<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><br></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div>Courtesy of today's (October 26, 2014) Spokesman-Review.</div><div><br></div><div>-------------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div><h1 style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; clear: both; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 28px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Cream vocalist, bassist Jack Bruce dies at 71 </h1><h5 class="subhead" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; clear: both; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; line-height: 1; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">1960s group was awarded first-ever platinum disc</h5></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">LONDON – British musician Jack Bruce, best known as the lead vocalist and bass player of the power blues trio Cream, died Saturday. He was 71.</span></div><div><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bruce was one of the top musicians of the late 1960s, when Cream played its unique psychedelic blues tunes to packed houses in England and the United States. He was an important member of the British blues movement, which saw bands like the Animals and Rolling Stones first imitate and then expand on the American blues tradition as exemplified by Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and other stalwarts. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cream – widely cited as the original supergroup – were known for hits such as “I Feel Free” and “Sunshine of Your Love,” which featured Eric Clapton’s innovative guitar riffs, and Bruce’s vocals and roaring bass, backed by Ginger Baker’s explosive drumming. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They played a mix of traditional blues songs, with long, often improvised instrumental breaks, and their own tunes. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bruce enjoyed a long solo career after Cream’s acrimonious breakup, and in 2005 he reunited with former Cream bandmates for critically acclaimed concerts in London and New York City. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Publicists LD Communications said Saturday that Bruce died of liver disease at his home in Suffolk, England. He had received a liver transplant some years ago and continued to suffer a variety of health problems. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In its heyday, Cream sold 35 million albums in just over two years and the band was awarded the world’s first ever platinum disc for their double album “Wheels of Fire.” Bruce wrote and sang most of the band’s signature songs. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The band started out playing traditional blues tunes but quickly added a psychedelic flavor that brought still more popularity at the height of the flower power era. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But they broke up with little warning, in the midst of their commercial success. Clapton wrote in his 2007 autobiography that the band lost its direction musically and that “any sense of unity” had disappeared. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“We were also suffering from an inability to get along,” he said. “We would just run away from one another. We never socialized together and never really shared ideas anymore.” </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He also felt they were eclipsed by the arrival on the scene of guitarist Jimi Hendrix. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bruce went on to record the first of his solo albums, “Songs For a Tailor.” He also fronted many of his own bands. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He was known for mixing rock, jazz and classical formats, and his songs were covered by many artists including Hendrix, David Bowie and Ella Fitzgerald. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bruce returned to the studio around 2000 to record his solo album “Shadows in the Air,” which hit No. 5 on the British jazz and blues chart. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bruce was playing and touring with his Big Blues Band until recently. In 2012 he played in Cuba, and performed in London at the famed bar Ronnie Scott’s. His 14th solo album, “Silver Rails,” was released earlier this year.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jack Bruce performs at the Zildjian Drummers Achievement Awards in London in 2008. Bruce was best known as a member of Cream.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 21px; overflow: visible !important;"><img src="cid:B10E014B-DC70-4354-92E0-B7356F297348" alt="image1.jpeg" id="B10E014B-DC70-4354-92E0-B7356F297348"></p></div><div>-------------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div><b>"Strange Brew"</b> by Cream</div><div><a href="http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Cream/Strange_Brew.mp3">http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Cream/Strange_Brew.mp3</a></div><div><br></div><div><b>"Sunshine of Your Love"</b> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">by Cream</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Cream/Sunshine_of_Your_Love.mp3">http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Cream/Sunshine_of_Your_Love.mp3</a></span></div><div><br></div><div><b>"White Room"</b> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">by Cream</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Cream/White_Room.mp3">http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Cream/White_Room.mp3</a></span></div><div><br></div><div>Rest well, Mr. Bruce.<br><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"There's room at the top they are telling you still.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If you want to be like the folks on the hill."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- John Lennon</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>