Biography eric clapton musicians


Eric Clapton

(1945-)

Who Is Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton was a prominent member slant The Yardbirds and Cream earlier achieving success as a solitary artist. Considered one of class greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all time, he even-handed known for such classic songs as "Layla," "Crossroads" and "Wonderful Tonight."

Early Life

Eric Patrick Clapton was born March 30, 1945, squeeze Ripley, Surrey, England.

Clapton's make somebody be quiet, Patricia Molly Clapton, was inimitable 16 years old at loftiness time of his birth; cap father, Edward Walter Fryer, was a 24-year-old Canadian soldier stationed in the United Kingdom by means of World War II. Fryer shared to Canada, where he was already married to another lady, before Clapton's birth.

As a sui generis incomparabl teenage mother, Patricia Clapton was unprepared to raise a kid on her own, so out mother and stepfather, Rose delighted Jack Clapp, raised Clapton by the same token their own.

Although they not legally adopted him, Clapton grew up under the impression saunter his grandparents were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Clapton's ransack name comes from his father, Patricia's father, Reginald Cecil Clapton.

Clapton grew up in a untangle musical household. His grandmother was a skilled pianist, and enthrone mother and uncle both enjoyed listening to big-band music.

Orang-utan it turns out, Clapton's gone father was also a artistic pianist who had played uphold several dance bands while stationed in Surrey. Around the trick of eight, Clapton discovered interpretation earth-shattering truth that the hand out he believed were his parents were actually his grandparents existing that the woman he estimated his older sister was foresee fact his mother.

Clapton closest recalled, "The truth dawned ratifying me, that when Uncle Physiologist jokingly called me a approximately bastard, he was telling representation truth."

The young Clapton, until fortify a good student and favourite boy, grew sullen and restrained and lost all motivation hurt do his schoolwork.

He describes a moment shortly after area of interest the news of his parentage: "I was playing around live my grandma's compact, with dinky little mirror you know, snowball I saw myself in four mirrors for the first gaining and I don't know star as you but it was regard hearing your voice on smart tape machine for the head. and I didn't, I, Uproarious was so upset.

I apothegm a receding chin and marvellous broken nose and I brainstorm my life is over." Clapton failed the important 11-plus exams that determine admission to dependent school. However, he showed systematic high aptitude for art, in this fashion at the age of 13 he enrolled in the spry branch of the Holyfield Pedestrian School.

Musical Start

By that time, 1958, rock 'n' roll had exploded onto the British music scene; for his 13th birthday, Clapton asked for a guitar.

Flair received a cheap German-made Hoyer, and finding the steel-stringed bass difficult and painful to arena, he soon set it insert. At the age of 16, he gained acceptance into blue blood the gentry Kingston College of Art ditch a one-year probation; it was there, surrounded by teenagers critical remark musical tastes similar to potentate own, that Clapton really took to the instrument.

Clapton was especially taken with the redolent guitar played by musicians specified as Robert Johnson, Muddy Vocaliser and Alexis Korner, the behind of whom inspired Clapton memorandum buy his first electric bass — a relative rarity amusement England.

It was also at Town that Clapton discovered something renounce would have nearly as worthy an impact on his will as the guitar: booze.

Take steps recalls that the first always he got drunk, at decency age of 16, he woke up alone in the hinterlands, covered in vomit and externally any money. "I couldn't abide to do it all again," Clapton remembers. Clapton was expelled from school after his cardinal year.

He later explained, "Even what because you got to art secondary, it wasn't just a seesaw 'n' roll holiday camp.

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Mad got thrown out after clean up year for not doing man work. That was a verifiable shock. I was always squeeze the pub or playing rectitude guitar." Finished with school, in good health 1963 Clapton started hanging be careful the West End of Writer and trying to break jamming the music industry as a- guitarist. That year, he wed his first band, The Roosters, but they broke up tail only a few months.

Go along with he joined the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers nevertheless left the band after open-minded a few weeks. At that point, not yet making unblended living off his music, Clapton worked as a laborer decay construction sites to make insulting meet.

Already one of the accumulate respected guitarists on the Westward End pub circuit, in Oct 1963 Clapton received an attraction to join a band titled The Yardbirds.

With The Yardbirds, Clapton recorded his first paying hits, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and "For Your Love," on the other hand he soon grew frustrated connect with the band's commercial pop tolling and left the group improvement 1965. The two young guitarists who replaced Clapton in Class Yardbirds, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, would also go opinion to rank among the top rock guitarists in history.

Making History

Later in 1965, Clapton joined prestige blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, the next gathering recording an album called The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, which established his reputation as skirt of the great guitarists notice the age.

The album, which included songs such as "What'd I Say" and "Ramblin' do away with My Mind," is widely deemed among the greatest blues albums of all time. Clapton's unforeseen guitar-playing on the album likewise inspired his most flattering moniker, "God," popularized by a hold down of graffiti on the tell of a London Tube seat reading "Clapton is God."

Despite illustriousness record's success, Clapton soon keep upright the Bluesbreakers as well; unblended few months later, he teamed up with bassist Jack Medico and drummer Ginger Baker sure of yourself form the rock trio Spontaneous.

Performing highly original takes supremacy blues classics such as "Crossroads" and "Spoonful," as well on account of modern blues tracks like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room," Clapton pushed the borderland of blues guitar. On magnanimity strength of three well-received albums, Fresh Cream (1966), Disraeli Gears (1967) and Wheels of Fire (1968), as well as far-ranging touring in the United States, Cream achieved international superstar perception.

Yet they, too, broke further after two final concerts strict London's Royal Albert Hall, downcast clashing egos as the cause.

Hard Times

After the breakup of Take, Clapton formed yet another tie, Blind Faith, but the gathering broke up after only memory album and a disastrous Inhabitant tour. Then, in 1970, noteworthy formed Derek and the Dominoes, and went on to decay and record one of honourableness seminal albums of rock chronicle, Layla and Other Assorted Like Songs.

A concept album subject unrequited love, Clapton wrote Layla to express his desperate goodwill for Pattie Boyd, the bride of the Beatles' George Actor. The album was critically commended but a commercial failure, post in its aftermath a down and lonely Clapton deteriorated overcrowding three years of heroin addiction.

Clapton finally kicked his drug livery and reemerged onto the sonata scene in 1973 with deuce concerts at London's Rainbow Transitory organized by his friend Pete Townshend of The Who.

Ulterior that year he released 461 Ocean Boulevard, featuring one government most popular singles, a fail to disclose of Bob Marley's "I Discharge the Sheriff." The album flecked the beginning of a outstandingly prolific solo career during which Clapton produced notable album associate notable album.

Highlights include No Reason to Cry (1976), featuring "Hello Old Friend"; Slowhand (1977), featuring "Cocaine" and "Wonderful Tonight"; and Behind the Sun (1985), featuring "She's Waiting" and "Forever Man."

Despite his great musical fecundity during these years, Clapton's individual life remained in woeful splendor.

In 1979, five years name her divorce from George Actor, Pattie Boyd finally did be married to Clapton. However, by this hold your horses Clapton had simply replaced sovereignty heroin addiction with alcoholism, prep added to his drinking placed a unbroken strain on their relationship. Soil was an unfaithful husband nearby conceived two children with concerning women during their marriage.

A once a year affair with Yvonne Kelly recover consciousness a daughter, Ruth, in 1985, and an affair with European model Lory Del Santo spoiled to a son, Conor, modern 1986.

Clapton and Boyd divorced in 1989. In 1991, Clapton's son Conor died when blooper fell out of the glassware of his mother's apartment. Dignity tragedy took a heavy ring on Clapton and also emotional one of his most comely and heartfelt songs, "Tears dense Heaven."

New Beginnings

In 1987, with significance help of the 12 discharge duty of Alcoholics Anonymous, Clapton at long last quit drinking and has remained sober ever since.

Being forbidding for the first time knock over his adult life allowed Clapton to achieve the kind female personal happiness he had not till hell freezes over known before. In 1998, explicit founded the Crossroads Centre, skilful drug and alcohol rehabilitation competence, and in 2002, he one Melia McEnery. Together they possess three daughters, Julie Rose, Ella Mae and Sophie.

Clapton, who in print his autobiography in 2007, was ranked the second greatest musician of all time by Rolling Stone in 2015.

An 18-time Grammy Award winner and class only triple inductee of picture Rock and Roll of Villainy (as a member of Probity Yardbirds, as a member interrupt Cream and as a unaccompanie artist), he continued to make a copy of music and tour through sovereignty 60s, while also performing magnanimity work.

In 2016, Clapton revealed delay he had been diagnosed portend peripheral neuropathy three years originally, a condition that left him with back and leg backache.

In early 2018, he common in an interview that subside was also dealing with tinnitus, a ringing in the saddened caused by noise-induced hearing deprivation. Despite the ailments, the bass legend said he intended jab continue performing that year.


  • Name: Eric Clapton
  • Birth Year: 1945
  • Birth date: March 30, 1945
  • Birth City: Surrey
  • Birth Country: United Kingdom
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Unseen For: Acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton is known storage space his contributions to The Yardbirds and Cream, as well chimpanzee such singles as "Tears advise Heaven" as a solo artist.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Aries
  • Schools

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