Eric Patrick Clapton

Real Name: Eric Patrick Clapton

Occupation: Musician, Guitarist

Date of Birth: March 30, 1945

Place of Birth: Ripley, England, U.K.

Sign: Sun in Aries, Moon in Scorpio

Education: Expelled from Kingston College of Art

Relations: Ex-wife: Pattie Boyd Harrison; Daughter: Ruth Kelly-Clapton (Born 1/11/1985); Son: Conor (deceased); Daughter : Julie Rose Clapton (Born 15/06/2001)

IN the late 1960s, one of the most prominent pieces of graffiti seen in London and New York was "Clapton is God." Thirty years later, the stalwart guitarist and singer continues to hold the initiated enthralled, and a fair share of his present-day fans weren't even born when those words of worship were emblazoned on public edifices. Clapton's meandering and groundbreaking musical career has been punctuated by extreme personal hardship and tragedy. Through the emotional truth of his music, he has sought refuge and release from the suffering of drug and alcohol addiction, personal relationships gone awry, and the deaths of several loved ones.

Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945, in his grandparent's house at 1, The Green, Ripley, Surrey, England. He was the illegitimate son of Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Fryer, a Canadian soldier stationed in England. After W.W.II Fryer returned to his wife in Canada, Patricia left Eric in the custody of his grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp. (The surname Clapton is from Rose's first husband, Reginald Cecil Clapton.) Patricia moved to Germany where she eventually married another Canadian soldier, Frank McDonald.

Young Ricky (that's what his grandparent's called him) was a quiet and polite child, an above average student with an aptitude for art. He was raised believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister, to shield him the stigma that illegitimacy carried with it. The truth was eventually revealed to him, at the age of nine by his grandmother. Later, when Eric would visit his mother, they would still pretend to be brother and sister.

As an adolescent, Clapton glimpsed the future when he tuned in to a Jerry Lee Lewis appearance on British television. Lewis's explosive performance, coupled with young Eric's emerging love of the blues and American R&B, was powerful enough to ignite a desire to learn to play guitar. He commenced studies at the Kingston College of Art, but his intended career path in stained-glass design ended permanently when the blues-obsessed Clapton was expelled at seventeen for playing guitar in class. He took a job as a manual laborer and spent most of his free time playing the electric guitar he persuaded his grandparents to purchase for him. In time, Clapton joined a number of British blues bands, including the Roosters and Casey Jones, and eventually rose to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds, whose lineup would eventually include all three British guitar heroes of the sixties: Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck. The group became a sensation for their blues-tinged rock, as did the budding guitar virtuoso Clapton, who earned the nickname "Slowhand" because his forceful string-bending often resulted in broken guitar strings, which he would replace onstage while the crowd engaged in a slow hand-clapping.

Despite the popularity of the band's first two albums, Five Live Yardbirds and For Your Love, Clapton left in 1965, because he felt the band was veering away from its bluesy bent in favor of a more commercially viable pop focus. He joined John Mayell's Bluesbreakers almost immediately, and in the ferment of that band's purist blues sensibilities, his talent blossomed at an accelerated rate--he quickly became the defining musical force of the group. "Clapton is God" was the hue and cry of a fanatic following that propelled the band's Bluesbreakers album to No. 6 on the English pop charts. Clapton parted company with the Bluesbreakers in mid-1966 to form his own band, Cream, with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. With this lineup, Clapton sought "to start a revolution in musical thought . . . to change the world, to upset people, and to shock them." His vision was more than met as Cream quickly became the preeminent rock trio of the late sixties. On the strength of their first three albums (Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, and Wheels of Fire) and extensive touring, the band achieved a level of international fame approaching that of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, and Clapton became even more almighty in the minds of his fans. In fact, the "Clapton is God" gospel contributed largely to Cream's disintegration--the band had always been a three-headed beast of warring egos, and their intense chemistry, exacerbated by the drug abuse of all three, inevitably led to a farewell tour in 1968 and the release of the Goodbye album in 1969. Early in 1969, Clapton united with Baker, bassist Rick Grech, and Traffic's Steve Winwood to record one album as Blind Faith, rock's first "supergroup." In support of their self-titled album, Blind Faith commenced a sold-out, twenty-four-city American tour, the stress of which resulted in the demise of the band less than a year after its inception.

Clapton kept busy for a time as an occasional guest player with Delaney & Bonnie, the husband-and-wife team that had been Blind Faith's opening act during their tour. A disappointing live album from that collaboration was released in 1970, as was Clapton's self-titled solo debut. That album featured three other musicians--bassist Carl Radle, keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, and drummer Jim Gordon--from Delaney's band, and yielded a modest pop hit with Clapton's version of J.J. Cale's "After Midnight." The collective proceeded to baptize themselves Derek and the Dominos, and commenced recording Clapton's landmark double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, with the added contribution of slide guitarist Duane Allman. An anguished lament of unrequited love, "Layla" was inspired by a difficult love triangle between Clapton, his close friend George Harrison, and Harrison's wife Pattie (she and Clapton eventually married in 1979 and divorced in 1988). Unfortunately, personal struggles and career pressure on the guitarist led to a major heroin addiction. Derek and the Dominos crumbled during the course of an American tour and an aborted attempt to record a second album.

Clapton withdrew from the spotlight in the early seventies, wallowing in his addiction and then struggling to conquer it. Following the advice of the Who's Pete Townsend, he underwent a controversial but effective electro-acupuncture treatment and was fully rehabilitated. He rebounded creatively with a role in the film version of Townsend's rock opera, Tommy, and with a string of albums, including the reggae-influenced 461 Ocean Boulevard, which yielded a chart-topping single cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." Some critics and fans were disappointed by Clapton's post-rehab efforts, feeling that he had abandoned his former guitar-heavy approach in favor of a more laid-back and vocal-conscious one.

Just One Night, Clapton's galvanizing 1980 live album, reminded devotees just exactly who their guitar hero was, but unfortunately, this period marked Clapton's critical slide into a serious drinking problem that eventually hospitalized him for a time in 1981. He experienced a creative resurgence after reining in his alcoholism, releasing a string of consistently successful albums--Another Ticket (1981), Money and Cigarettes (1983), Behind the Sun (1985), August (1986), Journeyman (1989)--and turning his personal life around. Though some say Clapton never regained the musical heights of his heroin days, his legend nevertheless continued to grow. That he was a paragon of rock became more than apparent when Polygram released a rich four-CD retrospective of his career, Crossroads, in 1988; the set scored Grammy awards for Best Historical Album and Best Liner Notes.

In late 1990, the fates delivered Clapton a terrible blow when guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton road crew members Colin Smythe and Nigel Browne--all close friends of Clapton's--were killed in a helicopter crash. A few months later, he was dealt another cruel blow when Conor, his son by Italian model Lori Del Santo, fell forty-nine stories from Del Santo's Manhattan high-rise apartment to his death. Clapton channeled his shattering grief into writing the heart-wrenching 1992 Grammy-winning tribute to his son, "Tears in Heaven." (Clapton received a total of six Grammys that year for the single and for the album Unplugged.)

In 1994, he began once again to play traditional blues; the album, From the Cradle, marked a return to raw blues standards, and it hit with critics and fans. The fifty-one-year-old Clapton shows no signs of slowing down: in February of 1997 he picked up Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammys for "Change the World," from the soundtrack of the John Travolta movie Phenomenon.

Already a double inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream, a third nod as a solo artist is an inevitable honor for the legendary guitarist. Until Clapton springs his next album on a waiting world, fans can content themselves with his latest side project, TDF. The band's techno-pedigreed 1997 release, Retail Therapy, represents a marked musical departure from Clapton's blues-rock roots, and he appears on the album with the correspondingly off-the-wall pseudonym "X-Sample."

Next came the acclaimed Pilgrim, which captured the Grammy nomination for Best Pop Album in ‘98. In 1999 he won a Grammy for his performance on “The Calling” from Santana’s Supernatural. Clapton revisited the blues with friend and musical legend BB King in 2000’s Riding With The King, garnering the artist more platinum and a Grammy nomination in a career full of chartbusters and precious metal.

The only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of both The Yardbirds and Cream and as a solo artist), Eric Clapton continues to astonish and delight a vast spectrum of music lovers. It’s a legacy that continues with the release of Reptile, the latest journey in the lifelong musical odyssey of an authentic musical genius.

1964---66

Yardbirds & Bluesbreakers

	1st Yardbirds Single (June 1964) - I Wish You Would / A Certain Girl
	2nd Yardbirds Single (October 1964) - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl / I Ain't Got You
	Five Live Yardbirds (January 1965)
	3rd Yardbirds Single (February 1965) - For Your Love / Got To Hurry

* 13 March 1965 - Disapproving of their new commercial direction, Clapton quits the Yardbirds.

	1st Bluesbreakers Single (October 1965) - I'm Your Witchdoctor / Telephone Blues
	Sonny Boy Williamson And The Yardbirds (January 1966)
	Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton (July 1966)
	2nd Bluesbreakers Single (August 1966) - Lonely Years / Bernard Jenkins
	3rd Bluesbreakers Single (September 1966) - Parchman Farm / Key To Love

1966-73

Cream, Blind Faith, Dominos

	1st Cream Single (October 1966) - Wrapping Paper / Cat's Squirrel
	2nd Cream Single (December 1966) - I Feel Free / N.S.U.
	Fresh Cream (December 1966)
	3rd Cream Single (June 1967) - Strange Brew / Tales Of Brave Ulysses
	Disraeli Gears (November 1967)
	4th Cream Single (May 1968) - Anyone For Tennis / Pressed Rat And Warthog
	Wheels Of Fire (August 1968)
	5th Cream Single (September 1968) - Sunshine Of Your Love / SWLABR

* 2 November 1968 - During a concert at Madison Square Garden, Cream is presented with platinum discs for Wheels Of Fire, 8 years before the RIAA starts officially issuing such items.

	6th Cream Single (January 1969) - White Room / Those Were The Days
	Goodbye (March 1969)
	7th Cream Single (April 1969) - Badge / What A Bringdown
	Blind Faith (August 1969)
	Live Cream (June 1970)
	Eric Clapton (August 1970)
	Single (October 1970) - After Midnight / Easy Now
	Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs (December 1970 / Box Set issued 18 August 1990)

* 29 October 1971 - Fellow Domino and virtuoso slide guitarist Duane Allman dies in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia

	Dominos Studio Single (July 1972) - Layla / Bell Bottom Blues
	Live Cream Volume II (July 1972)
	Live At The Fillmore (Released March 1973 as "In Concert", re-released April 1994)
	Dominos Live Single (April 1973) - Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad / Presence Of The Lord

1973-1979

Return From Exile - The Classic Solo Years

* 13 January 1973 - Eric Clapton's "Rainbow Concert" marks his return to the stage after a long absence.

	Rainbow Concert (Released September 1973, re-released 25 July 1995)
	Single (July 1974) - I Shot The Sheriff / Give Me Strength
	461 Ocean Boulevard (August 1974)
	Single (October 1974) - Willie And The Hand Jive / Mainline Florida
	There's One In Every Crowd (April 1975)
	Single (May 1975) - Swing Low Sweet Chariot / Pretty Blue Eyes
	Single (August 1975) - Knockin' On Heaven's Door / Someone Like You
	E.C. Was Here (August 1975)
	No Reason To Cry (August 1976)
	Single (October 1976) - Hello Old Friend / All Our Past Times
	Single (February 1977) - Carnival / Hurgry
	Single (November 1977) - Lay Down Sally / Cocaine
	Slowhand (November 1977)
	Single (March 1978) - Wonderful Tonight / Peaches And Diesel
	Single (October 1978) - Promises / Watch Out For Lucy
	Backless (November 1978)
	Single (March 1979) - If I Don't Be There By Morning / Tulsa Time

* 27 March 1979 - Eric finally weds the inspiration for "Layla", Patti Boyd Harrison.

1980-1987

Clapton In The 80's

	Just One Night (May 1980)
	Single (February 1981) - I Can't Stand It / Black Rose
	Another Ticket (February 1981)
	Single (April 1981) - Another Ticket / Rita Mae
	Time Pieces - The Best Of Eric Clapton (March 1982, Originally a US release)
	Single (January 1983) - I've Got A Rock 'n' Roll Heart / Man In Love / Everybody Oughta Make A Change (12" only)
	Money And Cigarettes (February 1983)
	Single (April 1983) - The Shape You're In / Crosscut Saw / Pretty Girl (12" only)
	Single (April 1983) - Slow Down Linda / Crazy Country Hop
	Time Pieces Volume 2 - Live In The 70's (May 1983)
	BBC Single (January 1985) - Edge Of Darkness / Shoot Out
	Single (March 1985) - Forever Man / Too Bad / Something's Happening (12" only)
	Behind The Sun (March 1985)
	Single (June 1985) - She's Waiting / Jailbait

* 13 July 1985 - Eric performs at the historic Live Aid concert at J.F.K. Stadium in Philadelphia.

	Edge Of Darkness Soundtrack (November 1985)
	August (October 1986)
	Single (January 1987) - Behind The Mask / Grand Illusion / Wanna Make Love To You (12" only) / Crossroads (Live 15 July 1986, double pack only) / White Room (Live 15 July 1986, double pack only)
	Single (March 1987) - It's In The Way That You Use It / Bad Influence / Same Old Blues (12" only)
	Single (March 1987) - Tearing Us Apart / Hold On / Run (Live 15 July 1986, 12" only)
	Lethal Weapon Soundtrack

* 7 July 1987 - The Eric Clapton back catalogue is issued in the the new compact disc format.

Single (November 1987) - Holy Mother / Tangled In Love / Forever Man (12" only) / Behind The Mask (12" only)

1988- to present

Crossroads To Present

	Crossroads (18 April 1988)
	Lethal Weapon II Soundtrack (September 1988)
	Homeboy Soundtrack (November 1988)
	Single (November 1989) - Bad Love / Before You Accuse Me / Badge (Live 15 July 1986, 12" only) / Let It Rain (Live 15 July 1986, 12" only) / I Shot The Sheriff (Live 15 July 1986, box set single only)
	Journeyman (7 November 1989)
	Single (March 1990) - No Alibis / Running On Faith / Behind The Mask (Live 15 July 1986, 12" only)
	Single (May 1990) - Pretending / Hard Times / Knock On Wood (12" only) / Behind The Sun (CD single only)

* 20 March 1991 - Eric's son Conor dies in a fall from an apartment window in New York City.

	24 Nights (December 1991)
	Rush Soundtrack (January 1992)

* 16 January 1992 - Clapton and band perform for 300 fans at Bray Studios, Berkshire in a show that would become the Unplugged album.

	Lethal Weapon III Soundtrack (June 1992)
	Unplugged (25 August 1992)

* 12 January 1993 - Cream is inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame

* 24 June 1994 - 100 of Clapton's guitars are auctioned off at Christie's to raise money for the Crossroads Centre substance abuse clinic in Antigua.

	From The Cradle (13 September 1994)
	Single (September 1994) - Motherless Child / Driftin' / County Jail / 32-20
	Crossroads II (2 April 1996)
	Single (8 July 1996) - Change The World / Danny Boy
	Retail Therapy (March 1997)
	Pilgrim (10 March 1998)
	Blues (27 July 1999)
	Chronicles (12 October 1999)
	The Story Of Us Soundtrack (23 November 1999)

* 6 March 2000 - Clapton is the first-ever three time inductee of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

	Riding With The King (12 June 2000)
	Reptile (5th March 2001)
	Single (23 April 2001) - I Ain't Gonna Stand For It / Losing Hand / Johnny Guitar
	One More Car, One More Rider (5th November 2002)

---