The Story Behind Cream's 'White Room': A Poem Turned Heavy Metal Blueprint

In the middle of the most innovative time in music history, today’s classic hit White Room by Cream composed of Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, and Jack Bruce was 5 years ahead of its time. And the amazing lyrics came from one of those ‘gut check’ moments in life when a person faces great adversity or despair. This episode is about one of those critical life-changing events... With one foot in the grave, professional lyricist Pete Brown was in the midst of fighting a chemical addiction when He wrote a poem about his apartment. A poem about real estate. Then one of rock’s greatest trios Cream took that poem, cut it down, and added their heavy touch to the song to make a smash in the late 60s... influencing both Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, pretty much inventing heavy metal. The problem is the three members of Cream could not stand each other. In fact, the singer was fired one night on his way to the stage and the band secretly broke up before White Room was even a hit. The story is next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.