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Full Name: Eric Patrick Clapton Date of Birth: March 30, 1945 Place of Birth: Ripley, England, U.K. Sign: Sun in Aries, Moon in Scorpio Family: Ex-Wife- Patty Boyd-Harrison, Daughter- Ruth Kelly-Clapton, Son- Conor (Deceased 1990) Bands Played In: The Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos |
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Clapton's musical background began when he was inspired by a Jerry Lee Lewis show on British TV. That inpsiration, along with his love of the Blues, made Eric begin to play the guitar. He studied at the Kingston College of Art, trying to make a career in stained-glass design, but he was expelled at the age of 17 for playing his guitar in class. After being expelled, he got a job in manual labor and played in several bands such as the Roosters and Casey Jones, and also jammed in London clubs with various artists, including future Rolling Stones members, but did not get his big break until he joined the Yardbirds in late 1963. The band was none less than a guitar super group, including Eric, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck. This is also where he got his nickname "Slowhand", because he would bend his strings so violently that he would break them, and the crowd would do a slowhand clap while he restrung. Despite the band's massive success, he left in 1965 when the band veered away from the Blues. He then joined John Mayel's Bluesbreakers, and was quickly the star of the group, inspiring graffiti such as "Clapton is God". The massive success shot their album to the No. 6 spot on the charts in England. Clapton stayed with the band until mid-1966 to form his own band, Cream. The band was more successful than any band he'd been in, and their popularty almost matched that of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. But the friction in the band was too much, so they did their final tour in 1968, released "Goodbye" in 1969, and went their seperate ways. Clapton's next project also involed drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Rick Grech, and with the addition of Steve Winwood from Traffic, they formed the first "Supergroup", Blind Faith. Their debut album and tour were succeses, but they turned out to be their last, because the stress was too much for the band members. Eric then got together bassist Carl Radle, keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon and slide guitarist Duane Allman to form "Derek and the Dominos". Their only album, "Layla and other Assorted Love Songs", was a success and also contained possibly Clapton's most well-known song, "Layla", which was inspired by his love for his good friend George Harrison's wife Pattie, who he did marry in 1979, and divored in 1988. Clapton left the spotlight in the early 1970's due to a bad Heroin addiction, and he took the advice of his friend Pete Townshend of "The Who", and went into rehab, and was fully recovered. He then released "461 Ocean Boulevard", which inclued his #1 Single of his version of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff". In 1980, he returned to his old style of more guitar-oriented music, much to the joy of his fans, releasing "Just One Night", a live album. Sadly, the then went into a period of alcoholism and was hospitalized in 1981. After rehab, he released a line of successful records such as "Another Ticket" (1981), "Money and Cigarettes" (1983), "Behind the Sun" (1985), "August" (1986) and "Journeyman" (1989), and at the same time getting back on his feet personally as well. 1990 was a rough year for Eric Clapton. First his close friends Stevie Ray Vaughan, Colin Smythe and Nigel Browne were killed in a helicopter crash. Later, he suffered another tragedy when his son Conor, whom he father with Italian model Lori Del Santo, fell more than 50 stories to his death. Out of this tragedy came his tribute to the late Connor, "Tears in Heaven", and the album "Unplugged", which won him 6 Grammies in 1992. In 1994, Clapton went back to his roots. He released for the first time, a straight blues album, "From the Cradle". It was huge hit, not only with critics, but his fans as well. He also recorded "Change the World" in 1997 for the movie "Phenomenon". Already a double inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with The Yardbirds and Cream, whenever he decides to stop playing solo, a third induction is almost inevitable. |
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