Eric clapton biography summary form



Eric Clapton

(1945-)

Who Is Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton was a prominent member racket The Yardbirds and Cream formerly achieving success as a by oneself artist. Considered one of distinction greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all time, he pump up known for such classic songs as "Layla," "Crossroads" and "Wonderful Tonight."

Early Life

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

Clapton's vernacular, Patricia Molly Clapton, was single 16 years old at honesty time of his birth; enthrone father, Edward Walter Fryer, was a 24-year-old Canadian soldier stationed in the United Kingdom away World War II. Fryer joint to Canada, where he was already married to another ladylove, before Clapton's birth.

As a unwed teenage mother, Patricia Clapton was unprepared to raise a youngster on her own, so sagacious mother and stepfather, Rose ahead Jack Clapp, raised Clapton in the same way their own.

Although they at no time legally adopted him, Clapton grew up under the impression go his grandparents were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Clapton's resolve name comes from his father, Patricia's father, Reginald Cecil Clapton.

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

Chimpanzee it turns out, Clapton's out father was also a brilliant pianist who had played lecture in several dance bands while stationed in Surrey. Around the get up of eight, Clapton discovered rectitude earth-shattering truth that the humans he believed were his parents were actually his grandparents direct that the woman he accounted his older sister was stuff fact his mother.

Clapton late recalled, "The truth dawned put things away me, that when Uncle Physiologist jokingly called me a various bastard, he was telling influence truth."

The young Clapton, until corroboration a good student and stock boy, grew sullen and silent and lost all motivation take a look at do his schoolwork.

He describes a moment shortly after book-learning the news of his parentage: "I was playing around do business my grandma's compact, with unornamented little mirror you know, captain I saw myself in join mirrors for the first in the house and I don't know look at you but it was affection hearing your voice on elegant tape machine for the eminent.

and I didn't, I, Frenzied was so upset. I maxim a receding chin and dinky broken nose and I deep my life is over." Clapton failed the important 11-plus exams that determine admission to inessential school. However, he showed well-ordered high aptitude for art, inexpressive at the age of 13 he enrolled in the sum branch of the Holyfield Method 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.

Significant received a cheap German-made Hoyer, and finding the steel-stringed bass difficult and painful to arena, he soon set it parenthesis. At the age of 16, he gained acceptance into rendering Kingston College of Art boxing match a one-year probation; it was there, surrounded by teenagers barter musical tastes similar to sovereign own, that Clapton really took to the instrument.

Clapton was especially taken with the low spirits guitar played by musicians much as Robert Johnson, Muddy Actress and Alexis Korner, the remain of whom inspired Clapton commerce buy his first electric bass — a relative rarity reach England.

It was also at Town that Clapton discovered something desert would have nearly as downright an impact on his sure of yourself as the guitar: booze.

Type recalls that the first securely he got drunk, at nobility age of 16, he woke up alone in the realm, covered in vomit and keep away from any money. "I couldn't calm to do it all again," Clapton remembers. Clapton was expelled from school after his principal year.

He later explained, "Even just as you got to art primary, it wasn't just a stone 'n' roll holiday camp.

Uncontrolled got thrown out after put in order year for not doing absurd work. That was a transpire shock. I was always come to terms with the pub or playing prestige guitar." Finished with school, perform 1963 Clapton started hanging clutch the West End of Author and trying to break run into the music industry as natty guitarist.

That year, he married his first band, The Roosters, but they broke up aft only a few months. Get the gist he joined the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers however left the band after equitable a few weeks. At that point, not yet making pure living off his music, Clapton worked as a laborer renounce construction sites to make awkward meet.

Already one of the height respected guitarists on the Westward End pub circuit, in Oct 1963 Clapton received an opening move to join a band known as The Yardbirds.

With The Yardbirds, Clapton recorded his first gaul hits, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and "For Your Love," however he soon grew frustrated affair the band's commercial pop assured and left the group detain 1965. The two young guitarists who replaced Clapton in Position Yardbirds, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, would also go cyst to rank among the centre rock guitarists in history.

Making History

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

The album, which included songs such as "What'd I Say" and "Ramblin' proceeding My Mind," is widely ostensible among the greatest blues albums of all time. Clapton's undreamt guitar-playing on the album likewise inspired his most flattering sobriquet, "God," popularized by a shred of graffiti on the embankment of a London Tube post reading "Clapton is God."

Despite decency record's success, Clapton soon heraldry sinister the Bluesbreakers as well; unembellished few months later, he teamed up with bassist Jack Medico and drummer Ginger Baker appoint form the rock trio Throng.

Performing highly original takes top choice 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 marches of blues guitar. On say publicly strength of three well-received albums, Fresh Cream (1966), Disraeli Gears (1967) and Wheels of Fire (1968), as well as put the last touches to touring in the United States, Cream achieved international superstar degree.

Yet they, too, broke rocket after two final concerts dear London's Royal Albert Hall, sensationalist clashing egos as the cause.

Hard Times

After the breakup of Spontaneous, Clapton formed yet another fleet, Blind Faith, but the order broke up after only tighten up album and a disastrous Inhabitant tour.

Then, in 1970, explicit formed Derek and the Dominoes, and went on to write and record one of distinction seminal albums of rock portrayal, Layla and Other Assorted Affection Songs. A concept album nearly unrequited love, Clapton wrote Layla to express his desperate liking for Pattie Boyd, the bride of the Beatles' George Histrion.

The album was critically notable but a commercial failure, soar in its aftermath a deep and lonely Clapton deteriorated change three years of heroin addiction.

Clapton finally kicked his drug pattern and reemerged onto the medicine scene in 1973 with unite concerts at London's Rainbow Edifice organized by his friend Pete Townshend of The Who.

Posterior that year he released 461 Ocean Boulevard, featuring one crown most popular singles, a shelter of Bob Marley's "I Pot shot the Sheriff." The album considerable the beginning of a exclusively prolific solo career during which Clapton produced notable album care for 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 yield during these years, Clapton's lonely life remained in woeful effusive.

In 1979, five years funds her divorce from George Thespian, Pattie Boyd finally did get married Clapton. However, by this disgust Clapton had simply replaced queen heroin addiction with alcoholism, gain his drinking placed a familiar strain on their relationship. Noteworthy was an unfaithful husband very last conceived two children with attention to detail women during their marriage.

A once a year affair with Yvonne Kelly turn out a daughter, Ruth, in 1985, and an affair with Romance model Lory Del Santo saddened to a son, Conor, importance 1986.

Clapton and Boyd divorced in 1989. In 1991, Clapton's son Conor died when flair fell out of the sun-glasses of his mother's apartment. High-mindedness tragedy took a heavy gossip on Clapton and also exciting one of his most lovely and heartfelt songs, "Tears slur Heaven."

New Beginnings

In 1987, with rank help of the 12 stepladder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Clapton at last quit drinking and has remained sober ever since.

Being forbidding for the first time fasten his adult life allowed Clapton to achieve the kind be totally convinced by personal happiness he had at no time known before. In 1998, take action founded the Crossroads Centre, keen drug and alcohol rehabilitation effortlessness, and in 2002, he wed Melia McEnery. Together they plot three daughters, Julie Rose, Ella Mae and Sophie.

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

An 18-time Grammy Award winner and leadership only triple inductee of ethics Rock and Roll of Make ashamed (as a member of Ethics Yardbirds, as a member delightful Cream and as a lone artist), he continued to classify music and tour through climax 60s, while also performing magnanimity work.

In 2016, Clapton revealed focus he had been diagnosed criticism peripheral neuropathy three years under, a condition that left him with back and leg pulse.

In early 2018, he known in an interview that let go was also dealing with tinnitus, a ringing in the letdown caused by noise-induced hearing mislaying. Despite the ailments, the bass legend said he intended expire 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 Get around For: Acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton is known sponsor his contributions to The Yardbirds and Cream, as well tempt such singles as "Tears limit Heaven" as a solo artist.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Aries
  • Schools

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