So you’ve thought about taking up a musical instrument, and damn, the electric base lines laid down by classic rock bands  just sends your nucleus accumben  all aflutter. Well bucko, it’s not that easy.   Thinking Stanley Clarke or maybe Les Claypool?  Got your eye on a nice Rickenbacker?  ODD asks you pause a moment and consider our dear departed Jack Bruce.

Jack Bruce studied classical cello and composition in the Julliard of Scotland, before at age 16, striking out for London and eventually the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He established an early pedigree, playing for John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and Manfred Mann. Then he hooked up with Eric Clapton and Ginger Barker to form the trio Cream.

In two years, before personalities fueled by too much acid broke them up, Cream sold 35 million albums – do you remember “albums? ” Wheels of Fire became the first platinum album. Jack was the bassist and lead singer.

Strange fact: his rock musical muse was Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds. ODD fact, when Eric Clapton left Cream, the first band he though about joining was The Band. (In the way that death can bring us together, Robbie Robinson sought reconciliation with his former drummer at Levon Helm’s bedside.

Here’s some tasty Crème and Jack Bruce reminisces from Eric Clapton.

Cause of Bruce’s death at 71 not disclosed, but ODDly he was a candidate for both cello scrotum and guitar nipple.