Jack Bruce, Spectrum Road, Bonnaroo Music Festival, 6/9/12 – photo by Dean Budnick

Cream bassist and singer Jack Bruce has passed away the age of 71. Bruce’s family confirmed the news via a post on the musician’s Facebook page, which reads:

It is with great sadness that we, Jack’s family, announce the passing of our beloved Jack: husband, father, granddad, and all round legend. The world of music will be a poorer place without him, but he lives on in his music and forever in our hearts.

Bruce founded Cream with guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker in 1966. Considered rock’s first supergroup, the trio went on to record four albums before breaking up in 1968. Cream sold over 35 million records during their short tenure, while their LP Wheels On Fire was awarded the world’s first ever platinum disc. Bruce penned many of the band’s most iconic tunes, including “Sunshine of Your Love,” “White Room,” “SWLABR” and “I Feel Free.”

In the years after Cream’s break up, Bruce began a solo career that would include numerous albums over the course of 45 years. The bassist would also reunite with Clapton and Baker for a series of reunion shows in 1993 and 2005, and the trio received the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. Bruce’s final album, Silver Rails, was released this year.