"THE DEVIL & GINGER BAKER"

The last issue of Rolling Stone (Barack Obama cover) has a great feature called "The Devil and Ginger Baker" about the former Cream and Blind Faith drummer. The writer, Jay Bulger, is shooting a documentary on Ginger, one of the greatest drummers of all time, and one of the most difficult. You should check out the issue if you can still find it.

I actually interviewed Ginger Baker on the actual day that he was being deported from the U.S. The feds nabbed him for allegedly hiring some people without green cards on his Colorado ranch, and that, combined with something he got busted for 30 years earlier during the Blind Faith days, allowed them to force him out of the country. He moved to Africa where he now lives. But he had just released a jazz album with some local Colorado musicians, and was promoting it on his last day in the country. What a cranky guy. The interview was in a radio studio, and he asked me if he could smoke. I said no. He said, "What are you gonna do, arrest me?" That's how the interview went. A few months later, I told this story to Jack Bruce, who laughed and shook his head.