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Jack Bruce, Former Cream Bassist, Has Died at 71

Jack Bruce Dead 71 Cream Bassist

Jack Bruce, singer/bassist for Cream, has died today at the age of 71 according to a Facebook post from his family. The Scotland Herald reports that Bruce passed away of liver disease, and Bruce’s publicist confirmed to Rolling Stone that the legendary bassist “died today at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family.”

While part of Cream, alongside Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, Bruce helped define the archetype of the rock ‘n’ roll power trio. Over the course of four albums in three years, the band churned out a whole host of gritty, stripped-down, blues-indebted rock tracks that held fast to the grimy guitar, bass, and drums formula, before Bruce eventually launched out on a solo career of his own. Following the dissolution of that prototypical supergroup in 1968, Bruce turned out 14 solo albums, beginning with 1969’s Songs for a Tailor, up through March’s Silver Rails.

As his family put it in their Facebook post, “the world of music will be a poorer place without him, but he lives on in his music and forever in our hearts.”