Members of RUSH, QUEEN, THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, WHITESNAKE and THE KINKS are among the musicians who reacted on social media to the passing of Ginger Baker. The legendary CREAM drummer died yesterday (October 6) at the age of 80. Baker's family posted a message to fans on Twitter, stating he "passed away peacefully" at a hospital in the United Kingdom. "He was in no pain and had recently been able to see and speak to his children, close family and special friends," his daughter Nettie Baker told CNN in a statement.

Baker had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in addition to chronic back pain from degenerative osteoarthritis. In 2016 Baker was forced to scrap a string of live dates after undergoing open-heart surgery.

Back in 2013, Baker told Rolling Stone that his health was "not good. It's troubling. At the end of the gig I'm absolutely exhausted. I've got degenerative osteoarthritis, which is extremely painful and I'm on a regiment with a health service pain management control. Apart from that I've got COPD from smoking."

During his musical beginnings on the London jazz scene of the late 1950s, Peter "Ginger" Baker forged a name for himself for his unconventional drum setup and flamboyant style. In 1966, after seeing Eric Clapton play in London, he formed the power trio CREAM with Clapton and bassist Jack Bruce. Over the next two years, CREAM sold 15 million albums, scoring such hits as "White Room", "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine Of Your Love".

Baker, who gained a reputation as the most uncontrollable musician on the scene, was the subject of a 2013 documentary, "Beware Of Mr. Baker", which painted the title character as a chain-smoking, profanity-spewing, mean-spirited, entitled, grouchy, vile and self-destructive man with otherworldly talent and tragic flaws.

