| Name | Eric Clapton |
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| Alias | Slowhand |
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| Landscape | yes |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Eric Patrick Clapton |
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| Born | March 30, 1945Ripley, Surrey, England |
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| Instrument | Vocals, Guitar |
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| Genre | Rock, blues-rock, blues, psychedelic rock, hard rock |
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| Occupation | Musician, singer-songwriter, artist |
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| Years active | 1962–present |
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| Label | Warner Bros., Reprise, Polydor, RSO, Atco, Apple, Deram |
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| 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. |
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| Url | Official website |
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| Notable instruments | See: Guitars sectionBlackieBrownieGibson SGGibson ES-335Gibson Les Paul |
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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
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