Today is the 58th birthday of legendary drummer Ginger Baker, who was born in Lewisham, England. Although Baker is perhaps best known for his work with Cream, he's worked with a number of other bands -- including Blind Faith, Air Force and the Baker-Gurvitz Army -- and had a successful solo career, basically reinventing the notion of what a rock 'n' roll drummer can become. Baker got an early start, gigging with jazz bands in his teens before dabbling in blues and R&B. He replaced future Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts in Blues Incorporated, then formed the Graham Bond Organization with bandmates Graham Bond and Jack Bruce. Together, he and Bruce went on to form Cream with Eric Clapton, playing with them on such signature albums as Disraeli Gears before their untimely disbandment in 1968. Baker joined the short-lived Blind Faith, then formed Air Force in 1970. A percussion-oriented outfit, Air Force's lineup included the likes of Steve Winwood, Graham Bond, Remi Kabaka and Rick Grech. The band's musical outings whetted Baker's appetite for African rhythms, and he moved to Nigeria in 1971 to build the first 16-track studio in West Africa. From there he formed another band, Salt, and recorded albums such as Paul McCartney's Band on the Run. In 1974, he formed the Baker-Gurvitz Army, recording jazz-fueled rock until the end of the decade. In the 1980s Baker lived in Milan, Italy, where he set up a drum school and kicked his 21-year heroin habit. In 1986, he was coerced into playing on Public Image Limited's Album, and, in 1990, he joined forces with the Masters of Reality. Baker has been living in California for a number of years now. There, he performs with BBM (Baker, Bruce and Thin Lizzy's Gary Moore). His most recent albums are that band's 1994 release Around the Next Dream and the Ginger Baker Trio's Going Back Home. Other birthdays: Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), 52; Johnny Nash, 57; Billy J. Kramer, 54; Elliot Laurie (Looking Glass), 49; John Deacon (Queen), 46; Joey Tempest (Europe), 34 and MC Eric (Technotronic), 27.