Stewart Copeland, Ian Paice, Terry Bozzio, Dave Lombardo, Tommy Aldridge, Bill Bruford, Alex Van Halen, Danny Seraphine and Nick Mason.

Ginger Baker was voted the third greatest drummer of all time in a Rolling Stone reader poll and has been considered the "drummer who practically invented the rock drum solo".

Ginger Baker set the bar for what rock drumming could be.

Ginger Baker was portrayed by actor Derek Aasland in the Emmy nominated Hendrix, a 2000 biographical television film directed by Leon Ichaso about the life of Jimi Hendrix.

Ginger Baker was infamous for his irascible personality and violent temper, as well as for confrontations with musicians and fans.

Ginger Baker struggled with heroin addiction throughout his life, having begun using the drug in the 1960s while a jazz drummer in London clubs.

Ginger Baker estimated that he stopped using the drug around 29 times during his life, but was only able to quit permanently after moving to a small Italian village in 1981 where he took up olive farming.

In February 2013, Ginger Baker said he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from years of heavy smoking, and chronic back pain from degenerative osteoarthritis.

In February 2016, Ginger Baker was diagnosed with "serious heart issues" and cancelled all future gigs.

On 25 September 2019, Ginger Baker's family reported that he was critically ill in hospital, and asked fans to keep him in their prayers.

Ginger Baker died on 6 October 2019 at the age of 80, at a hospital in Canterbury.