Eric Clapton: Great guitarist, composer, singer

Born in Surrey, England on March 30, 1945 to Patricia Molly and Edward Walter Fryer, Clapton was raised at his maternal grandmother’s home. On his 13th birthday, Clapton was presented a guitar but he began playing the instrument intensively only by the time he was 15. Since an early age, he developed interest in blues music. He enrolled at the Hollyfield School in Surbiton. In 1961, he joined the Kingston College of Art. By the time he was 16, Clapton became a locally known for his guitar skills.

Career

By 1962, he also began performing with David Brock in local pubs. At age 17, he joined a Rhythm and Blues band named Roosters, which he quit in a year. In 1963, Clapton got a chance to perform a series of seven gigs with the pop group named Casey Jones & the Engineers. During the same year, Clapton joined a rock and roll band named Yardbirds that was purely influenced by the blues.

The gigs he played in London earned the budding musician international recognition for his distinctive style of playing the guitar as a bluesman. In April 1965, Clapton left the Yardbirds and joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.

Big break

He further made his presence felt on the global stage when his album titled ‘Blues Breakers – John Mayall – With Eric Clapton’ was released in 1966. He also left the group to join Cream, which was one of the most prominent bands of that time, with Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass guitar in London. At Cream, Clapton developed himself as a singer and writer too though Bruce handled these aspects. The debut gig was at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor. Cream became popular thanks to its blues orientation and extended guitar solos.

In March 1967, Clapton accompanied Cream to the United States where the band performed nine shows. They also recorded the album titled Disraeli Gears in New York. In two years, Cream revolutionised the sound of the rock and roll and sold millions of records in Europe and US. Their first song to make it to the chart at the fifth place in US was Sunshine of Your Love in 1968. Unfortunately, the band disbanded in 1968. The band’s last album, Goodbye, was released months after it had dispersed.

Association with Beatles

In 1968, Clapton played a guitar solo for the Beatles’ song While My Guitar Gently Weeps which was part of the White Album. He was a good friend of the Beatles’ member George Harrison and also played the guitar for his solo album titled Wonderwall Music during the same year.

In 1969, Clapton formed another band named Blind Faith which debuted at London’s Hyde Park on June 7 in front of 100,000 fans. The band, however, did not last beyond six months. Later that year, Clapton performed at a fundraiser for Unicef with John Lennon as part of the Plastic Ono band.

In 1970, he recorded a solo album titled Eric Clapton. In the same year he also formed the bad Derek and the Domino that released only one studio album named Layla and Other: Assorted Love Songs. The song Layla became one of the most popular songs of all times. He also has to his credit numerous other memorable numbers.

Interesting facts

When Eric Clapton began playing the guitar, he used to listen to the music of shehnai (wind instrument) maestro Bismillah Khan a lot and wanted to incorporate the north Indian’s wail-like sound into the blues genre.

Considered one of the most influential musicians, Clapton ranks second on the Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and fifth on the Time magazine list of the 10 Best Electric Guitar Players.

On March 7, 1976, an asteroid discovered at the Harvard College Observatory’s Agassiz Station was named 4305 Clapton as a tribute to the extraordinary guitarist, composer and singer.

Clapton is only person who inducted thrice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a solo artist, as a member of the band titled Cream and as a member of the band called the Yardbirds.

A long-time car enthusiast, he has owns a range of Ferraris since 1970. The automobile major even honoured him with a special edition named Ferrari SP12 EC in 2013. In Formula One too, he supports Ferrari.