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Biography
Eric Clapton was born on March the 30th 1945 in Ripley, England. You may know this guitarist from the bands The Yardbirds and Cream who were two of the most popular rock groups of the 60's. Clapton was also famous for making rock history so to speak with Derek and the Dominos with their classic album Layla in the 70's. and for those people of the 80's his reputation as a guitarist didn't die because the 4cd Crossroads became one of the most popular box sets of it's time . And many of you may have just got into Clapton when he did his line Unplugged ser in the 90's. But anyway well get into the nitty gritty later read on to find out why this blues/rock guitarist was named "God ".
The early history of Clapton involved a thorough appreciation of the blues with Robert Johnson being his mentor in a way. In an interview Clapton said "I aimed to be better than Robert Johnson he was my idol and all the time while wanting to be better than him I knew I never could be ". So like I was saying his early history involved a thorough appreciation of the blues which he'd played in early '60s R&B band The Roosters and between 1963-65 he gained some acclaim with The Yardbirds . But by the time most Americans had noticed The Yardbirds from their summer hit "For Your Love " in 1965 Clapton had already left the band frustrated by the bands increasingly poppy sound . Clapton was already a blues fan so when he got the chance to play on 1966's Blues Breakers album there was no such thing as an answer no . The album with Clapton remains one of the most distinguished in the prolific Bluesman John Mayall's catalogue.
Clapton's U.S introduction so to speak came when he joined forces with Bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker to form the band Cream I suppose you could call them the first rock super group of the era. Their influences on hard rock from 1967 onwards can not be understated. The band known mostly for Clapton's guitar work which was usually displayed at like concerts where he would do extended solos of the bands songs. They achieved success with their albums which were instant hits albums such as " Disraeli Gears " , " Wheels Of Fire " and " Goodbye " each reaching the top five upon their releases in 67,68 and 69 . Though bassist Jack Bruce wrote the most of Creams material Clapton held a co-writing credit on two of their most well known songs the top 5 hit " Sunshine Of Your Love "and " Badge " co-written with George Harrison of The Beatles . Additionally Clapton sang Creams arrangement of the classic Robert Johnson song "Crossroads "which was a top 30 single and has since become more of a classic rock radio standard than "Sunshine Of Your Love " .
Cream were no longer a band after their demise in the late 60's but Clapton and Baker joined Traffic's Steve Winwood and Bassist Rik Grech to Become " Blind Faith " who only lasted long enough to produce one album and do a brief tour of America in 1969 before calling it a day . Though the band were a failed band every cloud has a silver lining ands the lining was that this band produced one of Clapton's best early songs " Presence Of The Lord " .
During the American tour dates an American act Delaney and Bonnie had opened for Blind Faith and Clapton had formed a good friendship with them a good enough friendship that he invited the duo to England to perform they accepted and the results of this can be heard on 1970's "On Tour With Eric Clapton by Delaney and Bonnie" and " Friends with Eric Clapton ". Delaney has been credited by Clapton as the one who gave him the emotional nudge needed for him to build up the courage and have confidence in his singing abilities and become a front man for his own band. He didn't stop there as Delaney produced Clapton's 1970 solo debut Eric Clapton which boasted 8 songs written or co written by Eric the album reached number 15 due to the top 20 hit "After Midnight" (penned by J.J Cale) and the radio hit "Let It Rain"
Clapton's confidence was at a high and with this new found confidence he formed Derek And The Domino's and created the album " Layla " with the help of Duane Allman . The album reached the top 20 in 1970 and ewas reissued in a 3-cd "Deluxe Anniversary Edition "by PolyGram in 1990. With co writing credits on " I Looked Away , " Bell Bottom Blues " and the legendary title track with this album Clapton proved his worth as a Songwriter and as a Guitarist and was no longer merely regarded as Creams Ex guitarist .
While Clapton enjoyed his success in the 70's his heroin addiction had increased and alcohol was also become a major influence on him. He was out of the water so to speak between 1971-73 ( Except for an uninspired Pete Townshend-Organized " Comeback " concert released in 1973 as Rainbow Concert) , The guitarist returned in triumph with 1974's " Ocean Boulevard " his first No. 1 album of his career largely due to it's cover of The Wailers classic " I Shot The Sheriff " . Clapton was shifting his musical emphasis to songs rather than lengthy jams which had once been his trademark with Cream. It was a move that had been long in coming an interview with Rolling Stone in 1974 sheds some light as he said he had been impressed some years earlier upon hearing The Bands classic music from "Big Pink Album ". he said " I thought , well this is what I want to play , Not just extended solos and maestro bullshit just good funky songs " .
Clapton's song writing continued to improve, and throughout the remainder of the '70s he enjoyed a non-stop run of successful albums--four of which made the top 10 between 1977-81 and self-penned hit singles, including "Hello Old Friend," "Lay Down Sally" (co-written with Marcy Levy), "Wonderful Tonight," and "I Can't Stand It." In 1983, Clapton moved over to Warner Bros., and with Money And Cigarettes began recording on his own Duck Records label. The resulting albums continued to be substantial efforts, often featuring the guitarist with top-notch musical partners including Ry Cooder, Albert Lee, and Phil Collins. Clapton began writing with a host of new collaborators--among them keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, the Band's Robbie Robertson, Collins, Steven Bishop, Foreigner's Mick Jones, and blues guitarist Robert Cray.
By the early '90s, Clapton had further extended his compositional chops by scoring several film soundtracks, including all three of the Lethal Weapon films, Mickey Rourke's Homeboy, and Rush, which featured Clapton's Grammy-winning single, "Tears In Heaven." The moving lyrics of the latter track, co-written with Will Jennings, connected heavily with the public after Clapton's four-year-old son Conor was tragically killed in a 53-story fall in early 1991.
In 1993, Clapton reunited and performed with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker when Cream was inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame.
Discography
John Mayall Blues Breakers
John Mayall Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton:1966
Cream
Fresh Cream:1966
Disraeli Gears:1967
Wheels Of Fire:1968
Goodbye:1969
Blind Faith
Blind Faith:1969
Cream
Live Cream:1970
Derek And The Dominos
Layla:1970
Cream
Live Cream Vol 2:1972
Eric Clapton
Rainbow Concert:1973
Ocean Boulevard:1974
There's One In Every...:1975
E.C Was Here:1975
No Reason To Cry:1976
Slowhand:1977
Backless:1978
Just One Night:1980
Another Ticket:1981
Time Pieces:1982
Time Pieces 2:1985
Crossroads:1988
Journeyman:1989
24 Nights:1991
Clapton Unplugged:1992
From The Cradle:1994
Derek And The Dominos
Live At The Filmore:1994
Eric Clapton
Pilgrim:1998
Clapton Chronicles:1999
Riding With The King:2000
Money And Cigarettes:2000
Behind The Sun:2000
August:2000
Reptile:2001
One More Rider One More Car:2002
List Of Sources: www.alltheweb.com / www.google.com / www.msn.com / www.claptononline.com / www.Vh1.com / www.xtrememusician.com / www.eric-clapton.co.uk / www.knopfler.net / www.knightbilham.com
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