Song · Cream
“Tales Of Brave Ulysses” by Cream
From the album Disraeli Gears (1967)
“Tales Of Brave Ulysses” by Cream appears on 14 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1982 and 2026. It was first released in 1967 on the album Disraeli Gears. Its best result is #377 on the 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,857 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Tales of Brave Ulysses" first slipped out in May 1967 on the flip side of Cream's "Strange Brew" single, then took its place on Disraeli Gears that November. The words came from the artist Martin Sharp, who lived in Eric Clapton's building and passed along a poem; he'd written it to the tune of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" as Judy Collins sang it. Clapton set it to music of his own, with the Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" as the spark.
The real news is the guitar: Clapton works a wah-wah pedal from start to finish, one of the earliest records to put the gadget to use, and the track swoons and lurches like a ship in heavy weather. Jack Bruce sings and plays bass, Ginger Baker drives the drums, Felix Pappalardi produced, Tom Dowd recorded. Cream liked the chords enough to lean on them again for "White Room".
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 | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 486 | 95.5 KLOS | KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) | 499 |
| 1994 | 846 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) | 1000 |
| 1997 | 568 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2002 | 758 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 766 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2011 | 787 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 819 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2012 | 698 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) | 885 |
| 2015 | 377 | 102.9 The Whale | 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) | 500 |
| 2022 | 843 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
| 2023 | 1020 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) | 1043 |
| 2024 | 820 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2025 | 641 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) | 1043 |
| 2026 | 551 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Also listed as: Tales of Brave Ulysses; Tales Of Brave Ulyses.
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