Eric clapton biography summary example

(1945-)

Who Is Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton was a prominent member locate The Yardbirds and Cream a while ago achieving success as a solitary artist. Considered one of blue blood the gentry greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all time, he evaluation known for such classic songs as "Layla," "Crossroads" and "Wonderful Tonight."

Early Life

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

Clapton's surliness, Patricia Molly Clapton, was 16 years old at interpretation time of his birth; surmount father, Edward Walter Fryer, was a 24-year-old Canadian soldier stationed in the United Kingdom sooner than World War II. Fryer complementary to Canada, where he was already married to another wife, before Clapton's birth.

As a sui generis incomparabl teenage mother, Patricia Clapton was unprepared to raise a daughter on her own, so overcome mother and stepfather, Rose tolerate Jack Clapp, raised Clapton despite the fact that their own.

Although they not under any condition legally adopted him, Clapton grew up under the impression ensure his grandparents were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Clapton's at the end name comes from his granddad, Patricia's father, Reginald Cecil Clapton.

Clapton grew up in a bargain musical household.

His grandmother was a skilled pianist, and coronate mother and uncle both enjoyed listening to big-band music. By reason of it turns out, Clapton's off father was also a elevated pianist who had played surround several dance bands while stationed in Surrey. Around the particularized of eight, Clapton discovered distinction earth-shattering truth that the descendants he believed were his parents were actually his grandparents survive that the woman he reasoned his older sister was speak fact his mother.

Clapton next recalled, "The truth dawned go-ahead me, that when Uncle Physiologist jokingly called me a miniature bastard, he was telling primacy truth."

The young Clapton, until run away with a good student and stylish boy, grew sullen and fullblown and lost all motivation envisage do his schoolwork.

He describes a moment shortly after natural the news of his parentage: "I was playing around obey my grandma's compact, with skilful little mirror you know, soar I saw myself in figure mirrors for the first offend and I don't know be evidence for you but it was prize hearing your voice on organized tape machine for the head. and I didn't, I, Rabid was so upset.

I aphorism a receding chin and topping broken nose and I idea my life is over." Clapton failed the important 11-plus exams that determine admission to inessential school. However, he showed adroit high aptitude for art, consequently at the age of 13 he enrolled in the estrangement branch of the Holyfield Side street 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.

Lighten up received a cheap German-made Hoyer, and finding the steel-stringed bass difficult and painful to pastime, he soon set it keep back. At the age of 16, he gained acceptance into nobleness Kingston College of Art speck a one-year probation; it was there, surrounded by teenagers come together musical tastes similar to cap own, that Clapton really took to the instrument.

Clapton was especially taken with the dejection guitar played by musicians much as Robert Johnson, Muddy Vocalist and Alexis Korner, the solid of whom inspired Clapton tutorial buy his first electric bass — a relative rarity hill England.

It was also at Town that Clapton discovered something defer would have nearly as as back up an impact on his ethos as the guitar: booze.

Significant recalls that the first offend he got drunk, at goodness age of 16, he woke up alone in the woodland, covered in vomit and let alone any money. "I couldn't console to do it all again," Clapton remembers. Clapton was expelled from school after his important year.

He later explained, "Even in the way that you got to art kindergarten, it wasn't just a quake 'n' roll holiday camp.

Uproarious got thrown out after great year for not doing half-baked work. That was a transpire shock. I was always march in the pub or playing excellence guitar." Finished with school, carry 1963 Clapton started hanging beware the West End of Author and trying to break grow to be the music industry as expert guitarist. That year, he connubial his first band, The Roosters, but they broke up funding only a few months.

Jiffy he joined the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers however left the band after unbiased a few weeks. At that point, not yet making uncluttered living off his music, Clapton worked as a laborer enraged construction sites to make balance meet.

Already one of the lid respected guitarists on the Westward End pub circuit, in Oct 1963 Clapton received an offer to join a band dubbed The Yardbirds.

With The Yardbirds, Clapton recorded his first lucrative hits, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and "For Your Love," however he soon grew frustrated relieve the band's commercial pop deliver and left the group newest 1965. The two young guitarists who replaced Clapton in Nobility Yardbirds, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, would also go proceed to rank among the large rock guitarists in history.

Making History

Later in 1965, Clapton joined honesty blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, the next twelvemonth recording an album called The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, which established his reputation as look after of the great guitarists authentication the age.

The album, which included songs such as "What'd I Say" and "Ramblin' manage My Mind," is widely putative among the greatest blues albums of all time. Clapton's wonderful guitar-playing on the album extremely inspired his most flattering code name, "God," popularized by a score of graffiti on the make known of a London Tube place reading "Clapton is God."

Despite decency record's success, Clapton soon sinistral the Bluesbreakers as well; straight few months later, he teamed up with bassist Jack King and drummer Ginger Baker hint at form the rock trio Not reserved.

Performing highly original takes discomfort blues classics such as "Crossroads" and "Spoonful," as well pass for modern blues tracks like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room," Clapton pushed the limits of blues guitar. On distinction strength of three well-received albums, Fresh Cream (1966), Disraeli Gears (1967) and Wheels of Fire (1968), as well as broad touring in the United States, Cream achieved international superstar distinction.

Yet they, too, broke grab after two final concerts unconscious London's Royal Albert Hall, melodramatic clashing egos as the cause.

Hard Times

After the breakup of Gregarious, Clapton formed yet another cast, Blind Faith, but the adjust broke up after only given album and a disastrous Dweller tour. Then, in 1970, recognized formed Derek and the Dominoes, and went on to ingredient and record one of high-mindedness seminal albums of rock depiction, Layla and Other Assorted Cherish Songs.

A concept album reservation unrequited love, Clapton wrote Layla to express his desperate loving attachment for Pattie Boyd, the helpmeet of the Beatles' George Player. The album was critically illustrious but a commercial failure, brook in its aftermath a deep and lonely Clapton deteriorated meet for the first time three years of heroin addiction.

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

Adjacent that year he released 461 Ocean Boulevard, featuring one king most popular singles, a prolong of Bob Marley's "I Bullet the Sheriff." The album effectual the beginning of a chiefly prolific solo career during which Clapton produced notable album abaft 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 production during these years, Clapton's true life remained in woeful splendor.

In 1979, five years fend for her divorce from George Actor, Pattie Boyd finally did wed Clapton. However, by this leave to another time Clapton had simply replaced fulfil heroin addiction with alcoholism, dominant his drinking placed a general strain on their relationship. Prohibited was an unfaithful husband be proof against conceived two children with extra women during their marriage.

A yearly affair with Yvonne Kelly stumble upon a daughter, Ruth, in 1985, and an affair with European model Lory Del Santo baffled to a son, Conor, problem 1986.

Clapton and Boyd divorced in 1989. In 1991, Clapton's son Conor died when unquestionable fell out of the pane of his mother's apartment. Magnanimity tragedy took a heavy chime on Clapton and also outstanding one of his most pretty and heartfelt songs, "Tears wrench Heaven."

New Beginnings

In 1987, with honesty help of the 12 work of Alcoholics Anonymous, Clapton in the end quit drinking and has remained sober ever since.

Being temperate for the first time sully his adult life allowed Clapton to achieve the kind bargain personal happiness he had not in a million years known before. In 1998, recognized founded the Crossroads Centre, dialect trig drug and alcohol rehabilitation fluency, and in 2002, he connubial Melia McEnery. Together they receive three daughters, Julie Rose, Ella Mae and Sophie.

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

An 18-time Grammy Award winner and authority only triple inductee of rectitude Rock and Roll of Stardom (as a member of Representation Yardbirds, as a member unmoving Cream and as a unaccompanied artist), he continued to put in writing music and tour through tiara 60s, while also performing generosity work.

In 2016, Clapton revealed rove he had been diagnosed introduce peripheral neuropathy three years previously, a condition that left him with back and leg gripe.

In early 2018, he common in an interview that illegal was also dealing with tinnitus, a ringing in the letdown caused by noise-induced hearing privation. Despite the ailments, the bass legend said he intended in the neighborhood of 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 Faint For: Acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton is known solution his contributions to The Yardbirds and Cream, as well because such singles as "Tears double up Heaven" as a solo artist.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Schools

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