On This Day: Cream Released “Wrapping Paper” in the UK

Cream’s first single, “Wrapping Paper,” was released in the UK on October 7, 1966. Jack Bruce’s official discography identifies it precisely: Reaction 591007, backed with “Cat’s Squirrel.” Sixty years later, it remains a revealing place to begin with the trio. Jack Bruce’s official discography

A debut the musicians remembered differently

In a 1997 interview later republished by Guitar World, lyricist Pete Brown recalled hearing Bruce’s music and supplying the words that became “Wrapping Paper.” Bruce said he had wanted to unsettle expectations of Cream as a blues band. Bruce, Baker and Brown’s interview

Ginger Baker remembered it less fondly. He criticized the result while describing an ambition to make a pop record. Those are different participants’ later judgments, and the disagreement is part of the story. There is no need to turn either recollection into a verdict on the song.

With Bruce, Eric Clapton and Baker together, the debut documents a band still working out how its personalities and songwriting would fit into a single. Listen to both sides of that original pairing before jumping ahead to the more familiar Cream recordings.

Does “Wrapping Paper” sound like a promising opening move, or an unexpected detour? The musicians themselves left plenty of room for that argument.

Want to explore Clapton’s guitar sound beyond Cream? Read our full guide linked above.