5-14-13 Jack Bruce
Happy birthday Jack Bruce ! (Born 1943)
I think the first recordings by Jack Bruce are with either Manfred Mann or the Graham Bond Organization; kind of a coin toss!
I know there’s a new 4CD boxed set of the Graham Bond Organization that’s supposed to have some stereo GBO titles! Not just that crappy sounding live album that Charly seems to re-issue every now and again!
The first we all heard of Jack Bruce was “I Feel Free” by Cream, after it was all a done deal, Eric Clapton already being “God”, people already being ‘afraid’ of Ginger Baker – because of his famous temper!
I am too young to have seen Cream play live. I wouldn’t have known about it anyway; I wasn’t reading the music trade papers when Cream were together…yet! I only got the US releases as I could find them. Had to get the “Best Of” album to get “Spoonful”; I never knew about the US 45 of it until decades later!
The idea of a Jack Bruce solo career has always appealed to me; my favorite is probably “How’s Tricks?” – but I am biased; I saw that tour!
In the 80’s, I met and befriended Pete Brown, Mr. Bruce’s lyricist. I still hum “Doing That Scrapyard Thing” to myself at inopportune times (at work, drinking etc.)
Ronkanefiles's Blog 
I can’t overemphasize the impact Jack has had on my musical world. “Songs For A Tailor” came along at the perfect moment in my life and really showed me how far the concept of a pop song could be expanded. Those first three solo albums are still my favorite. I’m grateful he’s still with us, and that I got to see him live in the early 90s (with Ginger!). Hearing him play “Theme For An Imaginary Western” and “Tickets To Waterfalls” were true bucket list moments.
I, for one, will always cherish hearing Mr. Ware playing with the Record Man Orchestra [USA] covering “Doing That Scrapyard Thing!”