Song · Cream
“Strange Brew” by Cream
From the album Disraeli Gears (1967)
“Strange Brew” by Cream appears on 13 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1997 and 2025. It was first released in 1967 on the album Disraeli Gears. Its best result is #21 on the 102.9 The Whale Rocktober: Scare 24. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,204 classic rock song of all time.
"Strange Brew", the Cream single from 1967 that also found a home on their second album, Disraeli Gears, started life as another song. That April, on the band's first New York trip and at the start of the Disraeli Gears sessions, they cut "Lawdy Mama" at Atlantic Studios twice: once as a regular blues shuffle, once pushed into straight rock 'n' roll time. Felix Pappalardi, producing, grabbed that second take and, with his wife Gail Collins, turned it into "Strange Brew". Eric Clapton's verdict was that they'd made a pop song without wrecking the groove underneath.
Clapton takes the lead vocal rather than Jack Bruce, the band's usual singer, with Bruce on bass, Ginger Baker on drums and Tom Dowd recording. It reached number 17 on the UK chart and was the last Cream single Reaction Records issued in Britain.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 335 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2002 | 455 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 448 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2011 | 630 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 644 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2013 | 916 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) | 1000 |
| 2014 | 943 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2014 | 591 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2015 | 924 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) | 1007 |
| 2015 | 21 | 102.9 The Whale | 102.9 The Whale Rocktober: Scare 24 | 24 |
| 2020 | 456 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) | 1025 |
| 2022 | 758 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
| 2025 | 954 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) | 1043 |
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