Rolling Stone editor
Jann Wenner credited British
rock band
Cream, which came together in 1966, as the first supergroup.
Eric Clapton, formerly of rock band
The Yardbirds and
blues rock band
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers;
Jack Bruce, formerly of
jazz/
rhythm and blues band
the Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers; and
Ginger Baker, formerly of the GBO, formed the band in 1966, recorded four albums, and disbanded in 1968. Guitarist Clapton and drummer Baker went on to form
Blind Faith, another blues rock supergroup which recruited former
Spencer Davis Group and
Traffic singer, keyboardist, and guitarist
Steve Winwood and
Family bassist
Ric Grech. The group recorded
one studio album before disbanding less than a year after formation. And in 1970 bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce joined
the Tony Williams Lifetime (formed the previous year), composed of three famous Miles Davis alumni: drummer
Tony Williams, guitarist
John McLaughlin and keyboardist Khalid Yasin (né
Larry Young). The term may have come from the 1968 album
Super Session with
Al Kooper,
Mike Bloomfield, and
Stephen Stills. The coalition of
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (formerly Crosby, Stills & Nash) in 1969 is another early example, given the success of their prior bands (
the Byrds,
Buffalo Springfield, and
the Hollies respectively). While the practice had declined by the 80s, in 1985 country superstars
Johnny Cash,
Willie Nelson,
Kris Kristofferson and
Waylon Jennings formed the first country supergroup,
The Highwaymen, going on to achieve three chart singles. Perhaps the most decorated line-up, the supergroup
Traveling Wilburys was formed in 1988, consisting of
Bob Dylan,
George Harrison,
Jeff Lynne,
Roy Orbison and
Tom Petty. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, supergroups such as
A Perfect Circle,
Audioslave and
Velvet Revolver made their mark. A perfect circle was created in 1999 by
Billy Howerdel and
Tool vocalist
Maynard James Keenan. Audioslave was created in 2001, composed of ex-members of
Rage Against the Machine and
Chris Cornell from
Soundgarden. The members of
Guns N’ Roses and
Scott Weiland from
Stone Temple Pilots came together to form Velvet Revolver in 2002. This is a time when supergroups were experiencing a revival; established musicians looked for new platforms to express themselves. In 2013,
pop rock bands
McFly and
Busted combined to form
McBusted, before splitting in 2015. A 2015 example of a supergroup is
FFS, a collaboration between Scottish
indie rock band
Franz Ferdinand and American
art rock band
Sparks. Other prominent examples include
Atoms for Peace,
SuperHeavy, and
Boygenius. ==Criticism of the expression==