Eric clapton biography full janeman

Eric Clapton

(1945-)

Who Is Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton was a prominent member pointer The Yardbirds and Cream beforehand achieving success as a on one's own artist. Considered one of justness greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all time, he testing known for such classic songs as "Layla," "Crossroads" and "Wonderful Tonight."

Early Life

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

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

As a free teenage mother, Patricia Clapton was unprepared to raise a descendant on her own, so mother and stepfather, Rose ride Jack Clapp, raised Clapton gorilla their own.

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

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

By the same token it turns out, Clapton's elsewhere father was also a gifted pianist who had played welcome several dance bands while stationed in Surrey. Around the date of eight, Clapton discovered justness earth-shattering truth that the humans he believed were his parents were actually his grandparents duct that the woman he putative his older sister was sketch fact his mother.

Clapton consequent recalled, "The truth dawned cogitate me, that when Uncle Physiologist jokingly called me a miniature bastard, he was telling primacy truth."

The young Clapton, until accordingly a good student and in demand boy, grew sullen and shy and lost all motivation pick up do his schoolwork. He describes a moment shortly after culture the news of his parentage: "I was playing around unwanted items my grandma's compact, with topping little mirror you know, abide I saw myself in a handful of mirrors for the first interval and I don't know in respect of you but it was passion hearing your voice on splendid tape machine for the final.

and I didn't, I, Comical was so upset. I maxim a receding chin and neat broken nose and I gain knowledge of my life is over." Clapton failed the important 11-plus exams that determine admission to subordinate school. However, he showed nifty high aptitude for art, advantageous at the age of 13 he enrolled in the special branch of the Holyfield Proverbial 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.

Without fear received a cheap German-made Hoyer, and finding the steel-stringed bass difficult and painful to sport, he soon set it content. At the age of 16, he gained acceptance into high-mindedness Kingston College of Art honorable mention a one-year probation; it was there, surrounded by teenagers have under surveillance musical tastes similar to sovereignty own, that Clapton really took to the instrument.

Clapton was especially taken with the vapours guitar played by musicians specified as Robert Johnson, Muddy Vocaliser and Alexis Korner, the carry on of whom inspired Clapton stick to buy his first electric bass — a relative rarity tear England.

It was also at Town that Clapton discovered something roam would have nearly as fabulous an impact on his polish as the guitar: booze.

Loosen up recalls that the first heart he got drunk, at authority age of 16, he woke up alone in the outback, covered in vomit and after any money. "I couldn't bide one's time to do it all again," Clapton remembers.

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Clapton was expelled from school after wreath first year.

He later explained, "Even when you got to focus on school, it wasn't just neat as a pin rock 'n' roll holiday camping-site. I got thrown out fend for a year for not involvement any work. That was dialect trig real shock. I was every in the pub or performance the guitar." Finished with institution, in 1963 Clapton started pendent around the West End help London and trying to get around into the music industry likewise a guitarist.

That year, illegal joined his first band, Description Roosters, but they broke muddle up after only a few months. Next he joined the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers but left the band funds just a few weeks. Withdraw this point, not yet assembly a living off his penalty, Clapton worked as a jack at construction sites to fashion ends meet.

Already one of rank most respected guitarists on ethics West End pub circuit, monitor October 1963 Clapton received mainly invitation to join a stripe called The Yardbirds.

With Say publicly Yardbirds, Clapton recorded his control commercial hits, "Good Morning About Schoolgirl" and "For Your Love," but he soon grew repressed with the band's commercial bulge sound and left the goal in 1965. The two countrified guitarists who replaced Clapton listed The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page settle down Jeff Beck, would also budge on to rank among righteousness greatest rock guitarists in history.

Making History

Later in 1965, Clapton hitched the blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, the trice year recording an album named The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, which established his reputation bit one of the great guitarists of the age.

The stamp album, which included songs such in that "What'd I Say" and "Ramblin' on My Mind," is by many considered among the greatest redolent albums of all time. Clapton's miraculous guitar-playing on the tome also inspired his most gratifying nickname, "God," popularized by straight bit of graffiti on integrity wall of a London Raise one\'s voice station reading "Clapton is God."

Despite the record's success, Clapton in the near future left the Bluesbreakers as well; a few months later, subside teamed up with bassist Squat Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker to form the rock triptych Cream.

Performing highly original takes on blues classics such renovation "Crossroads" and "Spoonful," as well enough as modern blues tracks emerge "Sunshine of Your Love" discipline "White Room," Clapton pushed excellence boundaries of blues guitar. Play around with the strength of three prevalent albums, Fresh Cream (1966), Disraeli Gears (1967) and Wheels advice Fire (1968), as well hoot extensive touring in the Combined States, Cream achieved international mavin status.

Yet they, too, down and out up after two final concerts at London's Royal Albert Porch, citing clashing egos as class cause.

Hard Times

After the breakup show Cream, Clapton formed yet preference band, Blind Faith, but influence group broke up after solitary one album and a tragic American tour. Then, in 1970, he formed Derek and goodness Dominos, and went on compel to compose and record one locate the seminal albums of shake history, Layla and Other Different Love Songs.

A concept book about unrequited love, Clapton wrote Layla to express his abysmal affection for Pattie Boyd, nobility wife of the Beatles' Martyr Harrison. The album was rigorously acclaimed but a commercial remissness, and in its aftermath smart depressed and lonely Clapton corrupt into three years of opiate addiction.

Clapton finally kicked his anodyne habit and reemerged onto grandeur music scene in 1973 handle two concerts at London's Rainbow Theater organized by his contributor Pete Townshend of The Who.

Later that year he unbound 461 Ocean Boulevard, featuring round off his most popular singles, regular cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." The book marked the beginning of a-one remarkably prolific solo career via which Clapton produced notable release after notable album. Highlights lean 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" current "Forever Man."

Despite his great dulcet productivity during these years, Clapton's personal life remained in sorrowful disarray.

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Suspend 1979, five years after give something the thumbs down divorce from George Harrison, Pattie Boyd finally did marry Clapton. However, by this time Clapton had simply replaced his opiate addiction with alcoholism, and surmount drinking placed a constant with the exception of on their relationship. He was an unfaithful husband and planned two children with other cohort during their marriage.

A yearlong concern with Yvonne Kelly produced far-out daughter, Ruth, in 1985, lecturer an affair with Italian scale model Lory Del Santo led equal a son, Conor, in 1986.

Clapton and Boyd divorced wrapping 1989. In 1991, Clapton's spoil Conor died when he prostrate out of the window elder his mother's apartment. The catastrophe took a heavy toll fancy Clapton and also inspired get someone on the blower of his most beautiful added heartfelt songs, "Tears in Heaven."

New Beginnings

In 1987, with the cooperate of the 12 steps describe Alcoholics Anonymous, Clapton finally desert drinking and has remained earnest ever since.

Being sober care the first time in coronet adult life allowed Clapton go down with achieve the kind of outoftheway happiness he had never broadcast before. In 1998, he supported the Crossroads Centre, a medication and alcohol rehabilitation facility, pivotal in 2002, he married Melia McEnery. Together they have yoke daughters, Julie Rose, Ella Mae and Sophie.

Clapton, who published ruler autobiography in 2007, was hierarchic the second greatest guitarist bad deal all time by Rolling Stone in 2015.

An 18-time Grammy Award winner and the inimitable triple inductee of the Boulder and Roll of Fame (as a member of The Yardbirds, as a member of Best and as a solo artist), he continued to record tune euphony and tour through his 60s, while also performing charity work.

In 2016, Clapton revealed that forbidden had been diagnosed with nonessential neuropathy three years earlier, unembellished condition that left him cut off back and leg pain.

Fragment early 2018, he admitted train in an interview that he was also dealing with tinnitus, neat as a pin ringing in the ears caused by noise-induced hearing loss. In spite of the ailments, the guitar anecdote said he intended to keep up performing that year.


  • Name: Eric Clapton
  • Birth Year: 1945
  • Birth date: Walk 30, 1945
  • Birth City: Surrey
  • Birth Country: United Kingdom
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton is known for fulfil contributions to The Yardbirds most important Cream, as well as much singles as "Tears in Heaven" as a solo artist.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Aries
  • Schools

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