Background

Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945, in Surrey, England. He was the illegitimate son of Patricia Molly Clapton and a Canadian soldier stationed in England named Edward Fryer. When Fryer returned to his wife in Canada, Clapton's mother left him to be raised by his grandparents, Jack and Rose Clapp. (He received his surname from his mother's first husband, Reginald Clapton.) Clapton was told his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister. He did not find out the truth until he was nine years old.

Education

Eric Clapton received his early education from Hollyfield School in Surbiton. Later, he attended the Kingston College of Art. Unfortunately, the school authority dismissed him for his negligence towards art. From this time, he developed an interest towards blues.

Career

After playing lead guitar with two minor bands, in 1963 he joined the Yardbirds, a rhythm-and-blues group in which his blues-influenced playing and commanding technique began to attract attention. Clapton left the Yardbirds in 1965 when they pursued commercial success with a pop-oriented style. That same year he joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and his guitar playing soon became the group’s principal drawing card as it attracted a fanatic following on the London club scene.

In 1966 Clapton left the Bluesbreakers to form a new band with two other virtuoso rock musicians, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. This group, Cream, achieved international popularity with its sophisticated, high-volume fusion of rock and blues that featured improvisatory solos. Clapton’s mastery of blues form and phrasing, his rapid runs, and his plaintive vibrato were widely imitated by other rock guitarists. The high energy and emotional intensity of his playing on such songs as “Crossroads” and “White Room” set the standard for the rock guitar solo. Cream disbanded in late 1968, however, after having recorded such albums as Disraeli Gears (1967), Wheels of Fire (1968), and Goodbye (1969).

In 1969 Clapton and Baker formed the group Blind Faith with keyboardist-vocalist Steve Winwood and bassist Rick Grech, but the group broke up after recording only one album. Clapton emerged as a capable vocalist on his first solo album, which was released in 1970. He soon assembled a trio of strong session musicians (bassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon, and keyboardist Bobby Whitlock) into a new band called Derek and the Dominos, with Clapton as lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. The guitarist Duane Allman joined the group in making the classic double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), which is regarded as Clapton’s masterpiece and a landmark among rock recordings. Disappointed by Layla’s lacklustre sales and addicted to heroin, Clapton went into seclusion for two years. Overcoming his addiction, he made a successful comeback with the album 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974), which included his hit remake of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” On the album Clapton adopted a more relaxed approach that emphasized his songwriting and vocal abilities rather than his guitar playing.

Over the next 20 years Clapton produced a string of albums, including Slowhand (1977), Backless (1978), Money and Cigarettes (1983), August (1986), Unplugged (1992) - which featured the chart hit “Tears in Heaven,” written after the death of his son - and From the Cradle (1994). At the 1993 Grammy Awards ceremony, “Tears in Heaven” won for both song and record of the year, and Unplugged was named album of the year. Clapton also explored his musical influences with a pair of Grammy-winning collaborations: Riding with the King (2000) with blues legend B.B. King and The Road to Escondido (2006) with roots guitarist J.J. Cale. The critical and commercial success of these albums solidified his stature as one of the world’s greatest rock musicians, and subsequent releases, such as Clapton (2010), Old Sock (2013), and I Still Do (2016), finely captured his leisurely late-career form.

Clapton, an autobiography, was published in 2007, and the documentary Clapton: Life in 12 Bars appeared in 2017.

Achievements

• 

  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 second 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". He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009. An asteroid, 4305 Clapton, is named after him.

Works

More photos

• music

  • Eric Clapton 1970
  • 461 Ocean Boulevard 1974
  • There's One In Every Crowd 1975
  • No Reason To Cry 1976
  • Slowhand 1977
  • Backless 1978
  • Another Ticket 1981
  • Money And Cigarettes 1983
  • Behind the Sun 1985
  • August 1986
  • Journeyman 1989
  • Rush 1992
  • From The Cradle 1994
  • Pilgrim 1998
  • Reptile 2001
  • Me And Mr. Johnson 2004
  • Sessions For Robert J 2004
  • Back Home 2005
  • Clapton 2010
  • Old Sock 2013

Religion

It was during a time of real personal crisis in 1969 that Eric made an initial commitment as a Christian. He had been intrigued by spirituality as a child and had attended church. Now he was being influenced by the genuine love and warmth of American duo Delaney and Bonnie when he toured with them. It was their influence which helped him to overcome drug addiction. As a thank you to both God and his Christian friends, he wrote the song ‘Presence of the Lord’ for the Blind Faith album.

Views

Clapton is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance which promotes issues relating to the British countryside. He has played in concerts to raise funds for the organization and publicly opposed the Labour Party's ban on fox hunting with the 2004 Hunting Act.

Quotations: "Every time you pick up your guitar to play, play as if it's the last time."

"Music survives everything, and like God, it is always present. It needs no help, and suffers no hindrance."

"My driving philosophy about making music is that you can reduce it all down to one note if that note is played with the right kind of sincerity. "

"My selective memory of what drinking was like told me that standing at the bar in a pub, on a summer's evening with a long, tall glass of lager and lime was heaven, and I chose not to remember the nights on which I had sat with a bottle of vodka, a gram of coke and a shotgun, contemplating suicide."

"One of the most beneficial things I've ever learned is how to keep my mouth shut."

"In my lowest moments, the only reason I didn't commit suicide was that I knew I wouldn't be able to drink any more if I was dead."

Personality

Since the 1970s, Clapton considered himself a "car enthusiast" and often stated his passion for the Ferrari brand. Clapton currently owns or has owned a range of Ferraris, and when asked about his Ferrari collection in 1989, he said he liked the touring cars for road use the company produces and commented "if I had more space and if I had been wise I would have a huge collection by now and I would be a multi-multi-millionaire."

Clapton is a fan of English Premier League football club West Bromwich Albion. In 1982 he performed a concert before West Brom player John Wile's testimonial game at The Hawthorns. It has been reported that the club rejected his offer to invest cash in the club around this time. In the late 1970s Clapton positioned a West Brom scarf on the back cover of his album, Backless. In the 1978-79 season Clapton sponsored West Brom's UEFA Cup home game against Turkish club Galatasaray.

Interests

• cars

• Sport & Clubs

  football, West Bromwich Albion

Connections

Clapton married Patty Boyd in 1979. During their married life, he developed a romantic relationship with Yvonne Kelly with whom he had a daughter, Ruth. He did not disclose the birth of Ruth till 1991.

Eric and Boyd divorced in 1988, due to his alcoholism and his relationship with Italian model Lory Del Santo. With Santo, he had a son, Conor. He was later involved in a number of relationships.

In 2001, his daughter Julie Rose was born. Julie’s mother is Melia McEnery whom he married at a church in Surrey, in 2002. They have two more daughters, Ella Mae and Sophie.

Father:

Edward Walter Fryer

Mother:

Patricia Molly Clapton

Spouse:

Elia McEnery

Spouse:

Patty Boyd

Daughter:

Ruth Kelly

Daughter:

Julie Rose

Daughter:

Sophie Belle

Daughter:

Ella May Clapton

Friend:

Ben Palmer

Friend:

George Harrison

Clapton met Harrison and became close friends with him after the Beatles shared a bill with the Clapton-era Yardbirds at the London Palladium.

Acquaintance:

John Lennon

Acquaintance:

Yoko Ono

Acquaintance:

Ringo Starr

Acquaintance:

Elton John

Acquaintance:

Phil Collins

Acquaintance:

Tom Petty

References

• Eric Clapton: The World's Greatest Living Guitarist
• Motherless Child: The Definitive Biography of Eric Clapton
• Eric Clapton Adult Coloring Book