1967 Rock Hit Named Among the Greatest Guitar Riffs of All Time - It Still Rocks

Cream, despite its extremely short tenure, delivered a number of the most iconic songs in rock history.

Forbes listed Cream as No. 22 on the list of the best rock bands of all time, despite their short tenure together.

"Throughout 1966 to 1968 Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce were laying the groundwork for many of rock's most iconic sub-genres from blues rock to psychedelic rock to early heavy metal," Forbes wrote.

Each member of the band was recognized through various songs, like Baker's work on Toad.

Eric Clapton Receives Acclaim for 'Sunshine of Your Love'

Clapton received his praise from Guitar World, which ranked Sunshine of Your Love No. 14 on the list of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.

"Sunshine was actually bassist Jack Bruce's riff, inspired by witnessing a Jimi Hendrix gig. Clapton simply doubled Bruce's part, adding 7th chord strums on the repeats. It's the ideal riff for learning the blues scale because it hits each note almost in sequence," Guitar World wrote.

"Clapton used his psychedelic SG known as The Fool, turning off the tone on the neck pickup for the most famous example of his 'Woman Tone'. Given the myth around Clapton, hard info on his amp choice is thin on the ground, but at this time he favored the Marshall JTM-100."

Eric Clapton Wanted to Leave Cream for 1 Band

While on the road with Cream in 1967, Clapton got his first taste of the Crackers, who would go on to become The Band.

"I knew this man in L.A., who was an entrepreneur of different sorts of things," Clapton recalled. "And he had a tape by a band called the Crackers, and he lent it to me, and I took it on the road with me. And it became my drug."

"And for me, it was serious. It was serious, and it was grown up, and it was mature, and it told stories, and it had beautiful harmonies, fantastic singing, beautiful musicianship, without any virtuosity. Just, you know, economy, and beauty."

Clapton recalled wanting to be in The Band so bad he "went and told Jack and Ginger that I couldn't go on anymore. There was something else happening."

Sunshine of Your Love reached No. 5 on the Billboard charts.

Related: 1966 Rock Hit Named Among Greatest Drum Solos of All Time

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 5:37 PM.