Eric Patrick Clapton born on 30th March 1945. He began
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 a guitar in class. He took a job as a manual labourer and
spent most of his free time playing the electric guitar he had persuaded his
grandparents to purchase for him.
Eric Clapton joined a number of blues bands, including the Roosters and Casey
Jones and the Yardbirds, whose line-up would eventually include all three
British guitar heroes of the sixties, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.
Despite the popularity of the band's first two albums, Five Live Yardbirds and
For Your Love, Eric left in 1965, because he felt the band was moving from its
blues feel in favour of the commercial pop focus. He joined John Mayall's Blues
breakers almost immediately his talent blossomed at an accelerated rate and he
quickly became the defining musical force of the group.
A disappointing self titled solo debut album was released in 1970. That album
featured bassist Carl Radle, keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, and drummer Jim Gordon
from Delaney's band. The four proceeded to call themselves Derek and the
Dominos, and recorded Clapton's landmark double album Layla. An anguished lament
of unrequited love, Layla was inspired by a difficult love triangle between
Eric, his close friend George Harrison, and Harrison's wife Pattie she and
Clapton eventually married in 1979 and divorced in 1988.
Eric was also one of the honoured guests who were invited to sing and play
guitar at the party in the palace. A rock concert held at Buckingham Palace for
the Queens Golden Jubilee on 3rd June 2002. 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
channelled his shattering grief into writing the
heart-wrenching 1992 Grammy-winning tribute to his
son, Tears in Heaven.
