BLACK SABBATH's BILL WARD Pays Tribute To CREAM's GINGER BAKER

Original BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has paid tribute to Ginger Baker. The legendary CREAM drummer died on 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.

Earlier today, Ward tweeted: "The bass drums are not in time with each other, I search for a 1, listen to the hats, no 1 on the hats, listen for 4 beats on a crash ride, I can't find them, they're in his head. I fall back and listen to the entirety of the rhythm, I hear it all, it's quiet, brilliant, unique, a leap forward, and alluring, what is this, multiple rhythms, endorsing progress, showing what can be brought out of a drum kit, when I thought I understood, he changed everything around, and what I was holding onto, pushed me away and almost demanded I start all over and listen closer this time.

"This man I'd never met, this traveler, rule breaker, this man, who showed the very many that change is possible, will live forever, his final punctuation marks leave me listening to the drums of Africa, and I am brought to a place to sit and rest and look at the swollen dark clouds, now opening slightly allowing sun rays to shoot to the ground, something great has happened. Something beautiful has passed.

"Thank you, Ginger. Rest in peace. Respectfully, Bill Ward"

In a Rolling Stone interview, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi revealed that, when Ward exited the band in 2012, producer Rick Rubin thought Baker would be a good replacement.

Iommi told the magazine: "I thought, 'Bloody hell?' I just couldn't see that." SABBATH ended up hiring RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk to play on their comeback album, 2013's "13".

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.