Name	John Mayall
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Born	November 29, 1933Macclesfield, England
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards
Genre	Blues-rock, harmonica blues, British blues, electric blues
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
Years active	1956–present
Label	Decca, DJM, ABC, Eagle, Snapper, One-Way Records, Polydor, Silvertone, GNP Crescendo
Associated acts	John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Canned Heat, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Keef Hartley Band, Mark-Almond, Pure Food and Drug Act
Url	johnmayall.com

John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical career spans over fifty years, but the most notable episode in it occurred during the late '60s. He was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and, as a gifted talent-scout, has been influential in the careers of many instrumentalists, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Hughie Flint, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Johnny Almond, Rick Cortes, Jon Mark, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and Buddy Whittington.

Biography

Mayall's father was Murray Mayall, a guitarist and jazz music enthusiast. From an early age, John was drawn to the sounds of American blues players such as Leadbelly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Lang, and taught himself to play the piano, guitars, and harmonica.

Mayall spent three years in Korea for national service and, during a period of leave, he bought his first electric guitar. Back in Manchester, he enrolled at Manchester College of Art (now part of Manchester Metropolitan University) and started playing with semi-professional bands. After graduation, he obtained a job as an art designer but continued to play with local musicians. In 1963, he opted for a full time musical career and moved to London. His previous craft would be put to good use in the designing of covers for many of his coming albums.

Since the end of the 1960s Mayall has been living in the U.S. A brush fire destroyed his house in Laurel Canyon in 1979, seriously damaging his musical collections and archives.

Mayall married twice and has six grand-children. Maggie Mayall is an American blues performer and has, since the early 1980s, taken an active part in the management of her husband's career.

In 2005 Mayall was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Honours List.

The early years

In 1956, with college fellow Peter Ward, Mayall had formed the Powerhouse Four, which consisted of both men plus other local musicians, with whom they played at local dances. In 1962, Mayall became a member of the Blues Syndicate. The band was formed by trumpeter John Rowlands and alto saxophonist Jack Massarik, who had seen the Alexis Korner band at a Manchester club and wanted to try a similar blend of Jazz and Blues. It also included rhythm guitarist Ray Cummings and drummer Hughie Flint, whom Mayall already knew. It was Alexis Korner who persuaded Mayall to opt for a full time musical career and move to London. There, Korner introduced him to many other musicians and helped them to find gigs. In late 1963, with his band which was now called the Bluesbreakers, Mayall started playing at the Marquee Club. The lineup was Mayall, Ward, John McVie on bass and guitarist Bernie Watson, formerly of Cyril Davies and the R&B; All-Stars. The next spring Mayall, obtained his first recording date with producer Ian Samwell. The band, with Martin Hart at the drums, recorded two tracks : "Crawling Up a Hill" and "Mr. James." Shortly after, Hughie Flint replaced Hart, and Roger Dean took the guitar from Bernie Watson. This lineup backed John Lee Hooker on his British tour in 1964.

Mayall was offered a recording contract by Decca and, on 7 December 1964, a live performance of the band was recorded at the Klook's Kleek. A single, "Crocodile Walk", was recorded later in studio and released along with the album, but both failed to achieve any success and the contract was terminated.

In April 1965, former Yardbirds guitarist Eric Clapton replaced Roger Dean and John Mayall's career entered a decisive phase.

Late 1960s through 1970s

With their new guitar player, The Bluesbreakers started to attract considerable attention. However Clapton departed without notice and had to be replaced urgently. John Weider, John Slaughter and Geoff Krivit attempted to fill in but, finally, Peter Green took charge. John McVie was dismissed and, during the next six months, Jack Bruce, from Graham Bond Organization, held the bass. In November 1965, Clapton came back and Green departed. Sometime later in the month, the band entered the studio to record a single, "On Top of the World". Also, a live date recorded at the Flamingo provided tracks that appeared later on the 1969 compilation Looking Back and on the 1977 album Primal Solos.

In April 1966, the Bluesbreakers returned to (Decca) Studios to record a second LP with producer Mike Vernon. The sessions, with horn arrangements for some tracks (John Almond on baritone sax, Alan Skidmore on tenor sax and Dennis Healey on trumpet), lasted just three days. Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton was released in the UK on 22 July 1966. The album was Mayall's commercial breakthrough, rising to #6 on the British chart, and has since gained classic status. In the meantime, Clapton announced the formation of Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

Mayall had to replace him and persuaded Peter Green to come back. During the following year, along with Peter Green on guitar and various other sidemen, some 40 tracks were recorded. The album A Hard Road was released in February 1967. Today its expanded versions include most of this material and the album itself also stands as a classic. But Peter Green gave notice and soon started his own project Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac which was to include the three former Bluesbreakers.

Mayall's first choice to replace Green was 18-year-old David O'List, guitarist from The Attack. However O'List declined and went to form The Nice with organist Keith Emerson. Through both a Musicians Wanted ad in Melody Maker on 10 June and his owh search, Mayall found three other guitarists for his Bluesbreakers, a black musician named Terry Edmonds, John Moorshead and 18-year-old Mick Taylor. The latter made it quickly but Mayall curiously decided to hire Edmonds as a rhythm guitarist for a few days.

In a single day of May 1967, Mayall alone had put together in a studio an album, which was released in November with the apt title The Blues Alone. Only former Artwoods drummer Keef Hartley appears on half of the tracks, which showcases Mayall's ability as multi-instrumentalist.

A six-piece lineup (consisting of Mick Taylor on lead guitar, John McVie on bass, Hughie Flint or Keef Hartley on drums, Rip Kant and Chris Mercer on saxophones), recorded the album Crusade on 11 and 12 July 1967. These Bluesbreakers spent most of the year touring abroad and Mayall taped the shows on a portable recorder. At the end of the tour, he had over sixty hours of tapes, which he edited into an album in two volumes: Diary of a Band, Vols. 1 & 2, released in February 1968. Meanwhile, a few lineup changes had occurred : McVie had departed and was replaced by Paul Williams, who quit to join Alan Price and was replaced by Keith Tillman ; Dick Heckstall-Smith had taken the sax.

Following a U.S. tour more lineup changes occurred as Mayall replaced Tillman by 15-year-old Andy Fraser, who left within six weeks to join Free, and Tony Reeves, previously a member of the New Jazz Orchestra, replaced him. Hartley was also required to leave and he was replaced by New Jazz Orchestra drummer Jon Hiseman, who had also played with the Graham Bond Organization. Henry Lowther, who played violin and cornet, joined in February 1968. Two months after, the Bluesbreakers recorded Bare Wires, co-produced by Mayall and Mike Vernon, which came up to #6. Hiseman, Reeves and Heckstall-Smith then moved on to form Colosseum and the new lineup retained Mick Taylor and added drummer Colin Allen, formerly of Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, Dantalian's Chariot and Georgie Fame, and a young bassist Stephen Thompson. In August 1968, the new quartet recorded Blues from Laurel Canyon.

After nearly two years with Mayall, Taylor left and joined officially the Rolling Stones on 13 June 1969. Chas Crane filled in briefly. Allen also left, to join in Stone the Crows, leaving as the only holdover bassist Thompson (who would also eventually join Stone the Crows). Mayall tried a new format with lower volume, acoustic instruments and no drummer. Herecruited acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Jon Mark and flautist/saxophonist John Almond. Mark was best known as Marianne Faithfull's accompanist for three years and for having been a member of the band Sweet Thursday (which included Nicky Hopkins, and Alun Davies, of Cat Stevens's fame). Almond had played with Zoot Money and Alan Price and was no stranger to Mayall's music---he had played baritone on selected cuts of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton and A Hard Road. The new band was markedly different from previous Mayall projects and its making is very well documented on both the 1999 double CD The Masters and on the 2004 dvd The Godfather of British Blues/The Turning Point. Following Mayall's decision to move to Los Angeles, the new band made his US debut at the Newport Jazz Festival on 5 July

1970s-1990s

At the start of the seventies Mayall had relocated in the USA where he spent most of the next 15 years, recording with local musicians for various labels. In August 1971, Mayall produced a jazz oriented session for bluesman Albert King and a few months later took on tour the musicians present in the studio. A live album Jazz Blues Fusion was released next year, with Mayall on harmonica, guitar and piano, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Clifford Solomon and Ernie Watts on saxophones, Larry Taylor on bass, Ron Selico on drums and Freddy Robinson on guitar. A few personnel changes are noted at the release of a similar album in 1973, the live Moving On.

During the next decade Mayall continued shifting musicians and switching labels and released a score of albums. Tom Wilson, Don Nix and Allen Toussaint occasionally served as producers. At this stage of his career most of Mayall's music was rather different from electric blues played by rock musicians, incorporating jazz, funk or pop elements and adding even female vocals. A notable exception is The Last Of the British Blues (1978), a live album excused apparently by its title for the momentaneous return to this type of music.

The return of The Bluesbreakers

In 1982 Mayall was reunited with Mick Taylor, John McVie and Colin Allen, three musicians of his sixties lineups, for a two year world tour from which a live album would emerge a decade later.

In 1984 Mayall restored the name Bluesbreakers for a lineup comprising the two lead guitars of Walter Trout and Coco Montoya, bassist Bobby Haynes and drummer Joe Yuele. The mythic name did perhaps something to enhance the interest in a band which by all standards was already remarkable. A successful world tour and live recordings achieved the rest. In the early 1990s most of the excitement was already spent and Buddy Whittington became the sole lead guitarist in a formation which included then organist Tom Canning.

On the occasion of the 40th year of his career Mayall received carte blanche to invite fellow musicians for the recording of a celebratory album. Along for the Ride appeared in 2001, credited to John Mayall and Friends with twenty names listed on the cover, including some Bluesbreakers, old and new, and also Gary Moore, Jonny Lang, Steve Cropper, Steve Miller, Otis Rush, Billy Gibbons, Chris Rea, Jeff Healey, Shannon Curfman and a few others.

To celebrate his 70th birthday Mayall reunited with special guests Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber during a fundraiser show. This "Unite for Unicef" concert took place on 19 July 2003 at the Kings Dock Arena in Liverpool and was captured on film for a DVD release. In 2005, Mayall was awarded an OBE in the Honours List. "It's the only major award I've ever received. I've never had a hit record or a Grammy or been in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." commented Mayall.

In November 2008 Mayall announced on his website he was disbanding the Bluesbreakers to cut back on his heavy workload and give himself freedom to work with other musicians. However three months later a world tour with a new band was announced: Rocky Athas on guitar, Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums. Tom Canning, on organ, joined the band for the tour which started in March 2009. An album was released in September.

Discography

Original John Mayall albums

Unofficial, limited editions & bootlegs

1990: Crocodile Walk

1984: Blues Alive (RCA/Columbia)

198?: Back to the Roots (Gaha 02)[same as Blues Alive]

198?: Dal vivo a Milano (bootleg)[live 26 Nov. 1982]

1996: Bulldogs For Sale (bootleg)[same as Crocodile Walk]

199?: Beano's Boys (bootleg)

199?: The first 5 years (Pontiac)[Crocodile Walk+BBC Sessions +unreleased]

199?: Simply Outstanding, live at the Fillmore West '68 (Vintage Masters VMCDR 107) [same as Wolfgang's Vault]

1999: Horny Blues (Massive Attack) [live '72]

1999: Mayallapolis Blues (Blues Tune BT09)[live in Minneapolis 03/03/93]

2000: Time Capsule (Private Stash) Limited release (J.Mayall's private archive 57-62)

2001: UK Tour 2K (Private Stash) Limited release

2001: Boogie Woogie Man (Private Stash) Limited release

2001: Archive:live (Rialto)

2003: No Days Off (Private Stash) Limited release

DVD

2003: 70th Birthday Concert (Eagle) live '03 CD & DVD

2004: Live at Iowa State University DVD live'87

2004: Cookin' Down Under DVD (Private Stash) Limited release

2004: The Godfather of British Blues/Turning Point DVD (Eagle)

2005: Rolling with the Blues (Recall) live'72-82 2CD+DVD

2007: Live at the Bottom Line, New York 1992

2008: Live At Iowa State University

Singles

1964: "Crawling Up The Hill / Mr. James" (Decca F11900) 1965: "Crocodile Walk / Blues City Shakedown" (Decca F12120): "I'm Your Witchdoctor / Telephone Blues" (Immediate IM012)

August 1966: "Lonely Years / Bernard Jenkins" (Purdah 453502)

September 1966: "Parchman Farm / Key To Love" (Decca F12490)

1966: "Looking Back / So Many Roads" (Decca F12506)

1967: "Sitting In The Rain / Out Of Reach" (Decca F12545)

1967: "Curly / Rubber Duck" (Decca F12588)

1967: "I'm Your Witchdoctor/ Telephone Blues" (Immediate IM051)

1967: "Double Trouble / It Hurts Me Too" (Decca F12621)

1967: "Suspicions Pt.1 / Suspicions Pt.2" (Decca F12684)

1968: "Picture On The Wall / Jenny" (Decca F12732)

1968: "No Reply / She's Too Young" (Decca F12792)

1968: "The Bear / 2401" (Decca F12846)

John Mayall's sidemen

A comprehensive list of musicians who have recorded and/or toured with John Mayall.

A few notable names

Guitar: Eric Clapton, Roger Dean, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Freddy Robinson, Jerry McGee, Jimmy McCulloch, James Quill Smith, Don McMinn, Kal David, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Randy Resnick, Sonny Landreth, Buddy Whittington, Eric Steckel, Robben Ford

Bass: Jack Bruce, John McVie, Steven Thompson, Larry Taylor, Tony Reeves, Rick "RC" Cortes, Hank Van Sickle

Drums: Hughie Flint, Keef Hartley, Aynsley Dunbar, Ron Selico, Soko Richardson, Paul Lagos, Jon Hiseman, Colin Allen, Mick Fleetwood, Joe Yuele, Jay Davenport.

Keyboards: Dr. John

Vocals/Harmonica: Paul Butterfield

References

External links

John Mayall's website

Mayall: sessions,concerts

Concerts in Wolfgang's Vault: Fillmore West '68 ; Bottom Line '77

ABC Records Press Release

John Mayall Interview 2007 - by Brian D. Holland

John Mayall Interview with Jarrod Dicker (2009)

* Category:John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Category:Blues revival musicians Category:Blues-rock musicians Category:British blues (genre) musicians Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Harmonica blues musicians Category:English blues musicians Category:English blues singers Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:British harmonica players Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:British expatriates in the United States Category:British Army personnel of the Korean War Category:People from Macclesfield

Name	Eric Clapton
Alias	Slowhand
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Eric Patrick Clapton
Born	March 30, 1945Ripley, Surrey, England
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar
Genre	Rock, blues-rock, blues, psychedelic rock, hard rock
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, artist
Years active	1962–present
Label	Warner Bros., Reprise, Polydor, RSO, Atco, Apple, Deram
Associated acts	Dire Straits, The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Powerhouse, Cream, Free Creek, The Dirty Mac, Blind Faith, J.J. Cale, The Plastic Ono Band, Delaney, Bonnie & Friends, Derek and the Dominos, T.D.F.
Url	Official website
Notable instruments	See: Guitars sectionBlackieBrownieGibson SGGibson ES-335Gibson Les Paul

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.

In the mid sixties, Clapton left the Yardbirds to play blues with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. In his one-year stay with Mayall, Clapton gained the nickname "Slowhand", and graffiti in London declared "Clapton is God." Immediately after leaving Mayall, Clapton formed with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce the trio Cream, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and "arty, blues-based psychedelic pop." For most of the seventies, Clapton's output bore the influence of the mellow style of JJ Cale and the reggae of Bob Marley. His version of Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" helped gain reggae a mass market. Two of his most popular recordings were "Layla", recorded by Derek and the Dominos, and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads", recorded by Cream. A recipient of seventeen Grammy Awards, in 2004 Clapton was awarded a CBE for services to music. In 1998 Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict, founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.

Career

Early years

Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, the son of 16 year old Patricia Molly Clapton (b. 7 January 1929) and Edward Walter Fryer (21 March 1920 - 15 May 1985), a 24-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec. Fryer shipped off to war prior to Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband Jack, believing they were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Their surname was Clapp, which has given rise to the widespread but erroneous belief that Clapton's real surname is Clapp (Reginald Cecil Clapton is the name of Rose's first husband, Eric Clapton's maternal grandfather). Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier, and moved to Canada, leaving young Eric with his grandparents in distant Surrey. Two years later Clapton picked it up again and started playing consistently. In 1962, Clapton started performing as a duo with fellow blues enthusiast David Brock in the pubs around Surrey. When he was 17 years old Clapton joined his first band, an early British R&B; group, called "The Roosters". He stayed with this band from January through August 1963. In October of that year, Clapton did a brief seven gig stint with Casey Jones & The Engineers. The band initially played Chess/Checker/Vee-Jay blues numbers and began to attract a large cult following when they took over the Rolling Stones' residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. They toured England with American bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson II; a joint LP album, recorded in December 1963, was issued belatedly under both their names, in 1965. In March 1965, just as Clapton left the band, the Yardbirds had their first major hit, "For Your Love", on which Clapton played guitar.

It was during this time period that Clapton's Yardbirds rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja recalled that whenever Clapton broke a guitar string during a concert, he would stay on stage and replace it. The English audiences would wait out the delay by doing what is called a "slow handclap". Clapton told his official biographer, Ray Coleman, that, "My nickname of 'Slowhand' came from Giorgio Gomelsky. He coined it as a good pun. He kept saying I was a fast player, so he put together the slow handclap phrase into Slowhand as a play on words".

Still musically devoted to the blues, Clapton was opposed to the Yardbirds' move toward a pop-oriented sound, in part, because "For Your Love" had been written by pop songwriter-for-hire Graham Gouldman, who had also written hit songs for teen pop outfit Herman's Hermits as well as the radio-friendly music of The Hollies. Clapton recommended fellow guitarist Jimmy Page as his replacement, but Page was at that time unwilling to relinquish his lucrative career as a freelance studio musician, so Page in turn recommended Clapton's successor, Jeff Beck.

Cream

Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in July 1966 (to be replaced by Peter Green) and formed Cream, one of the earliest supergroups, with Jack Bruce on bass (also of Manfred Mann, the Bluesbreakers and the Graham Bond Organization) and Ginger Baker on drums (another member of the GBO). Before the formation of Cream, Clapton was not well known in the United States; he left the Yardbirds before "For Your Love" hit the American Top Ten, and had yet to perform there. During his time with Cream, Clapton began to develop as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, though Bruce took most of the lead vocals and wrote the majority of the material with lyricist Pete Brown.

Cream's farewell album, Goodbye, featured live performances recorded at The Forum, Los Angeles, 19 October 1968, and was released shortly after Cream disbanded in 1968; it also featured the studio single "Badge", co-written by Clapton and George Harrison. Clapton had met Harrison and become friends with him after the Beatles shared a bill with the Clapton-era Yardbirds at the London Palladium. The close friendship between Clapton and Harrison resulted in Clapton's playing on Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' White Album. In the same year of release as the White Album, Harrison released his solo debut Wonderwall Music, becoming the first of many Harrison solo records to feature Clapton on guitar. Though friends, Clapton would go largely uncredited for his contributions to Harrison's albums due to contractual restraints. The pair would often play live together as each other's guest. A year after Harrison's death in 2001, Clapton helped organise the tribute concert, for which he was musical director.

Cream briefly reunited in 1993 to perform at the ceremony inducting them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; however, a full reunion took place in May 2005, with Clapton, Bruce, and Baker playing four sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, and three more at New York's Madison Square Garden that October. Recordings from the London shows, Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005, were released on CD, LP, and DVD in September/December 2005.

Blind Faith & Delaney and Bonnie and Friends

A desultory spell in a second super group, the short-lived Blind Faith (1969), which was composed of Cream drummer Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood of Traffic and Ric Grech of Family, resulted in one LP and one arena-circuit tour. The super group debuted before 100,000 fans in London's Hyde Park on 7 June 1969. They later performed several dates in Scandinavia and began a sold-out American tour in July before their one and only album was released. The LP Blind Faith was recorded in such haste that side two consisted of just two songs, one of them a 15-minute jam entitled "Do What You Like". The album's jacket image of a topless pubescent girl was deemed controversial in the United States and was replaced by a photograph of the band. Blind Faith dissolved after less than seven months. While Winwood returned to Traffic, by now Clapton was tired of both the spotlight and the hype that had surrounded Cream and Blind Faith.

Clapton decided to step into the background for a time, touring as a sideman with the American group Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, who had been the support act for Blind Faith's U.S. tour. He also played two dates that fall as a member of The Plastic Ono Band, including the famous performance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969, released as the album Live Peace in Toronto 1969.

Clapton became close friends with Delaney Bramlett, who encouraged him in his singing and writing. During the summer of 1969, Clapton and Bramlett contributed to the Music From Free Creek "supersession" project. Clapton, appearing as "King Cool" for contractual reasons, played with Dr. John on three songs, joined by Bramlett on one track. Jeff Beck also contributed to the sessions as "A. N. Other", though Clapton and Beck did not play together.

Using the Bramletts' backing group and an all-star cast of session players (including Leon Russell and Stephen Stills), Clapton recorded his first solo album during two brief tour hiatuses, fittingly named Eric Clapton. Delaney Bramlett co-wrote six of the songs with Clapton, and Bonnie Bramlett co-wrote "Let It Rain". The album also yielded the unexpected U.S. #18 hit, J. J. Cale's "After Midnight". Clapton went with Delaney and Bonnie from the stage to the studio with the Dominos to record George Harrison's All Things Must Pass in spring 1970. During this busy period, Clapton also recorded with other artists including Dr. John, Leon Russell, Plastic Ono Band, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr.

1970s

Derek and the Dominos

With the intention to counteract the "star" cult faction that had begun to form around him, Clapton assembled a new band composed of Delaney & Bonnie's former rhythm section; Bobby Whitlock as keyboardist and vocalist, Carl Radle as the bassist and drummer Jim Gordon, with Clapton playing guitar. It was his intention to show that he need not form a starring role, and functioned well as a member of an ensemble. Naming the band, "Eric Clapton and Friends" at first, the name "Derek and the Dominos" was a fluke. It occurred when the band's provisional name of "Del and the Dynamos" was misread as Derek and the Dominos. Clapton's biography also states that Ashton told Clapton to call the band "Del and the Dominos", since "Del" was his nickname for Eric Clapton. Del and Eric were combined and the final name became "Derek and the Dominos".

Clapton's close friendship with George Harrison had brought him into contact with Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, with whom he became deeply infatuated. When she spurned his advances, Clapton's unrequited affections prompted most of the material for the Dominos' album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. This album contained the monster-hit single, love song "Layla", inspired by the classical poet of Persian literature, Nezami Ganjavi's The Story of Layla and Majnun, a copy of which his friend Ian Dallas had given him. The book moved Clapton profoundly as it was the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful, unavailable woman and who went crazy because he could not marry her.

Working at Criteria Studios in Miami with Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, who had worked with Clapton on Cream's Disraeli Gears, the band recorded a double-album. The two parts of "Layla" were recorded in separate sessions: the opening guitar section was recorded first, and for the second section, laid down several months later, drummer Jim Gordon composed and played the piano part. The album was heavily blues-influenced and featured the combination of twin lead guitars of Allman and Clapton, with Allman's slide guitar as a key ingredient of their sound.

Tragedy dogged the group throughout its brief career. During the sessions, Clapton was devastated by news of the death of Jimi Hendrix; eight days previously the band had cut a cover of "Little Wing" as a tribute to Hendrix. On 17 September 1970, one day before Hendrix's death, Clapton had purchased a left-handed Fender Stratocaster that he had planned to give to Hendrix as a birthday gift. Adding to Clapton's woes, the Layla album received only lukewarm reviews upon release. The shaken group undertook a U.S. tour without Allman, who had returned to The Allman Brothers Band. Despite Clapton's later admission that the tour took place amidst a veritable blizzard of drugs and alcohol, it resulted in the live double album In Concert. The band had recorded several tracks for a second album in London during the spring of 1971 (five of which were released on the Eric Clapton box-set Crossroads), but the results were mediocre.

A second record was in the works when a clashing of egos took place and Clapton walked, thus disbanding the group. Allman was later killed in a motorcycle accident on 29 October 1971. Although Radle would remain Clapton's bass player until the summer of 1979 (Radle died in May 1980 from the effects of alcohol and narcotics), it would be 2003 before Clapton and Whitlock appeared together again (Clapton guested on Whitlock's appearance on the Later with Jools Holland show). Another tragic footnote to the Dominos story was the fate of drummer Jim Gordon, who was an undiagnosed schizophrenic and years later murdered his mother during a psychotic episode. Gordon was confined to 16-years-to-life imprisonment, later being moved to a mental institution, where he remains today. In addition to his (temporarily) unrequited and intense attraction to Pattie Boyd, he withdrew from recording and touring to isolation in his Surrey, England residence. There he nursed his heroin addiction, resulting in a career hiatus interrupted only by the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971 (where he passed out on stage, was revived, and continued his performance). Clapton continued to release albums and toured regularly. Highlights of the period include No Reason to Cry, (a collaboration with Bob Dylan and The Band) and Slowhand, which featured "Wonderful Tonight", another song inspired by Boyd, and a second J.J. Cale cover, "Cocaine". In 1976 he performed alongside a string of notable guests, to pay tribute to the final farewell performance of The Band, filmed in a Martin Scorsese documentary called the Last Waltz.

1980s

In 1981, Clapton was invited by producer Martin Lewis to appear at the Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball. Clapton accepted the invitation and teamed up with Jeff Beck to perform a series of duets—reportedly their first-ever billed stage collaboration. Three of the performances were released on the album of the show and one of the songs was featured in the film of the show. The performances heralded a return to form and prominence for Clapton in the new decade. Many factors had influenced Clapton's comeback, including his "deepening commitment to Christianity", to which he had converted prior to his heroin addiction.

After an embarrassing fishing incident, Clapton finally called his manager and admitted he was an alcoholic. In January 1982, Roger and Clapton flew to Minneapolis-St. Paul; Clapton would be checked in at Hazelden Treatment Center, located in Center City, Minnesota. On the flight over, Clapton indulged himself in a great amount of drinks, for fear he may never be able to drink again. Clapton is quoted as saying from his autobiography, "In the lowest moments of my life, the only reason I didn't commit suicide was that I knew I wouldn't be able to drink anymore if I was dead. It was the only thing I thought was worth living for, and the idea that people were about to try and remove me from alcohol was so terrible that I drank and drank and drank, and they had to practically carry me into the clinic." [Clapton - p. 198]

After being discharged, it was recommended by doctors of Hazelden that Clapton not partake in any activities that would act as triggers for his alcoholism or stress, until he was fully situated back at Hurtwood. A few months after his discharge, Clapton began working on his next album against the Hazelden doctors' orders. Working with Tom Dowd, Clapton produced what he thought as his "most forced" album to date, Money and Cigarettes.

In 1984, he performed on Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and went on tour with Waters following the release of the album. Since then Waters and Clapton have had a close relationship. In 2005 they performed together for the Tsunami Relief Fund. In 2006 they performed at the Highclere Castle, in aid of the Countryside Alliance, playing two set pieces of "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb". Clapton, now a seasoned charity performer, played at the Live Aid concert on 13th July 1985 when offered his place close to peak viewing hours he was apparently flattered. As Clapton recovered from his addictions, his album output continued in the 1980s, including two produced with Phil Collins, 1985's Behind the Sun, which produced the hits "Forever Man" and "She's Waiting", and 1986's August.

and Eric Clapton at Wembley Stadium, 18 June 1987]] August was suffused with Collins's trademark drum and horn sound and became Clapton's biggest seller in the UK to date, matching his highest chart position, number 3. The album's first track, the hit "It's In The Way That You Use It", was also featured in the Tom Cruise-Paul Newman movie The Color of Money. The horn-peppered "Run" echoed Collins' "Sussudio" and rest of the producer's Genesis/solo output, while "Tearing Us Apart" (with Tina Turner) and the bitter "Miss You" echoed Clapton's angry sound. This rebound kicked off Clapton's two-year period of touring with Collins and their August collaborates, bassist Nathan East and keyboard player/songwriter Greg Phillinganes. While on tour for August, two concert videos were recorded of the four-man band, Eric Clapton Live from Montreux and Eric Clapton and Friends. Clapton later remade "After Midnight" as a single and a promotional track for the Michelob beer brand, which had also marketed earlier songs by Collins and Steve Winwood. Clapton won a British Academy Television Award for his collaboration with Michael Kamen on the score for the 1985 BBC television thriller serial Edge of Darkness. In 1989, Clapton released Journeyman, an album which covered a wide range of styles including blues, jazz, soul and pop. Collaborators included George Harrison, Phil Collins, Daryl Hall, Chaka Khan, Mick Jones, David Sanborn and Robert Cray.

and Clapton playing in the Prince's Trust Concert at Wembley Stadium in 1987]] In 1984, while still married to Pattie Boyd, Clapton began a year-long relationship with Yvonne Kelly. The two had a daughter, Ruth, who was born in January 1985; but her existence was kept a secret by her parents. She was not publicly revealed as his child until 1991. Boyd criticised Clapton because he had not revealed the child's existence.

Hurricane Hugo hit Montserrat in 1989 and this resulted in the closure of Sir George Martin and John Burgess's recording studio AIR Montserrat, where Kelly was Managing Director. Kelly and Ruth moved back to England, and the myth of Eric's secret daughter began as a result of newspaper articles published at the time. Boyd herself was never able to conceive children, despite attempts at in vitro fertilisation. Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "Tears in Heaven", which was co-written by Will Jennings. At the 35th Grammy Awards, Clapton received a total of six Grammy Awards for the single "Tears in Heaven", and his Unplugged album.

In October 1992, Clapton was among the dozens of artists performing at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. Recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the live two-disk CD/DVD captured a show full of celebrities performing classic Dylan songs, before ending with a few performances from Dylan himself. Despite the presence of 10 other guitarists on stage, including George Harrison, Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, Steve Cropper, Tom Petty, and Dylan, Clapton played the lead on a nearly 7-minute version of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" as part of the finale.

While Unplugged featured Clapton playing acoustic guitar, his 1994 album From the Cradle contained new versions of old blues standards highlighted by his electric guitar playing. Clapton's 1996 recording of the Wayne Kirkpatrick/Gordon Kennedy/Tommy Sims tune "Change the World" (featured in the soundtrack of the movie Phenomenon) won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1997, the same year he recorded Retail Therapy (an album of electronic music with Simon Climie under the pseudonym TDF). The following year, Clapton released the album Pilgrim, the first record featuring brand new material for almost a decade.

On 22 January 2005, Clapton performed in the Tsunami Relief Concert held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In May 2005, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker reunited as Cream for a series of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Concert recordings were released on CD and DVD. Later, Cream performed in New York at Madison Square Garden. Back Home, Clapton's first album of new original material in nearly five years, was released on Reprise Records on 30 August. In 2006 he invited Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II to join his band for his 2006–2007 world tour. Trucks is the third member of The Allman Brothers Band to tour supportng Clapton, the second being pianist/keyboardist Chuck Leavell who appeared on the MTV Unplugged album and the 24 Nights performances at the Royal Albert Hall theatre of London in 1990 and 1991, as well as Clapton's 1992 U.S. tour.

On 20 May 2006, Clapton performed with Queen drummer Roger Taylor and former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters at the Highclere Castle, in support of the Countryside Alliance. On 13 August 2006, Clapton made a guest appearance at the Bob Dylan concert in Columbus, Ohio, playing guitar on three songs in Jimmie Vaughan's opening act. A collaboration with guitarist J. J. Cale, titled The Road to Escondido, was released on 7 November 2006, featuring Derek Trucks and Billy Preston. The 14-track CD was produced and recorded by the duo in August 2005 in California. The chemistry between Trucks and Clapton convinced him to invite The Derek Trucks Band to open for Clapton's set on his 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival, with Trucks remaining on set afterward, performing with Clapton's band throughout his performances, and embarking on a world tour with him.

The rights to Clapton's official memoirs, written by Christopher Simon Sykes and published in 2007, were sold at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair for USD $4 million.

On 26 February 2008, it was reported that North Korean officials had invited Clapton to play a concert in the communist state. According to reports, Clapton's management received the invitation and passed it on to the singer, who has agreed in principle and suggested it take place sometime in 2009. Kristen Foster, a spokesperson, said, "Eric Clapton receives numerous offers to play in countries around the world," and "[t]here is no agreement whatsoever for him to play in North Korea."

In 2007, Clapton learned more about his father, a Canadian soldier who left the UK after the war. Although Clapton's grandparents eventually told him the truth about his parentage, he only knew that his father's name was Edward Fryer. This was a source of disquiet for Clapton, as witnessed by his 1998 song "My Father's Eyes". A Montreal journalist named Michael Woloschuk researched Canadian Armed Forces service records and tracked down members of Fryer's family, finally piecing together the story. He learned that Clapton's father was Edward Walter Fryer, born 21 March 1920, in Montreal and died 15 May 1985 in Newmarket, Ontario. Fryer was a musician (piano and saxophone) and a lifelong drifter, who was married several times, had several children and apparently never knew that he was the father of Eric Clapton. Clapton thanked Woloschuk in an encounter at Macdonald Cartier Airport, in Ottawa, Canada.

In February 2008, Clapton performed with his long-time friend Steve Winwood at Madison Square Garden and guested on his recorded single "Dirty City" on Winwood's album Nine Lives. The two former Blind Faith bandmates met again for a series of 14 concerts throughout the United States in June 2009.

Clapton's 2008 Summer Tour began on 3 May at the Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa Bay, Florida, and then moved to Canada, Ireland, England, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany and Monaco. On 28 June 2008, he headlined Saturday night for Hard Rock Calling 2008 in London's Hyde Park (previously Hyde Park Calling) with support from Sheryl Crow & John Mayer. In September 2008, Clapton performed at a private charity fundraiser for The Countryside Alliance at Floridita in Soho, London, that included such guests as the London Mayor Boris Johnson.

at the Beacon Theater]] In March 2009, The Allman Brothers Band (amongst many notable guests), celebrated their 40th year, dedicating their string of concerts to the late Duane Allman on their annual run at the Beacon Theatre. Eric Clapton was one of the performers, with drummer Butch Trucks remarking that the performance wasn't the typical Allman Brothers experience, given the number and musical styles of the guests who were invited to perform. Songs like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" were punctuated with others including "The Weight", with Levon Helm; Johnny Winter sitting in on Hendrix's "Red House" and "Layla". Two months later, on 4 May 2009 Clapton appeared as a featured guest at the Royal Albert Hall playing "Further on Up the Road" with Joe Bonamassa.

Clapton was scheduled to be one of the performers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concert in Madison Square Garden on 30 October 2009, but cancelled due to gallstone surgery. Van Morrison (who also cancelled) said in an interview that he and Clapton were to do a "couple of songs" but that they would do something else together at "some other stage of the game".

2010s

Clapton performed a 2-night show with Jeff Beck at London's O2 Arena 13–14 February 2010. The two former Yardbirds extended their 2010 tour with stops at Madison Square Garden, Air Canada Centre and the Bell Centre in Montreal. Clapton performed a series of concerts in 11 cities throughout the United States from 25 February to 13 March 2010. His third European tour with Steve Winwood began on 18 May and ended 13 June. He then began a short North American tour lasting from 26 June to 3 July, starting with his third Crossroads Guitar Festival on 26 June in Bridgeview, Illinois. Clapton released a new studio album, Clapton, on 27 September 2010 in the United Kingdom and 28 September 2010 in the United States. On 17 November 2010, Clapton performed as guest on the Prince's Trust rock gala held at the Royal Albert Hall, supported by the house band for the evening which included Jools Holland, Midge Ure and Mark King.

Influences

Clapton has performed songs by myriad artists, which include Bob Marley, J.J. Cale, Bo Diddley, Robert Johnson, and Bob Dylan. He cites Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Hubert Sumlin both in musical influence and on his style on the guitar.

He holds no other artist in higher esteem than Robert Johnson. In 2004, Clapton released a CD and DVD entitled Sessions for Robert Johnson, featuring Clapton recording Robert Johnson covers with electric and acoustic guitars. He performs these tracks live and in the practice space on the DVD, as well as gives brief interviews explaining the huge influence Robert Johnson had on him. Doyle Bramhall II assists Clapton on the acoustic tracks of the CD and the DVD.

In his book, Discovering Robert Johnson (which he co-authored with several other writers), Clapton said of Johnson, that he was "...the most important blues musician who ever lived. He was true, absolutely, to his own vision, and as deep as I have gotten into the music over the last 30 years, I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice, really. ... it seemed to echo something I had always felt." Clapton persuaded Freddie King to sign with his record label, RSO in 1974. Clapton has recorded more than six of J. J. Cale's originals and has put out an album with him. Clapton has also collaborated with Frank Zappa, B.B. King, George Harrison, Santana, Ringo Starr, Roger Waters, John Lennon, Mark Knopfler and The Plastic Ono Band. Clapton also collaborated with singer/songwriter John Mayer on his 2006 album release, Continuum. Mayer cites Clapton in his liner notes: "Eric Clapton knows I steal from him and is still cool with it."

Legacy

Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. He ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.

A number of guitarists that Clapton has influenced are: Richie Sambora, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, Orianthi, Jimi Hendrix, Brad Paisley, Jonny Buckland, Joe Don Rooney, Alex Lifeson, Jonny Lang, John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, and Davy Knowles.

Guitars

" Photo: Matt Gibbons]] Clapton's choice of electric guitars has been as notable as the man himself, and alongside Hank Marvin, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of the electric guitar. With the Yardbirds, Clapton played a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-cutaway Gretsch 6120 and a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335. He became exclusively a Gibson player for a period beginning in mid-1965, when he purchased a used Gibson Les Paul Sunburst Standard guitar from a local guitar store in London. Clapton commented on the slim profile of the neck, which would indicate it as a 1960 model.

Early during his stint in Cream, Clapton's first Les Paul Standard was stolen. He continued to play Les Pauls exclusively with Cream (one bought from Andy Summers was almost identical to the stolen guitar) until 1967 when he acquired his most famous guitar in this period, a 1964 Gibson SG. Just before Cream's first U.S. appearance in 1967, Clapton's SG, Bruce's Fender VI, and Baker's drum head were all repainted in psychedelic designs created by the visual art collective known as The Fool. In 1968 Clapton bought a Gibson Firebird and started using the 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335 again. Gibson produced a limited run of 250 "Crossroads 335" replicas. The 335 was only the second electric guitar Clapton bought.

In July 1968, Clapton gave George Harrison a red, refinished Les Paul. In the following September, Clapton played the guitar on the Beatles' studio recording of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". His SG found its way into the hands of George Harrison's friend Jackie Lomax, who subsequently sold it to musician Todd Rundgren for US$500 in 1972. Rundgren restored the guitar and nicknamed it "Sunny", after "Sunshine of Your Love". He retained it until 2000, when he sold it at an auction for US$150,000. First was "Brownie" used during the recording of Eric Clapton which in 1974 became the backup to the most famous of all Clapton's guitars, "Blackie". In November 1970 Eric bought six Fender Stratocasters from the Sho-bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee while on tour with the Dominos. He gave one each to George Harrison, Steve Winwood and Pete Townshend.

Clapton assembled the best components of the remaining three to create "Blackie", which was his favourite stage guitar until its retirement in 1985. It was first played live 13 January 1973 at the Rainbow Concert. Clapton called the 1956/57 Strat a "mongrel". On 24 June 2004, Clapton sold "Blackie" at Christie's Auction House, New York for $959,500 to raise funds for his Crossroads Centre for drug and alcohol addictions. "Brownie" is now on display at the Experience Music Project. The Fender Custom Shop has since produced a limited run of 275 'Blackie' replicas, correct in every detail right down to the 'Duck Brothers' flight case, and artificially aged using Fender's 'Relic' process to simulate years of hard wear. One was presented to Eric upon the model's release and used for three numbers during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 17 May 2006.

In 1981, Clapton gave his signed Fender Lead II guitar to the Hard Rock Cafe to designate his favourite bar stool. Pete Townshend also donated his own Gibson Les Paul guitar, with a note attached: "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."

In 1988, Fender honoured Clapton with the introduction of his signature Eric Clapton Stratocaster. These were the first two artist models in the Stratocaster range and since then, the artist series has grown to include models inspired both by Clapton's contemporaries such as Rory Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and by those who have influenced him such as Buddy Guy. Clapton uses Ernie Ball Slinky and Super Slinky strings. Clapton has also been honoured with signature-model 000-28EC and 000-42EC acoustic guitars made by the famous American firm of C.F. Martin & Company. The Crossroads Centre is a treatment base for addictive disorders such as drugs and alcohol. In 2004, Clapton organised and participated in the Crossroads Guitar Festival to benefit the Centre. A second guitar auction, including the "Cream" of Clapton's collection – as well as guitars donated by famous friends – was also held on 24 June 2004. His Lowden acoustic guitar sold for $41,825. The total revenue garnered by this auction at Christie's was US $7,438,624.

The "woman tone" is the informal term used by Clapton to refer to his distinctive mid- to late-1960s electric guitar sound, created using his Gibson SG solidbody guitar (with humbucking pick-ups) and a Marshall tube amplifier. It is an overdriven sound that is articulate yet thick. It is characterised by being quite distorted (or even achieved with a fuzz) but muted, in contrast to the bright and twangy distortion that most guitarists were using at the time. Many players have tried to duplicate it, usually without success, in part because Clapton's playing technique had a lot to do with the tone.

Among the techniques used to replicate Clapton's sound is a technique by which the amplifier's volume is turned up to full, while the guitar's tone knob is turned down to zero or one.

Perhaps the best examples of the "woman tone" are Clapton's famous riff and solo from his band Cream's 1967 hit "Sunshine of Your Love". Clapton has explained that he obtained the tone with his Gibson's tone control rolled all the way down, switching to the neck pick-up (closest to the fretboard) and the volume all the way up, with his distortion turned all the way up. The treble, mids and bass controls on the amplifier were also maxed out. Some versions of the "woman tone" may also have involved strategic positioning of Clapton's wah-wah pedal.

Other media appearances

Clapton frequently appears as a guest on the albums of other musicians. For example, he is credited on Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms album, as he lent Mark Knopfler one of his guitars for the album. He also played lead guitar and synthesiser on The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Roger Waters' debut solo album. Other media appearances include the Toots & the Maytals album True Love where he played guitar on the track "Pressure Drop". He can also be heard at the beginning of Frank Zappa's album, We're Only in It for the Money, repeating the phrase, "Are you hung up?" over and over again. In 1985, Clapton appeared on the charity concert Live Aid in Philadelphia with Phil Collins, Tim Renwick, Chris Stainton, Jamie Oldaker, Marcy Levy, Shaun Murphy and Donald 'Duck' Dunn. In 1988 he played with Dire Straits and Elton John at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium and the Prince's Trust rock gala at the Royal Albert Hall. On 30 June 1990, Dire Straits, Clapton and Elton John made a guest appearance in the Nordoff-Robbins charity show held at Knebworth. In 1991, Clapton was featured on Richie Sambora's album, Stranger In This Town, in a song dedicated to him called "Mr. Bluesman". He also contributed guitar and vocals to "Runaway Train", a duet with Elton John on the latter's The One album the following year.

On 12 September 1996, Clapton played a party for Armani at New York City's Lexington Armory with Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East and Steve Gadd. Sheryl Crow appeared on one number, performing "Tearing Us Apart", a track from August, which was first performed by Tina Turner during the Prince's Trust All-Star Rock show in 1986. It was Clapton's sole US appearance that year, following the open-air concert held at Hyde Park with Dave Bronze, Andy Fairweather-Low, The Kick Horns, Jerry Portnoy, Chris Stainton and backing vocalists Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles. The concert was taped and the footage was released both on VHS video cassette and later, on DVD.

Clapton was featured in the movie version of Tommy, the first full length rock opera written by The Who. The movie version gave Clapton a cameo appearance as the Preacher, performing Sonny Boy Williamson's song, "Eyesight to the Blind". He also appeared in Blues Brothers 2000 as one of the Louisiana Gator Boys. In addition to being in the band, he had a small speaking role. Clapton has also appeared in an advertisement for the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. In March 2007, Clapton appeared in an advertisement for RealNetwork's Rhapsody online music service. In 2010 Clapton started appearing as a spokesman for T-Mobile, advertising their MyTouch Fender cell phone.

Eric Clapton was again compared to God's image in the episode "Holy Crap!" of season two of That '70s Show when Eric Forman and Steven Hyde are made by their minister to draw God.

Views and advocacy

Clapton is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance, has played in concerts to raise funds for the organisation and publicly opposed the Labour Party’s ban on fox hunting. A spokesperson for Clapton said: "Eric supports the Countryside Alliance. He doesn't hunt himself, but does enjoy rural pursuits such as fishing and shooting. He supports the Alliance's pursuit to scrap the ban on the basis that he doesn't agree with the state's interference with people's private pursuits."

Controversy over remarks on immigration

On 5 August 1976 Clapton provoked an uproar and lingering controversy when he spoke out against increasing immigration during a concert in Birmingham. Visibly intoxicated, Clapton voiced his support of controversial political candidate Enoch Powell and announced on stage that Britain was in danger of becoming a "black colony". Clapton was quoted telling the audience: "I think Enoch's right ... we should send them all back. Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" The latter phrase was at the time a British National Front slogan. Clapton continued:

"I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans and fucking (indecipherable) don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. We are a white country. I don’t want fucking wogs living next to me with their standards. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck's sake? We need to vote for Enoch Powell, he’s a great man, speaking truth. Vote for Enoch, he’s our man, he’s on our side, he’ll look after us. I want all of you here to vote for Enoch, support him, he’s on our side. Enoch for Prime Minister! Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!"

This incident, along with some explicitly pro-fascism remarks made around the same time by David Bowie as well as uses of Nazi-related imagery by Sid Vicious and Siouxsie Sioux, were the main catalysts for the creation of Rock Against Racism, which occurred on 30 April 1978.

In response to his comments, rock photographer Red Saunders and others published an open letter in NME, Melody Maker, Sounds and the Socialist Worker. It read "Come on Eric... Own up. Half your music is black. You're rock music's biggest colonist". It also concluded, "P.S. Who shot the Sheriff, Eric? It sure as hell wasn't you!".

In a 2004 interview with Uncut, Clapton referred to Powell as "outrageously brave", and stated that his "feeling about this has not changed", because the UK is still "... inviting people in as cheap labour and then putting them in ghettos." In 2004, Clapton told an interviewer for Scotland on Sunday, "There's no way I could be a racist. It would make no sense". In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton called himself "deliberately oblivious to it all" and wrote, "I had never really understood or been directly affected by racial conflict... when I listened to music, I was disinterested in where the players came from or what colour their skin was. Interesting, then, that 10 years later, I would be labelled a racist... Since then, I have learnt to keep my opinions to myself. Of course, it might also have had something to do with the fact that Pattie had just been leered at by a member of the Saudi royal family." In a December 2007 interview with Melvin Bragg on The South Bank Show, Clapton reiterated his support for Enoch Powell and again denied that Powell's views were "racist".

Awards and honours

Football

In 1982, he performed a concert before West Bromwich Albion player John Wile's testimonial game at the Hawthorns, and it is often reported by various sources that Clapton (despite being from London more than 100 miles away) is an Albion supporter. Credence for this notion can be taken from the cover pictures to the "Backless" solo album, where he is seen on the front cover to be wearing a football scarf; the rear cover photograph reveals the slogan "ALBION" on the scarf. It has also been reported that the club rejected his offer to invest cash in them around this time, and that he has since expressed more of an interest in Chelsea instead.

Clapton's music in film and TV

Mean Streets (1973) – "I Looked Away"

Purple Haze (1983) - "I Feel Free"

The Hit (1984) – Score

Back to the Future (1985) – Heaven Is One Step Away

Edge of Darkness (1985) – Soundtrack

The Color of Money (1986) – "It's In The Way That You Use It"

SpaceCamp (1986 film) – "Forever Man" plays when Tate Donovan's character arrives at the Space Camp.

The German car manufacturer Opel and Vauxhall in the UK used the guitar riff of Clapton's "Layla" in its advertising campaign throughout in 1987–95.

Lethal Weapon (1987) – Soundtrack with Michael Kamen

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) – "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"

Goodfellas (1990) – "Layla" and "Sunshine of Your Love"

Rush (1991) – Clapton wrote the score

Wayne's World (1992) – "Loving your Loving"

Peter's Friends (1992) – "Give Me Strength"

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) - Clapton contributed to the score and co-wrote and co-performed the song "It's Probably Me" with Sting and "Runaway Train" with Elton John.

True Lies (1994) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

The Simpsons episode "Mother Simpson" (1995) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

Twister (1996) – "Motherless Child"

Phenomenon (1996) – "Change the World"

The Van (1996) – (Soundtrack)

Happy Gilmore (1996) - "Wonderful Tonight"

Patch Adams (1998) – "Let It Rain"

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) – "Pilgrim"

City of Angels (1998) – "Further On Up The Road"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes "Band Candy" and "Forever" (1998) – "Tales of Brave Ulysses"

Runaway Bride (1999) – "Blue Eyes Blue "

The Story of Us (1999) – "(I) Get Lost" (featured multiple times)

Friends episode "The One with the Proposal, Part 2" (2000) - "Wonderful Tonight"

Dancing At The Blue Iguana (2000) – "River of Tears"

A Knight's Tale (2001) – "Further On Up The Road"

Blow (2001) – "Strange Brew"

Friends episode "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two" (2002) - "River of Tears"

Futurama episode "The 30% Iron Chef" (2002) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

The Sopranos episode "Whitecaps" (2002) – Tony Soprano is seen listening to "Layla" in his Suburban.

School Of Rock (2003) – "Sunshine of Your Love"

Starsky & Hutch (2004) – "Cocaine"

Anger Management (2004) – "Strange Brew"

Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) – "Cocaine"

Bad News Bears (2005) – "Cocaine"

Lords of Dogtown (2005) – "Strange Brew"

Lord of War (2005) – "Cocaine"

United States of Tara episode – "Cocaine"

The Good Guys Episode Silvio's Way - "Layla"

Due Date (2010) – "White Room"

Discography

Band

, Derek Trucks, Steve Jordan, Eric Clapton, Willie Weeks 2006–2007]]

2006–07 Tour Band

European Tour

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Doyle Bramhall II – guitars, backing vocals

Derek Trucks – slide guitar, guitar

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Tim Carmon – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass guitar

Steve Jordan – drums

The Kick Horns (Simon Clarke, Roddy Lorimer, and Tim Sanders) – brass

Michelle John – backing vocals

Sharon White – backing vocals

North America – Eastern Region, Japan, Australia and New Zealand – Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Doyle Bramhall II – guitars, backing vocals

Derek Trucks – slide guitar, guitar

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Tim Carmon – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass guitar

Steve Jordan – drums

Jerry Douglas – slide guitar on Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007

Michelle John – backing vocals

Sharon White – backing vocals

Support act for European and North America: The Robert Cray Band

2008 Summer Tour Band

Eastern U.S. / Canada Tour

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Doyle Bramhall II – guitars, backing vocals

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Pino Palladino – bass

Robert Randolph – slide guitar

Ian Thomas – drums

Sharon White – backing vocals

Michelle John – backing vocals

European Tour

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Doyle Bramhall II – guitars, backing vocals

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass

Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums

Sharon White – backing vocals

Michelle John – backing vocals

2009 Tour Band

Japan / Australia / New Zealand Tour

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Doyle Bramhall II – guitars, backing vocals

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass

Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums

Sharon White – backing vocals

Michelle John – backing vocals

UK / Ireland Tour

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Andy Fairweather-Low – guitars, backing vocals

Doyle Bramhall II – guitars, backing vocals (on the RAH shows of 26–31 May)

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass

Tim Carmon – keyboards

Steve Gadd – drums

Sharon White – backing vocals

Michelle John – backing vocals

US Tour with Steve Winwood – (10 June – 30 June)

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Steve Winwood – vocals, Hammond B3, piano, guitars

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass

Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums

Michelle John – backing vocals

Sharon White – backing vocals

2010 Tour Band

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass

Walt Richmond – keyboards

Steve Gadd – drums

Sharon White – backing vocals

Michelle John – backing vocals

European Tour with Steve Winwood – (18 May – 13 June)

Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals

Steve Winwood – guitars, vocals, piano, Hammond B3

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Willie Weeks – bass

Steve Gadd – drums

Michelle John – backing vocals

Sharon White – backing vocals

Previous band members

Albert Lee – guitar, vocals, backing vocals

Tim Renwick – guitar

Andy Fairweather-Low – guitar, backing vocals

Phil Palmer – guitar

George Terry – guitar, backing vocals

Mark Knopfler – guitar

Alan Darby – guitar

Greg Phillinganes – keyboards, hammond organ, backing vocals

Billy Preston – Hammond B3 Organ

David Sancious – keyboards, guitar, harmonica, backing vocals

Joe Sample – piano, Wurlitzer

Dick Sims – keyboards

Alan Clark – piano, keyboards

Jim Taylor – xylophone

Gary Brooker – keyboards, backing vocals

Chuck Leavell – piano, keyboards, hammond organ

Chris Stainton – piano, keyboards

Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar

Carl Radle – bass guitar, guitar

Nathan East – bass guitar, vocals, backing vocals

Pino Palladino – bass guitar

Dave Bronze – bass guitar

Paulinho Da Costa – percussion

Jim Gordon – drums, piano

Steve Ferrone – drums

Steve Gadd – drums

Roger Hawkins – drums

Jim Keltner – drums

Richie Hayward – drums

Andy Newmark – drums

Jamie Oldaker – drums

Henry Spinetti – drums

Phil Collins – drums, vocals

Ricky Lawson – drums

Ray Cooper – percussion

Yvonne Elliman – vocals, backing vocals, guitar

Katie Kissoon – backing vocals

Marcy Levy – vocals, backing vocals, harmonica

Shaun Murphy - backing vocals

Tessa Niles – backing vocals

Maggie Ryder – backing vocals

See also

The Yardbirds

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

Cream

Blind Faith

Delaney & Bonnie and Friends

The Plastic Ono Band

Derek and the Dominos

References

Further reading

On Eric Clapton's career :

* Robin Bextor, Eric Clapton: Now & Then, Carlton Books, 2006, 144 pp.

* Eric Clapton, Clapton, The Autobiography, 2007 and 2008, Broadway Books, 352 pp. / Arrow, 400 pages / Century, 384 pp.

* Eric Clapton, Derek Taylor and Peter Blake, 24 Nights, Genesis Publications, 2 volumes, 1992, 198 and 64 pp. Eric Clapton's signed limited edition books, in a Solander box with 2 live CD

* Ray Coleman, Clapton!: The Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 368 pp, or Futura, 336 pages, 1986; originally publ. as "Survivor: The Authorized Biography", Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985, 300 pp.

* Geoffrey Giuliano, Brenda Giuliano and Deborah Lynn Black, The Illustrated Eric Clapton, Sunburst Books, 1994, 96 pp.

* George Harrison, Eric Clapton & al, Live in Japan: A celebration of George Harrison’s ‘Rock Legends’ Tour with Eric Clapton Band, Genesis Publications, 1993, 274 pp. George Harrison's signed limited black leather edition book, in a box with 2 live CD.

* Christopher Hjort w/ a foreword by John Mayall, Strange brew: Eric Clapton and the British Blues Boom, 1965-1970, Jawbone, 2007, 352 pp.

* John Pidgeon, Eric Clapton: A Biography, Panther, 1976, ... pages; rev. & upd. Vermilion, 1985 or 1987, 123 pp.

* Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton: The Complete Recording Sessions 1963-1992, Blandford or St. Martin’s Press, 1993, 192 pp.

* Marc Roberty, Slowhand: The Life & Music of Eric Clapton, Octopus or Harmony, 1991, 176 pp; upd. ed. Crown, 1993, 192 pp.

* Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton in His Own Words, Omnibus Press, 1993, 96 pp.

* Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton: The New Visual Documentary, Omnibus Press, 1990, 128 pp.; rev. ed., 1994, ...pp.; originally publ. as ''Eric Clapton: A Visual Documentary, 1986, ... pp.

* Marc Roberty, Clapton: The Complete Chronicle, Pyramid, 1991, 176 pp. / Mitchell Beazley 1993, 192 pp.

* Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton: The Man, the Music and the Memorabilia, Paper Tiger-Dragon’s World, 1994, 226 pp.

* Marc Roberty, The Complete Guide to the Music of Eric Clapton, Omnibus Press, 1995, 152 pp. CD format; rev. ed., 2005, 128 pp.

* Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton, CD Books, Orion, 1994, ...pp or MBS (Miami), 1996, 120 pp. CD format

* Marc Roberty and Chris Welch, Eric Clapton: The Illustrated Disco/Biography, Omnibus Press, 1984, 80 pp. or Beekman (New York), 1990, ...pp.

* Christopher Sandford, Clapton: Edge of Darkness, Victor Gollancz, 1994, 322 pp.

* Michael Schumacher, Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton, Hyperion, 1995, 388 pp.; rev. ed, Time Warner p'backs, 1998, 411 pp.; new ed. titled Eric Clapton, Sphere, 2008, 432 pp.

* Harry Shapiro, Eric Clapton: Lost in The Blues, Guinness Books or Muze, 1992, 256 pp.; rev. ed. Da Capo press, 1193, 225 pp.; originally publ. as Slowhand: The Story of Eric Clapton, Proteus Books, 1985, 160 pp.

* Dave Thompson, Cream: The World's First Supergroup, Virgin Books, 2005, 256 pp.; rev., upd. & illustr. ed. titled Cream: How Eric Clapton Took the World By Storm, 2006, 320 pp.

* Steve Turner, Conversations with Eric Clapton, London: Abacus, 1976, 116 pp.

* Fred Weiler, Eric Clapton, Smithmark-Penguin or Bison Books, 1992, ... pp.

* Chris Welch, Cream: Stange Brew, Castle Communications or Sanctuary or Penguin, 1994, 176 pp.; Backbeat Books, 2000, 192 pp.

About Clapton's playing and sound :

External links

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood @ Bucharest (review)

An Interview with Eric Clapton Guitar Technician Lee Dickson

Article on Bluesbreakers Les Paul

Gibson article on obtaining the "Woman Tone"

Review: Eric Clapton at Floridita

Eric Clapton FAQ

http://www.whereseric.com/ecfaq/guitars-amps/fool-guitar-psychedelic-gibson-sg.html

Category:1945 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:English blues guitarists Category:English blues musicians Category:English blues singers Category:English buskers Category:English Christians Category:English guitarists Category:Resonator guitarists Category:English male singers Category:English people of Canadian descent Category:English rock musicians Category:English rock guitarists Category:English rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Blues-rock musicians Category:Blues singer-songwriters Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Grammy Award winners Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:People associated with The Beatles Category:People from Guildford (district) Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blind Faith members Category:Cream (band) members Category:John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members Category:Derek and the Dominos members Category:Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Category:Plastic Ono Band members Category:The Yardbirds members Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:Reprise Records artists Category:Alumni of Kingston University Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Slide guitarists Category:Guitar performance techniques Category:Silver Clef Awards winners Category:The Dirty Mac

Name	Otis Rush
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Otis Rush
Born	April 29, 1935
Origin	Philadelphia, Mississippi, USA
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar
Genre	Chicago bluesElectric blues
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1956–2004
Label	Cobra, Chess, Duke, Vanguard, Cotillion, Bullfrog, Black & Blue, Delmark, Sonet, Blind Pig, This Way Up, House of Blues
Url	www.otisrush.net

Otis Rush (born April 29, 1935 in Philadelphia, Mississippi) is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes. With similar qualities to Magic Sam and Buddy Guy, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on many musicians including Michael Bloomfield and Eric Clapton.

Rush is left-handed and, unlike many other left-handed guitarists, plays a left-handed instrument strung upside-down with the low E string at the bottom. He played often with the little finger of his pick hand curled under the low E for positioning. It is widely believed that this contributes to his distinctive sound. Other guitarists who restrung upside down include Albert King and Dick Dale. He has a wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice.

Career

After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1948, Rush made a name for himself playing in clubs on both the South Side and West Side blues scenes. From 1956 to 1958, he recorded for the Cobra Records and released eight singles, some featuring Ike Turner on guitar. His first single "I Can't Quit You Baby" in 1956 reached No. 6 on Billboard's R&B; chart.

After Cobra Records went bankrupt in 1959, Rush landed a recording contract with Chess in 1960. He recorded eight tracks for the label, four of which were released on two singles that year. Six tracks including the two singles later came out on "Door To Door" album in 1969, a compilation with Albert King.

He also went into the studio for Duke Records in 1962, but only one single Homework / I Have to Laugh was issued from the label. It also received a release in Great Britain on Vocalion VP9260 in 1963. In 1965, he recorded for Vanguard which can be heard on the label's compilation album, Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol.2.

In the 1960s, Rush began playing in other cities in the U.S. and also to Europe, most notably the American Folk Blues Festival.

In 1969, the album Mourning in the Morning was released on Cotillion Records. Recorded at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album was produced by Michael Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites of Electric Flag. The sound that incorporated soul and rock was a brand new direction for Rush.

In 1971, Rush recorded the album Right Place, Wrong Time in San Francisco, California for Capitol Records, but Capitol decided not to release it. The album was finally released in 1976 when Rush purchased the master from Capitol and had it released by P-Vine Records in Japan. Bullfrog Records released it in the U.S. soon after. The album generally has since gained a reputation as one of the best works by Rush.

In the 1970s, he also released some albums on Delmark Records and also from Sonet Records in Europe, but by the end of the decade he stopped performing and recording.

Rush made a come back in 1985 making a U.S. tour and releasing the live album, Tops, recorded at the San Francisco Blues Festival.

In 1994, Rush released Ain't Enough Comin' In, the first studio album in 16 years. Any Place I'm Goin' followed in 1998, and Rush earned his first Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1999.

Though he has not recorded a new studio album since 1998, he continued to tour and perform. In 2002, he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "I'm A Man".

However, he suffered a stroke in 2004 which has kept him from performing since. In 2006, Rush released his latest CD, Live and From San Francisco on Blues Express Records, a live recording from 1999. Video footage of the same show was released on the DVD Live Part 1 in 2003.

Rush has two daughters and two sons from a previous marriage and 2 daughters from his second marriage, Lena and Sophia.

Discography

Original albums

1969 Mourning In The Morning (Cotillion)

1974 Screamin' And Cryin' (Black And Blue)

1975 Cold Day In Hell (Delmark)

1976 So Many Roads (Delmark)

1976 Right Place, Wrong Time (Bullfrog)

1978 Troubles Troubles (Sonet)

1989 Tops (Blind Pig)

1989 Blues Interaction -Live In Japan 1986- (P-Vine)

1991 Lost in Blues (Alligator Records ALCD4797)

1993 Live In Europe (Evidence Music ECD 26034-2)

1994 Ain't Enough Comin' In (This Way Up)

1998 Any Place I'm Going (House Of Blues)

2006 Live...and in Concert from San Francisco (Blues Express)

2009 Chicago Blues Festival 2001 (P-Vine)

Compilations

1969 Door To Door (Chess) (coupled with Albert King)

1989 I Can't Quit You Baby - The Cobra Sessions 1956-1958 (P-Vine)

2000 Good 'Uns - The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 (Westside)

2000 The Essential Otis Rush - The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 (Fuel 2000)

2002 Blue on Blues - Buddy Guy & Otis Rush (Fuel 2000)

2005 All Your Love I Miss Loving - Live at the Wise Fools Pub, Chicago (Delmark)

2006 Live At Montreux 1986 (Eagle Rock Entertainment) (Joint performance with Eric Clapton and Luther Allison)

Singles

1956 "I Can't Quit You Baby" / "Sit Down Baby" (Cobra 5000)

1956 "My Love Will Never Die" / "Violent Love" (Cobra 5005)

1957 "Groaning The Blues" / "If You Were Mine" (Cobra 5010)

1957 "Jump Sister Bessie" / "Love That Woman" (Cobra 5015)

1957 "She's A Good 'Un" / "Three Times A Fool" (Cobra 5023)

1958 "Checking On My Baby" / "It Takes Time" (Cobra 5027)

1958 "Double Trouble" / "Keep On Loving Me Baby" (Cobra 5030)

1958 "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" / "My Baby's A Good Un" (Cobra 5032)

1960 "So Many Roads So Many Trains" / "I'm Satisfied" (Chess 1751)

1960 "You Know My Love" / "I Can't Stop Baby" (Chess 1775)

1962 "Homework" / "I Have to Laugh" (Duke 356)

1969 "Gambler's Blues" / "You're Killing My Love" (Cotillion 44032)

DVD

2003 Live Part One (Blues Express)

2006 Live At Montreux 1986 (Eagle Rock Entertainment)

References

External links

Official site

Biography at Blind Pig Records website

Otis Rush Disk Guide

In-depth article on Essential Collection: The Complete Cobra Recordings 1956-1958

Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:Chicago blues musicians Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:African American musicians Category:American blues singers Category:American blues guitarists Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Neshoba County, Mississippi Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Chess Records artists Category:Duke Records artists Category:Vanguard Records artists

Name	Junior Wells
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Amos Wells Blakemore Jr.
Alias	Junior
Born	December 09, 1934
Died	January 15, 1998
Origin	Memphis, Tennessee or West Memphis, Arkansas
Instrument	Vocals, Harmonica
Genre	Blues
Years active	1950s - 1990s
Label	States, Chief, Profile, Delmark, Vanguard, Telarc
Associated acts	The AcesJunior Wells Chicago Blues BandBuddy Guy
Url	Delmark Records official website

Junior Wells (December 9, 1934January 15, 1998 was a blues vocalist and harmonica player and recording artist based in Chicago, who was also famous for playing with Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison. Initially taught by his cousin, Junior Parker, and artist Sonny Boy Williamson, Wells learned how to play the harmonica by the age of seven with surprising skill. He moved to Chicago in 1948 with his mother after her divorce and began sitting in with local musicians at house parties and taverns. In the later 1950s and early 1960s he also recorded singles for Chief Records and its Profile Records subsidiary, including "Messin' with the Kid", "Come on in This House", and "It Hurts Me Too", which would remain in his repertoire throughout his career. His 1960 Profile single "Little by Little" (written by Chief owner and producer Mel London) reached #23 in the Billboard R&B; chart, making it the first of two Wells' singles to enter the chart.

Junior Wells worked with guitarist Buddy Guy in the 1960s, and featured Guy on guitar when he recorded his first album, Hoodoo Man Blues for Delmark Records. The film was released less than a month after his death. He had continued performing until he was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 1997. That fall, he suffered a heart attack while undergoing treatment, sending him into a coma.

Wells was interred in the Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago after succumbing to lymphoma on January 15, 1998.

Album discography

Hoodoo Man Blues † (1965)

It's My Life, Baby! † (1966)

Chicago/The Blues/Today! vol. 1 † (1966)

On Tap (1974)

You're Tuff Enough (1968)

Coming at You † (1968)

Live at the Golden Bear (1969)

Southside Blues Jam † (1969)

Buddy and the Juniors † (1970)

In My Younger Days (1972)

Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues † (1972)

Live At Montreux † (1977)

Blues Hit Big Town (1977)

Pleading the Blues † (1979)

Got To Use Your Head (1979)

Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite † (1982)

The Original Blues Brothers (1983)

Messin’ With The Kid, Vol 1 (1986)

Universal Rock (1986)

Chiefly Wells (1986)

Harp Attack! (1990)

1957-1966 (1991)

Alone & Acoustic † (1991)

Undisputed Godfather of the Blues (1993)

Better Off with the Blues † (1993)

Messin’ With The Kid 1957-63 (1995)

Everybody's Getting' Some (1995)

Come on in This House (1996)

Live at Buddy Guy's Legends (1997)

Keep On Steppin’: The Best Of… (1998)

Best Of The Vanguard Years (1998)

Masters (1998)

Buddy Guy & Junior Wells † (1998)

Last Time Around –- Live at Legends (1998)

Junior Wells & Friends (1999)

Every Day I Have The Blues (2000)

Calling All Blues (2000)

Buddy Guy & Junior Wells † (2001)

Best Of.. (2001)

Live at Theresa's 1975 (2006)

:(† featuring Buddy Guy)

See also

Chicago Blues Festival

References

External links

Centerstage Chicago Obituary

Elvis Pelvis Obituary

Island Net Obituary

Category:1934 births Category:1998 deaths Category:African American musicians Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blues revival musicians Category:American blues harmonica players Category:Deaths from lymphoma Category:Harmonica blues musicians Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:People from West Memphis, Arkansas Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Chicago blues musicians Category:Vanguard Records artists

Name	Albert King
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Albert Nelson
Born	April 25, 1923Indianola, Mississippi, United States
Died	December 21, 1992Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Instrument	Guitar, vocals
Genre	Blues
Occupation	Songwriter, Musician, producer
Years active	1949–1992
Label	Stax
Notable instruments	Gibson Flying V

Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer.

Career

One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B. B. King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6' 4" (192 cm) (some reports say 6' 7") and weighed 250 lbs (118 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near Forrest City, Arkansas where the family moved when he was eight. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas. He also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed's band and on several early Reed recordings. Influenced by blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, but also interestingly Hawaiian music, the electric guitar became his signature instrument, his preference being the Gibson Flying V, which he named "Lucy".

King was a left-handed "upside-down/backwards" guitarist. He was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. In later years he played a custom-made guitar that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed (as he was used to playing). He also used very unorthodox tunings (i.e., tuning as low as C to allow him to make sweeping string bends). Some believe that he was using open E minor tuning (C-B-E-G-B-E) or open F tuning (C-F-C-F-A-D). A "less is more" type blues player, he was known for his expressive "bending" of notes, a technique characteristic of blues guitarists.

He recorded his first disc in 1953 for Parrot Records in Chicago, but it made no impact. His first minor hit came in 1959 with "I'm a Lonely Man" written by Bobbin Records A&R; man and fellow guitar hero Little Milton, responsible for King's signing with the label. However, it was not until his 1961 release "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" that he had a major hit, reaching number fourteen on the U.S. Billboard R&B; chart. In 1966 he signed with the Stax record label. Produced by Al Jackson, Jr., King with Booker T. & the MGs recorded dozens of influential sides, such as "Crosscut Saw" and "As The Years Go Passing By", and in 1967 Stax released the album, Born Under a Bad Sign. The title track of that album (written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell) became King's best known song and has been covered by many artists (from Cream to Homer Simpson).

in October, 1968 with his Gibson Flying V guitar Photo: Grant Gouldon]] Another landmark album followed in Live Wire/Blues Power from one of many dates King played at promoter Bill Graham's Fillmore venues. It had a wide and long-term influence on Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Robbie Robertson, and later Gary Moore and Stevie Ray Vaughan ("Criminal World", on David Bowie's 1983 release "Let's Dance", features a guitar solo copied note-for-note from his hero Albert King by young session musician Stevie Ray Vaughan).

In the 1970s, King was teamed with members of The Bar-Kays and The Movement (Isaac Hayes's backing group), including bassist James Alexander and drummer Willie Hall adding strong funk elements to his music. Adding strings and multiple rhythm guitarists, producers Allen Jones and Henry Bush created a wall of sound that contrasted the sparse, punchy records King made with Booker T. & the MGs. Among these was another of King's signature tunes for King with "I'll Play the Blues For You" in 1972.

King influenced others such as Mick Taylor, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Mike Bloomfield and Joe Walsh (the James Gang guitarist spoke at King's funeral). He also had an impact on contemporaries Albert Collins and Otis Rush. Clapton has said that his work on the 1967 Cream hit "Strange Brew" and throughout the album Disraeli Gears was inspired by King.

As he hit his mid-sixties King began to muse about retirement, not unreasonable given that he had health problems. Nevertheless, when near to death, he was planning yet another overseas tour.

King died on December 21, 1992 from a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee.

Discography

DVD and videos

1995 Maintenance Shop Blues (VHS), Yazoo

2001 Godfather Of The Blues: His Last European Tour DVD, P-Vine Records

2004 Live In Sweden, Image Entertainment

References

Sources

Bowman, Rob (1997) Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records, Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-8256-7227-9

Discography at Lycos Music

External links

Albert King, Greg Johnson, BluesNotes, September 1999

Albert King at Rolling Stone

Category:1923 births Category:1992 deaths Category:People from Sunflower County, Mississippi Category:Soul-blues musicians Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Urban blues musicians Category:American rhythm and blues musicians Category:American blues singers Category:American blues guitarists Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blues musicians from Mississippi Category:African American guitarists Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:Lead guitarists Category:King Records artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Charly Records artists Category:Ace Records artists