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Cover of Wheels of Fire by Cream
Cover: Wheels of Fire

Song · Cream

“Crossroads” by Cream

From the album Wheels of Fire (1968)

“Crossroads” by Cream appears on 61 radio countdowns from 22 stations between 1982 and 2025. It was first released in 1968 on the album Wheels of Fire. Its best result is #21 on the 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #364 indie & aaa song of all time.

61countdowns
22stations
#21best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1982–2025years charted

Watch

Cream Crossroads

Video from YouTube (1951Fidel). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Robert Johnson cut "Cross Road Blues" alone with his voice and slide guitar in 1936, and folklore wrapped it in the tale of a bluesman trading his soul at a crossroads. On their 1968 album Wheels of Fire, Cream took it electric as "Crossroads" and turned it into a firestorm: Eric Clapton singing and tearing off guitar lines, Jack Bruce's bass bounding all over the neck, Ginger Baker rolling like thunder underneath.

Felix Pappalardi produced, with Tom Dowd and Bill Halverson recording. The fiery blues rock take became one of Cream's best-known songs, set off a wave of cover versions and helped fix the song as a standard for blues-minded rockers. Clapton has never let go of it, naming his Crossroads Centre on Antigua, which helps people recover from addiction, and his Crossroads Guitar Festivals after it.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 208 95.5 KLOS KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) 499
1991 51 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1994 238 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1996 222 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 74 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1997 117 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 182 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
2001 628 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 272 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2002 945 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2004 271 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 213 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2007 239 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2009 295 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 258 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2010 71 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 193 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 73 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 194 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 472 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 227 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 87 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 21 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 52 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 465 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 482 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 98 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 135 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 282 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 225 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2015 25 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 52 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 328 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 257 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 478 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 362 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 488 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 488 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 510 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 493 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 397 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 493 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 326 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 171 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 579 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 303 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 416 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 342 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 989 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 591 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 254 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2023 381 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 270 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 618 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 664 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2024 655 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 278 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 450 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2025 878 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 497 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 267 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498

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