The first rock supergroup released its debut album 60 years ago and foreshadowed hard rock

Cream’s debut album, “Fresh Cream,” arrived in late 1966, introducing a trio whose brief career would leave a lasting mark on rock music.

Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker had already built reputations on Britain’s blues and jazz scenes. Clapton had played with the Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, while Bruce and Baker had performed together in the Graham Bond Organisation.

Cream rejected the usual division between a lead singer and backing musicians. All three members helped shape the sound, often turning songs into extended instrumental performances onstage. Those concerts became central to the group’s development and influenced the later structure of jam-rock improvisation.

The band’s name suggested that it brought together the “cream” of British rock. Its members’ strong personalities and frequent disagreements made the relationship difficult, but their differences also contributed to Cream’s distinctive sound. The group broke up after only a few years, before reaching the peak of its commercial earnings.

Clapton’s use of a Gibson Les Paul with a Marshall amplifier helped fuel the coming era of guitar heroes. Cream also defined a guitar-driven hard-rock blues style that influenced heavy metal and later bands, including Led Zeppelin. Its second album, “Disraeli Gears,” was shaped by Jimi Hendrix’s breakthrough in Britain in early 1967, while Hendrix later performed “Sunshine of Your Love” in concert.