Eric Clapton?

Question

How many marriages has Eric been in? And to whom has he been married?
Also, how many children does he have and what are their names?

Answer 1

Eric has married twice. He has five children.

His first wife was Pattie Boyd Harrison Clapton. A successful model in the 1960s, she inspired his classic album from 1970, “Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs”. Eric fell in love with her even though Pattie was married to his best friend, George Harrison. The Harrison’s divorced in the mid-70s. Eric and Pattie married on 27 March 1979. Divorced in the late 80s, they had no children.

Eric married Melia McEnery on 1 January 2002. They have three young daughters: Julie Rose (b. June 2001), Ella Mae (b. January 2003) and Sophie (b. February 2005).

Eric’s eldest child is his daughter, Ruth (b. January 1985).

His son, Conor, was born on 15 August 1986. Conor died on 20 March 1991, when he tragically fell from a window in his mother’s New York City apartment

Answer 2

He is currently married to Melia McEnery. He was previously married to Pattie Boyd Harrison. These are his only two marriages. He had one son who is now deceased, his name was Conor. He has three daughters who are alive and well, their names are Ruth Patricia-Clapton (Born 11th Jan 1985); Julie Rose Clapton (Born 15th Jun 2001), Ella Mae Clapton (Born 14th Jan 2003) and Sophie Clapton (Born 1st Feb 2005)

Answer 3

He has been married twice, and seems to be very happy in his second marriage.

Answer 4

I just listen to his music

Answer 5

Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born March 30, 1945), nicknamed "Slowhand", is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer and composer, who is one of the most respected and influential musicians of the 20th century[1], garnering an unprecedented three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Often viewed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time among critics and fans alike,[2] he was ranked 4th in Rolling Stone’s list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time[3] and #53 on their list of the The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. [4] And on that list, he was also listed the second greatest living guitarist, behind B.B. King.

Although Clapton's musical style has varied throughout his career, it has always remained rooted in the blues. Clapton is credited as an innovator in several phases of his career, which have included blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds) and psychedelic rock (with Cream). Clapton has also achieved great chart success in genres ranging from Delta blues (Me and Mr. Johnson) to pop ("Change the World") and reggae ("I Shot the Sheriff").

Contents [hide]
1 Musical career and personal life
1.1 Clapton's early days
1.2 The Yardbirds & John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
1.3 Cream
1.4 Blind Faith & Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
1.5 Derek and the Dominos
1.6 Solo career
1.7 Influences
1.8 Controversy
1.9 Comeback
1.10 Tragedy again
1.11 Slowhand re-emerging
2 The search for his father
3 Clapton's guitars
4 Other media appearances
5 Clapton's music in film
6 Discographies
7 Band
7.1 2006 tour band
7.2 Previous band members
8 Trivia
9 References
10 Further reading
11 See also
12 External links



[edit] Musical career and personal life

[edit] Clapton's early days
Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England as the illegitimate son of 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Walter Fryer, a 24-year-old soldier. Fryer shipped off to war prior to Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada.

Clapton grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband Jack, believing they were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. (Their surname was Clapp, which has given rise to the widespread but erroneous belief that Eric's real name is Clapp.) Years later his mother married another Canadian soldier, moved to Canada and left Eric with his grandparents. When Clapton was 9 years old he discovered this family secret, and the experience became a defining moment in his life.[5]

Clapton grew up quiet, shy, lonely and in his words a "nasty kid". During his secondary school years he attended the Hollyfield School in Surbiton. His first job was as a postman. Influenced by the blues from an early age, at 13 Clapton received an acoustic guitar for his birthday, but he found learning the instrument so difficult he nearly gave up. He practiced for hours on end, struggling to learn chords and trying to copy the exact sounds of black blues artists such as Big Bill Broonzy, Lionel Hampton and Stan Kenton that he had on his little Grundig Cub tape recorder. After leaving school Clapton completed a one-year foundation art course in 1962 at the Kingston College of Art, one of the forerunners to Kingston Polytechnic (which then became Kingston University in 1992); he did not go on to undertake an art degree at Kingston because he was expelled for playing his guitar in class. Around this time Clapton began busking around Kingston, Richmond and the West End of London.[6] Clapton joined his first band at 17 and stayed with this band - the early British R&B outfit The Roosters - from January through to August 1963. Clapton did a seven-gig stint with Casey Jones and the Engineers in September 1963.


[edit] The Yardbirds & John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
Main articles: The Yardbirds and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Clapton joined The Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock and roll band in 1963 and stayed with them until March 1965. Synthesising influences from Chicago blues and leading blues guitarists such as Buddy Guy, Freddie King and B.B. King, Clapton forged a distinctive style and rapidly became one of the most talked-about guitarists in the British music scene[7]. The band initially played Chess/Checker/Vee-Jay blues numbers and began to attract a large cult following when they took over the Rolling Stones' residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. They toured England with American bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson; a joint LP, recorded in December 1963, was issued belatedly under both their names in 1965. In March 1965, just as Clapton left the band, the Yardbirds had their first major hit, on which Clapton played guitar: "For Your Love."

Still obstinately dedicated to blues music, Clapton took strong exception to the Yardbirds' new pop-oriented direction, partly because "For Your Love" had been written by pop songwriter-for-hire Graham Gouldman, who had also written hits for teen pop outfit Herman's Hermits and harmony pop band The Hollies. Clapton recommended fellow guitarist Jimmy Page as his replacement, but Page was at that time unwilling to relinquish his lucrative career as a freelance studio musician, so Page in turn recommended Clapton's successor, Jeff Beck (although Page would also eventually join the band)[8]. While Beck and Page played together in the Yardbirds, the trio of Beck, Page, and Clapton were never in the group together. However, the trio did appear at the 1983 ARMS charity concerts, as well as on the rare blues album Guitar Boogie.

Having quit the Yardbirds in March, Clapton joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers in April 1965. His passionate playing in nightclubs — and on the immensely influential album, Blues Breakers — established Clapton's name worldwide as a blues guitarist. With his 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar and Marshall amplifier, Clapton's playing by then had inspired a well publicised graffito that deified him with the famous slogan "Clapton is God." The phrase “Clapton is God” was spray painted on a wall in the Underground station in Islington in the mid-60s by an admirer. The graffito was captured in a now-famous photograph, in which Clapton is known to delightedly point out that a dog is urinating on the same wall as the graffiti. [2]


[edit] Cream

Album cover to Fresh CreamMain article: Cream (band)
Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in mid-1966 (to be replaced by Peter Green) and then formed Cream, one of the earliest supergroup bands. Cream was also one of the earliest "power trios", with Jack Bruce (also of Manfred Mann, the Bluesbreakers and the Graham Bond Organisation) and Ginger Baker (another member of the GBO). Before the formation of Cream, Clapton was all but unknown in the United states; he left The Yardbirds before "For Your Love" hit the American Top Ten. During his time with Cream, Clapton began to develop as a singer and songwriter, as well as guitarist, though Bruce took most of the lead vocals and wrote the majority of the material with lyricist Pete Brown[9]. Cream's first gig was a low key performance at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester on July 29, 1966 before their full debut at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Cream established an enduring legend on the high-volume blues jamming and extended solos of their live shows, while their studio work was more sophisticated than original rock.

In early 1967, Clapton's status as Britain's top guitarist was shaken by the arrival of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix attended a performance of the newly formed Cream at the Central London Polytechnic on October 1, 1966, during which Hendrix sat in on a shattering double-timed version of "Killing Floor". Hendrix's early club performances were avidly attended by top UK stars including Clapton, Pete Townshend, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Hendrix's arrival had an immediate and major effect on the next phase of Clapton's career, although Clapton continued to be recognised in UK music polls as the premier guitarist. Clapton and Hendrix remained friends up until Hendrix's death in 1970. The day before Hendrix's death, Clapton had found and purchased a left handed Stratocaster, and planned on giving it to Hendrix, but never got the chance.[10]

Cream's repertoire varied from pop soul ("I Feel Free") to lengthy blues-based instrumental jams ("Spoonful") and featured Clapton's searing guitar lines, Bruce's soaring vocals and prominent, fluid bass playing, and Baker's powerful, polyrhythmic jazz-influenced drumming.

In a mere three years Cream had immense commercial success, selling 15 million records and playing to standing-room only crowds throughout the U.S. and Europe. They redefined the instrumentalist's role in rock and were one of the first bands to emphasise musical virtuosity, skill and flash. Their U.S. hit singles include "Sunshine Of Your Love" (#5, 1968), "White Room" (#6, 1968) and "Crossroads" (#28, 1969) - a live version of Robert Johnson's "Crossroad Blues."

Although Cream was hailed as one of the greatest groups of its day, and the adulation of Clapton as guitar hero reached new heights, the band was destined to be short-lived. The legendary infighting between Bruce and Baker and growing tensions between all three members eventually led to Cream's demise. Another significant factor was a strongly critical Rolling Stone review of a concert of the group's second headlining U.S. tour, which affected Clapton profoundly. By this time he had also fallen deeply under the spell of the music of The Band after they had released the album Music from Big Pink and began to believe that rock music was heading in a new direction. He was so infatuated with them that he even asked to join them, but was turned down.[11]

Cream's farewell album, Goodbye, featured live performances recorded live at The Forum, Los Angeles, October 19, 1968, and it was released shortly after Cream disbanded in 1968, and also featured the studio single "Badge", co-written by Clapton and George Harrison, whom he had met and become friends with after the Beatles had shared a bill with the Clapton-era Yardbirds at the London Palladium. The close friendship between Clapton and Harrison also resulted in Clapton's playing on Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' White Album—according to some, a tactic intended to make the other Beatles take Harrison's song more seriously, but whatever the truth, by all accounts the presence of an outsider, especially of Clapton's calibre, had the effect of bringing harmony to the irritable band. In January 1969, during the making of what would become the Let It Be album, Harrison walked out after an argument and in his absence—fearing Harrison had gone for good and concerned that the album could not be completed—John Lennon proposed that Harrison be replaced by Clapton. In the same year of release as the White Album, Harrison released his solo debut Wonderwall Music which became the first of many Harrison solo records to feature Clapton on guitar, who would go largely uncredited due to contractual restraints. The pair would often play live together as each other's guests, right up until Harrison's death in 2001 and the following tribute concert in his name, for which Clapton was musical director.

Since their 1968 breakup, Cream briefly reunited in 1993 to perform at the ceremony inducting them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A full-scale reunion of the legendary trio took place in May 2005, with Clapton, Bruce and Baker playing 4 sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall (the scene of their 1968 farewell shows) and 3 more at New York's Madison Square Garden that October. Recordings from the London shows were released on CD and DVD in September 2005.


[edit] Blind Faith & Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
Main articles: Blind Faith and Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
A desultory spell in a second supergroup, the short-lived Blind Faith (1969), which was composed of Cream drummer Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood of Traffic and Ric Grech of Family, resulted in one LP and one arena-circuit tour. The supergroup debuted before 100,000 fans in London's Hyde Park on June 7, 1969, and began a sold-out American tour in July before its one and only album had been released. The LP Blind Faith was recorded in such haste that side two consisted of just two songs, one of them a 15 minute jam entitled "Do What You Like". Nevertheless, Blind Faith did include two classics: Winwood's "Can't Find My Way Home" and Clapton's "Presence of the Lord". The album's jacket image of a topless prepubescent girl was deemed controversial in the U.S. and was replaced by a photograph of the band. Blind Faith dissolved after only a year together, and while Winwood returned to Traffic, by now Clapton was tired of both the spotlight and the hype that had surrounded Cream and Blind Faith, and wanted to make music that more closely resembled that of The Band.

Clapton decided to step into the background for a time, touring as a sideman with the American group Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. He moved to New York in late 1969 and worked with the band through early 1970. He became close friends with Delaney Bramlett, who encouraged him in his singing and writing, which would show determined growth in his next effort.

Using the Bramletts' backing group and an all-star cast of session players (including Leon Russell and Stephen Stills, on whose solo albums Clapton played), he released his first solo album in 1970, fittingly named Eric Clapton, which included the Bramlett composition, "Bottle Of Red Wine", and one of Clapton's best songs from this period, "Let It Rain". It also yielded an unexpected U.S. #18 hit, J.J. Cale's "After Midnight".

Clapton's "between-bands" period from 1969 to 1970 also saw him appear on a large number of other artists' records, ranging from George Harrison's All Things Must Pass (for contractual reasons, Clapton's contributions went uncredited for decades) to The Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace in Toronto 1969 and Dr John's Sun Moon and Herbs.


[edit] Derek and the Dominos
Main article: Derek and the Dominos
Taking over Delaney & Bonnie's rhythm section; Bobby Whitlock (keyboards, vocals), Carl Radle (bass) and Jim Gordon (drums) — Clapton formed a new band which was similarly intended to counteract the 'star' cult that had grown up around him and display Clapton as an equal member of a fully-fledged group. [12] The band was unnamed early on simply called "Eric Clapton and Friends" with its final name, Derek and the Dominos, an accident, by all accounts. Whitlock claims the previous performer, Tony Ashton of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke mispronounced their provisional name of "Eric and the Dynamos" as Derek and the Dominos.[13] While in Clapton's biography a different story emerges claiming Ashton told Clapton to call the band "Del and the Dominos", Del being his nickname for Clapton. Del and Eric were combined and the final name became "Derek and the Dominos."[14]

Clapton's close friendship with George Harrison had brought him into contact with Harrison's wife Patti Boyd-Harrison, with whom he fell deeply in love. When she turned him down, Clapton's unrequited affections prompted most of the material for the Dominos' album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, most notably the hit single "Layla", inspired by the Persian classical poet Nizami Ganjavi's "The Story of Layla and Majnun", a copy of which his friend Ian Dallas had given him; Clapton found a strong similarity between the situation of Layla and Majnun and the one between him and Boyd-Harrison.[15]


Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is considered Clapton’s masterpieceWorking at Criteria Studios in Miami with legendary Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, the band recorded a brilliant double-album which is now widely regarded as Clapton's masterpiece. The two parts of "Layla" were recorded in separate sessions: the opening guitar section was recorded first, and for the second section, laid down several months later, drummer Jim Gordon composed and played the elegiac piano part.[16]

The Layla LP was actually recorded by a five-piece version of the group, thanks to the unforeseen inclusion of guitarist Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. A few days into the Layla sessions, Dowd — who was also producing the Allmans — invited Clapton to an Allman Brothers outdoor concert in Miami. The two guitarists — who previously knew each other only by reputation — met backstage after the show, and then both bands retired to the studio to jam.[17] Clapton and Allman played all night and became instant friends, and Allman was immediately invited to become the fifth member of The Dominos. (These studio jams were eventually released as part of the 3-CD 20th-anniversary edition of the Layla album.)

When Allman and Clapton met, The Dominos had already recorded three tracks ("I Looked Away", "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Keep On Growing"); Allman debuted on the fourth cut, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out", and contributed some of his most sublime slide-guitar playing to the remainder of the LP. The album was heavily blues-influenced and featured a winning combination of the twin guitars of Allman and Clapton, with Allman's incendiary slide-guitar a key ingredient of the sound. Many critics would later notice that Clapton played best when in a band composed of dual guitars; working with another guitarist kept him from getting "sloppy and lazy and this was undeniably the case with Duane Allman."[18] It showcased some of Clapton's strongest material to date, as well as arguably some of his best guitar playing, with Whitlock also contributing several superb numbers, and his powerful, soul-influenced voice. [19]


Eric Clapton performing at the Fillmore East for the recording of In ConcertTragedy dogged the group throughout its brief career. During the sessions, Clapton was devastated by news of the death of Jimi Hendrix; eight days previously the band had cut a blistering version of "Little Wing" as a tribute to him which was added to the album. One year later, on the eve of the group's first American tour, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. Adding to Clapton's woes, the Layla album received only lukewarm reviews on release; Clapton took this personally, accelerating his spiral into drug addiction and depression. [20]

The shattered group undertook a US tour. Despite Clapton's later admission that the tour took place amidst a veritable blizzard of drugs and alcohol, it resulted in the surprisingly strong live double album In Concert.[21] But Derek and the Dominos disintegrated messily in London just as they commenced recording for their second LP. Although Radle would be Clapton's main bass player until the summer of 1979 (Radle died in May 1980 from the effects of alcohol and narcotics), the split between Clapton and Whitlock was apparently a bitter one, and it wasn't until 2003 before they worked together again (Clapton guested on Whitlock's appearance on the Later with Jools Holland show, playing and singing "Bell Bottom Blues", available on a "Later with Jools" DVD). Another tragic footnote to the Dominos story was the fate of drummer Jim Gordon, who was an undiagnosed schizophrenic who some years later during a psychotic episode murdered his mother with a hammer and was confined to 14 years to life imprisonment. Gordon was moved to a mental institution after several years, where he remains today.[22]


[edit] Solo career
Despite his success, Clapton's personal life was in a chaotic mess by late 1971. In addition to his (temporarily) unrequited and intense romantic longing for Pattie Boyd-Harrison, he withdrew from recording and touring to isolation in his Surrey, England residence. There he nursed his heroin addiction, resulting in a career hiatus interrupted only by the Concert for Bangladesh in August of 1971 (where he passed out on stage, was revived, and continued the show)[23]. In January of 1973, The Who's Pete Townshend organised a comeback concert for Clapton at London's Rainbow Theatre aptly titled the "Rainbow Concert" to help Clapton kick his addiction. Clapton would return the favour by playing 'The Preacher' in Ken Russell's film version of The Who's Tommy in 1975; his appearance in the film (performing "Eyesight To The Blind") is notable for the fact that he is clearly wearing a fake beard in some shots, the result of deciding to shave off his real beard after the initial takes in an attempt to force the director to remove his earlier scene from the movie and leave the set.[24]

By the mid 70's, now partnered with Pattie (they would not actually marry until 1979) and free of heroin (although starting to drink heavily), Clapton put together a strong new touring band that included Radle, Miami guitarist George Terry, drummer Jamie Oldaker and vocalists Yvonne Elliman and Marcy Levy (later better known as Marcella Detroit of 1980s pop duo Shakespear's Sister). With this band Clapton recorded 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974), an album with the emphasis on more compact songs ; the cover-version of "I Shot The Sheriff" was a major hit and was important in bringing reggae and the music of Bob Marley to a wider audience. The band toured the world and subsequently released the 1975 live LP, E.C. Was Here.

The 1975 album There's One in Every Crowd continued the trend of 461. Its original intended title The World's Greatest Guitar Player (There's One In Every Crowd) was altered, as it was felt the ironic intention would be missed. (Clapton's own original cover artwork, a (self-)portrait of a miserable-looking character with a pint glass, was also replaced by a photograph of Clapton's dog Jeep, apparently with its muzzle on a coffin.)

In 1976, Clapton appeared at The Band's farewell concert on November 26. It was the second farewell concert Clapton had played on that date; eight years earlier, he had played Cream's farewell concert in London. Ironically, it was partially because of The Band's music that Clapton had decided to leave Cream in the first place.

Clapton continued to release albums sporadically and toured regularly, but much of his output from this period was deliberately low-key and failed to find the wide acceptance of his earlier work; highlights of the era include No Reason to Cry, whose collaborators included Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson, and Slowhand, which featured "Wonderful Tonight", another song inspired by Patti Boyd-Harrison, and a second J.J. Cale cover, "Cocaine", which has since become a rock staple.


[edit] Influences
Clapton has performed songs by myriad artists, most notably Robert Johnson and J.J. Cale. Other artists Clapton has covered include Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. He cites Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and primarily Robert Johnson as major influences on his guitar playing, stating in the liner notes of his Robert Johnson tribute album Me and Mr. Johnson "It is a remarkable thing to have been driven and influenced all of my life by the work of one man... I accept that it has always been the keystone of my musical foundation... I am talking of course about Robert Johnson".

In 1974, Clapton persuaded Freddie King to sign for RSO, Clapton's own record label at the time, and produced the first of King's two albums for the label, Burglar. He has recorded more than six of J.J. Cale's originals and has put out an album with the artist. Other artists Clapton has made collaborations with include Frank Zappa, B.B King, Santana, Ringo Starr, Roger Waters, Bob Marley and The Plastic Ono Band.

Clapton also collaborated with singer/songwriter John Mayer on his 2006 album release, Continuum. Mayer cites Clapton in his liner notes "Eric Clapton - I copy off of him and he lets me." Clapton and Mayer wrote several songs together which have yet to be released. Clapton's influence inspired Mayer to write "I Don't Trust Myself with Loving You" which loosely holds characteristics of Clapton's style.


[edit] Controversy

Clapton in Concert in Switzerland, June 19, 1977In 1976, Clapton was the centre of controversy and accusations of racism, when he spoke out against increasing immigration during a concert in Birmingham. He commented that England had "...become overcrowded...that England sells itself as the "land of milk and honey" only to turn around and stick its invited immigrants into low paying labour jobs, living in substandard conditions..." Clapton also voiced his support of controversial political candidate Enoch Powell, making references to "a black colony." As a result, it would be a full decade before Clapton was welcome to play in Birmingham again.[citation needed] These comments (along with equally controversial remarks and actions by other artists, such as David Bowie and Siouxsie Sioux) led to the creation of the Rock Against Racism movement in the UK.

Despite his controversial stance, and the comment in a 2004 interview with Uncut magazine "there's no way I could be a racist... it just wouldn't make any sense", Clapton has not made any notable effort to distance himself from the remarks and has denied there was any contradiction between his political views and his career based on an essentially black musical form. In a 1980s interview with Q magazine he defended his position, saying it wasn't racist but instead borne of concern that "...ghettoes would spring up all over England, which they have done."[citation needed] However, in a later interview, although not fully retracting the remarks, he attributed them to his inebriation at the time, a product of his much-publicised alcoholism. According to an article in The Independent (London) on March 22, 2004 entitled "Why they're rocking against racism again"[3]:

Some see the current climate as similar to the situation prevailing when Rock Against Racism began in late 1976 [...] A somewhat inebriated Eric Clapton, then considered very much part of the old guard, at a concert in Birmingham, told the audience that the politician Enoch Powell — infamous for his "rivers of blood" speech opposing mass immigration — was right and that Britain was "overcrowded". [...] A sheepish Clapton was later reported to have explained that he was angry because an "Arab" had felt his wife's bottom.

In the late 1980s Clapton added four black musicians to his band: bassist Nathan East, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, drummer Steve Ferrone and backing singer Katie Kissoon. Whilst Clapton had previously played and recorded with many black musicians (including Buddy Guy, BB King and Robert Cray), and had appeared alongside performers of varying ethnicities at collaborative events (such as The Concert for Bangla Desh), this was the first time Clapton had been in a band in which the official members were not all white. Defenders of Clapton's claim not to be racist also point out that he has dated Afro-Caribbean supermodel Naomi Campbell [4], and has had a home on the Caribbean island of Antigua for many years.


[edit] Comeback

Eric Clapton's Antigua Residence, as seen from Shirley HeightsThe late 1970s saw Clapton struggle to come to terms with the changes in popular music, and a relapse into alcoholism that eventually saw him hospitalised and then spending a period of convalescence in Antigua, where he would later support the creation of a drugs and alcohol rehabilitation centre, The Crossroads Centre.

In 1981, Clapton was invited by producer Martin Lewis to appear at the Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball. Clapton accepted the invitation and teamed up with Jeff Beck to perform a series of duets - reportedly their first-ever billed stage collaboration. Three of the perfomances were released on the album of the show and one of the songs was featured in the film of the show. The performances heralded a return to form and prominence for Clapton in the new decade.

In 1984, he performed on Pink Floyd member Roger Waters's solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and went on tour with Waters following the release of the album. Since then Waters and Clapton have had a close relationship, and in 2005 they performed together for the Tsunami Relief Fund and on May 20, 2006 performed with Waters at the Highclere Castle playing two set pieces of "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb".

As Clapton came back from his addictions, his album output continued in the 1980s, including two produced with Phil Collins, 1985's Behind the Sun, which produced the hits "Forever Man" and "She's Waiting", and 1986's August.

August, a polished release suffused with Collins's trademark drum/horn sound, became Clapton's biggest seller in the UK to date and matched his highest chart position, number 3. The album's first track, the hit "It's In The Way That You Use It", was also featured in the Tom Cruise-Paul Newman movie The Color of Money. The horn-peppered "Run" echoed Collins' "Sussudio" and rest of the producer's Genesis/solo output, while "Tearing Us Apart" (with Tina Turner) and the bitter "Miss You" echoed Clapton at his angry best.

The period kicked off Clapton's extensive two-year period of touring with Collins and their August collaborates, bassist Nathan East and keyboard player/songwriter Greg Phillinganes. Despite his own earlier battles with the bottle, Clapton also remade "After Midnight" as a single and a promotional track for the Michelob beer brand produced by Anheuser-Busch, which had also marketed earlier songs by Collins and Steve Winwood.

Clapton won more plaudits and a British Academy Television Award for his collaboration with Michael Kamen on the score for the critically-acclaimed 1985 BBC television thriller serial Edge of Darkness.

Clapton also worked on the music for the "Lethal Weapon" motion picture series alongside Michael Kamen and David Sanborn.

In 1989, Clapton's commercial and artistic resurgence finally came full circle with Journeyman, which featured songs in a wide range of styles from blues to jazz, soul and pop and collaborators including George Harrison, Phil Collins, Daryl Hall, Chaka Khan, Mick Jones, David Sanborn and Robert Cray.[25]


[edit] Tragedy again
In 1985 Clapton, while still married to Pattie Clapton, had started a relationship with Yvonne Kelly; they had a daughter, Ruth, in the same year. Clapton and Yvonne did not make any public announcement about the birth of their daughter. Hurricane Hugo hit Montserrat in 1989 and this resulted in the closure of Sir George Martin and John Burgess's recording studio AIR Montserrat, where Yvonne was Managing Director. Yvonne & Ruth moved back to England, and the myth of Eric's secret daughter was born as a result of newspaper articles. Ruth made a spoken-word appearance on his 1998 album Pilgrim and in 2001 was pictured in the Reptile album artwork). Clapton and Pattie divorced in 1989 following his affair with Italian model Lory Del Santo, who gave birth to his son Conor in August 1986 (the month of his birth prompting the title of the album released that year).

The early 1990s saw tragedy enter Clapton's life again on two occasions. On August 27, 1990 guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and two members of their road crew were killed in a helicopter crash between concerts. Then, on March 20, 1991 at 11:00AM, Conor, who was four and a half, died when he fell from the 53rd-story window of his mother's New York City apartment, landing on the roof of an adjacent four-story building. Clapton's grief was heard on the song "Tears in Heaven" (on the soundtrack to the 1991 movie Rush), co-written with Will Jennings, which, like the MTV Unplugged album that followed it, won a Grammy award.


[edit] Slowhand re-emerging
While Unplugged featured Clapton playing acoustic guitar, his 1994 album From the Cradle contains new versions of old blues standards highlighted by fine electric guitar playing.

Clapton finished the twentieth century with critically-acclaimed collaborations with Carlos Santana and B. B. King. Clapton's 1996 recording of the Wayne Kirkpatrick/ Gordon Kennedy/Tommy Sims tune "Change the World" (featured in the soundtrack of the movie Phenomenon) won a Grammy award for song of the year in 1997, the same year he recorded Retail Therapy, an album of electronic music with Simon Climie under the pseudonym TDF. The following year, Clapton released the album "Pilgrim", the first record featuring brand new material for almost a decade.[26]

In 1998 Clapton had a relationship with singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow. The couple dated briefly but it is rumoured that Sheryl wrote "My Favorite Mistake" about her relationship with Clapton. They remain friends presently.

In 1999 Clapton, then 54, met 25-year-old graphic artist Melia McEnery in Los Angeles while working on an album with B.B. King. They married in 2002 at St Mary Magdalen church in Clapton's birthplace, Ripley, Surrey, and as of 2005 have three daughters, Julie Rose (2001), Ella May (2003), and Sophie (2005). He wrote the song "Three Little Girls," featured on his 2006 album "The Road to Escondido," about the contentment he has found in his home life with his wife and daughters.

Following the release of the 2001 record Reptile, Eric performed "Layla" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Party at the Palace in 2002 and in November he masterminded The Concert for George at the Royal Albert Hall, a tribute to George Harrison, who had died a year earlier of cancer. The concert featured Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Ravi Shankar, amongst others.

In 2004, Clapton released two records packed full of covers by legendary Bluesman, Robert Johnson. Me & Mr Johnson, contains many delights from the soulful "Love in Vain," to the pacey "Last Fair Deal Going Down," and "They're Red Hot." The second album, Sessions For Robert J, was released in December and comprised of the outtakes from the Me & Mr Johnson.[27] Before his Tour of Japan in 2003, Clapton had stated that his new album would have a definite "rocky" feel but the two Robert Johnson records undoubtedly contradicted this. He later revealed that "when we got stuck or if it wasn't moving fast enough we'd stop and do a Robert Johnson song. That would clear the air and we'd go back and carry on for the new album. As a result, we ended up with a complete Robert Johnson album first, which was released last year as Me And Mr. Johnson."

The same year, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Clapton #53 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[28] On this list, he is the second greatest living guitarist (behind B.B. King).


Clapton at the Tsunami Relief concert, 2005Back Home, Clapton's first album of new original material in nearly five years, was released on Reprise Records on August 30th.

Featuring twelve songs, five of which were penned by Clapton with creative collaborator Simon Climie, "Back Home" also includes "Love Comes To Everyone" by George Harrison, the Spinners' "Love Don't Love Nobody," a rendition of Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright's "I'm Going Left," and compositions by Vince Gill, Doyle Bramhall II and others. It was through the writing and recording process, Clapton explained, that the theme of "Back Home" emerged. "One of the earliest statements I made about myself," he revealed, "was back in the late '80s, with 'Journeyman.' This album completes that cycle in terms of talking about my whole journey as an itinerant musician and where I find myself now, starting a new family. That's why I chose the title. It's about coming home and staying home. Even though," he added with a laugh, "I'll be out on the road again next year, playing this music."

In 2006 it was announced that Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II would join Clapton's band for his 2006 and 2007 tour. Trucks is the third member of the Allman Brothers Band to support Clapton, the second being keyboardist Chuck Leavell who appeared on the MTV Unplugged album. Support act band leader, Robert Cray regularly joins Eric on stage for "Old Love" which he co-wrote with Eric for the 1989 album "Journeyman" and also, for the encore on "Crossroads". The setlist for the 2006-2007 World Tour has been diversely crafted with compositions that span his entire solo career from "After Midnight" off the 1970 "Eric Clapton" LP to "Back Home" from the album of the same name. On May 20th, 2006 he performed with a set band consisting of ex-Queen drummer Roger Taylor and ex- Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, at the Highclere Castle. On August 13th 2006, Clapton made a guest appearance at the Bob Dylan concert in Columbus, Ohio. He guest appeared on three songs of Jimmie Vaughan's opening act.

A collaboration with guitar legend J.J. Cale, titled "The Road to Escondido", was released on November 7, 2006. The 14 track CD was produced and recorded by the duo in August 2005 in California. The resulting music defies being labeled into any one category, but instead finds influence across the spectrum of blues, rock, country and folk. A hybrid sound that is unique musically, while still bearing the signature styles of Cale and Clapton recognised by fans around the world. The songs are warm and rich, with deep flowing rhythms, yet use an economy of words to express much.

In a true collaboration, Cale and Clapton jointly produced and recorded the album, each playing and singing on the tracks. Cale wrote 11 of the songs, Clapton wrote "Three Little Girls," John Mayer wrote "Hard To Thrill" and the duo cover the blues classic "Sporting Life Blues." J.J. Cale's touring band accompanies them on the album as well as guest musicians including, Taj Mahal, John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Albert Lee, Nathan East, Willie Weeks and Steve Jordan. Particularly special is the involvement of Billy Preston, who donated his classic keyboard talents throughout the album. The album is dedicated to Preston and Clapton's late friend Brian Roylance.

The rights to Clapton's official memoirs, to be written by Christopher Simon Sykes and to be published in 2007, were reportedly sold at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair for USD $4 million.[29]

It was announced via the BBC website in October 2006 that Clapton would add JJ Cale's "Cocaine" to his live set, having previously refused to play it. He now sees it as an anti-drugs song.


[edit] The search for his father
Although Clapton's grandparents had eventually told him the truth about his parentage — that he was the illegitimate son of a Canadian serviceman — the precise identity of his father remained a mystery for many years. Clapton knew that his father's name was Edward Fryer, but few other details were known. This was a source of disquiet and speculation for Clapton, as witnessed by his 1998 song "My Father's Eyes" in which he writes "How did I get here? When will all my hopes arrive?...When I look in my father's eyes".

A Toronto journalist, named Michael Woloschuk, set about solving the mystery. He researched Canadian Armed Forces service records and tracked-down members of Edward Fryer's family, finally piecing together the story that Clapton's father was Edward Walter Fryer, born 21 March 1920, in Montreal and died 15 May 1985 in North York, Ontario. Fryer was a musician (piano and saxophone) and a lifelong drifter, who was married several times, had several children and apparently never knew that he was the father of Eric Clapton.[30]


[edit] Clapton's guitars

The Eric Clapton Stratocaster, made by Fender Musical Instruments CorporationClapton's choice of electric guitars have been as notable as the man himself, and alongside Hank Marvin, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton has exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of the electric guitar.

Early on in his career, Clapton used both Gibson and Fender guitars, but became exclusively a Gibson player in mid-1965, when he purchased a used 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar, which he used on the 1966 album with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and was largely responsible for Gibson's reintroduction of the original Les Paul body style after it was replaced by the Gibson SG.

Early during his stint in Cream, his treasured 1960 Les Paul Standard was stolen, although Clapton continued to play Gibson guitars with Cream and Blind Faith including Les Paul models, a Gibson Firebird and a Gibson ES-335, but his most famous guitar in this period was a 1964 Gibson SG. The guitar was noted for its remarkable, psychedelic appearance. In early 1967, just before their first US promotional tour, Clapton's SG, Bruce's Fender VI and Baker's drum head were repainted in eye-popping psychedelic designs created by the visual art collective known as The Fool.

Clapton played a Les Paul on the Beatles' studio recording of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." He later lent his SG to singer Jackie Lomax, who subsequently sold it to musician Todd Rundgren for US$500 in 1972. Rundgren restored the guitar and nicknamed it "Sunny," after "Sunshine Of Your Love." Rundgren played the guitar extensively on record and in concert in the mid-1970s, eventually retiring it in 1977. He retained it until 2000, when he sold it at an auction for US$150,000.

During Clapton's heroin addiction from 1969 to 1974, he began to sell off his collection of guitars to pay for his drug habit. Seeing Clapton selling his most treasured possessions was one of the reasons Pete Townshend was prompted to assist him get over his addiction.

Another moment involving Clapton's guitars and Pete Townshend resulted in Hard Rock Cafe's unique and gigantic collection of memorabilia. In 1971, Clapton, a regular at the original Hard Rock Cafe in Hyde Park, London, gave a signed guitar to the cafe to designate his favourite bar stool. Pete Townshend, in turn, donated one of his own guitars, with a note attached: "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete." From there, the collection of memorabilia grew, resulting in Hard Rock Cafe's atmosphere.

Later (due to fellow Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood's influence, and Clapton's love of Buddy Guy's sound), Clapton began using Fender Stratocasters. First was "Brownie" used during the recording of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs which in 1971 became the backup to the most famous of all Clapton's guitars, "Blackie" (a concoction of Clapton's favourite parts from several other Strats), which he used until 1985 when it wore out.

In 1988 Clapton, along with fellow Strat player Yngwie Malmsteen, was honoured by Fender with the introduction of his signature Eric Clapton Stratocaster. These were the first two artist models in the Stratocaster range and since then the artist series has grown to include models inspired by both Clapton's contemporaries such as Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck and those who have influenced him such as Buddy Guy. The late Stevie Ray Vaughan also has an artist series model. Clapton has also been honoured with a signature-model acoustic guitar made by the famous American firm of C.F. Martin & Co..

In 1999, Clapton auctioned off some of his guitar collection to raise over $5 million for continuing support of Crossroads Centre in Antigua, founded by him in 1997. The Crossroads Centre is a treatment base for addictive disorders like drugs and alcohol. In 2004, Clapton organised and participated in the Crossroads Guitar Festival to benefit the Centre. A second guitar auction, including the cream of Clapton's collection--as well as guitars donated by famous friends, was also held on June 24, 2004. The total revenue garnered by this auction at Christie's was US $7,438,624.


[edit] Other media appearances
Clapton frequently appears as a guest on the albums of other musicians. For example, he is credited on Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms album, as he loaned Mark Knopfler one of his guitars for the album. He also played lead guitar on The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Roger Waters' debut solo album after leaving Pink Floyd.


[edit] Clapton's music in film
The soundtrack of Goodfellas contains two of his songs: "Layla" (by Derek and the Dominos) and "Sunshine of Your Love" (by Cream).[31]
Clapton wrote the score to the film Rush. That film featured Gregg Allman, whose brother, Duane, was a guest musician who helped Clapton record Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

[edit] Discographies
Album Discography
Singles Discography

[edit] Band

[edit] 2006 tour band
European Tour

Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Doyle Bramhall II - guitar, backing vocals
Derek Trucks - guitar
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Tim Carmon - keyboards
Willie Weeks - bass
Steve Jordan - drums
The Kick Horns (Simon Clarke, Roddy Lorimer, and Tim Sanders) - brass
Michelle John - backing vocals
Sharon White - backing vocals
US / Canada - Eastern Region, Japan, Australia and New Zealand

Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Doyle Bramhall II - guitar, backing vocals
Derek Trucks - guitar
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Tim Carmon - keyboards
Willie Weeks - bass
Steve Jordan - drums
Michelle John - backing vocals
Sharon White - backing vocals
Support act for European and US / Canada : The Robert Cray Band


[edit] Previous band members
Albert Lee - guitar
Jack Johnson - guitar
Mark Knopfler - guitar
Andy Fairweather Low - guitar, backing vocals
Phil Palmer - guitar
George Terry - guitar, backing vocals
Gary Brooker - keyboards
Chuck Leavell - keyboards
Greg Phillinganes - keyboards, Hammond organ, backing vocals
Billy Preston - Hammond B3 Organ
David Sancious - keyboards, guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
Chris Stainton - piano, keyboards
Dave Bronze - bass guitar
Nathan East - bass guitar
Pino Palladino - bass guitar
Carl Radle - bass guitar
Paulinho Da Costa - percussion
Phil Collins - drums, vocals
Ray Cooper - percussion
Steve Ferrone - drums
Steve Gadd - drums
Ricky Lawson - drums
Andy Newmark - drums
Jamie Oldaker - drums
Jim Price - trumpet, trombone, keyboards
Bobby Keys - sax
Yvonne Elliman - backing vocals
Katie Kissoon - backing vocals
Marcy Levy - backing vocals
Tessa Niles - backing vocals

[edit] Trivia
This article's "trivia" section has too much trivia. To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, the article requires cleanup.
Content in the trivia section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article.
Clapton was supposed to provide the theme song to the James Bond film "Licence To Kill", starring Timothy Dalton but withdrew from the project late in the day due to a contractual dispute with the producers.
Clapton employs Lee Dickson to take care of his guitars. They are kept in a controlled environment and at the moment he has about 750 guitars. Back when he was at his prime he had some 2,000 guitars.[citation needed]
Clapton was banned from driving in France and had his British driving license confiscated after being clocked driving at 216 km/h (134mph) in a Porsche 911 Turbo on a French motorway in October 2004.[32]
Clapton claims to have slept with over 1,000 women. He supposedly once ordered a fellow musician to let him sleep with his girlfriend.[33]
Minor Planet 4305 is named 4305 Clapton to honour him. It is an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.[34]
Clapton and Cream bandmates Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce have all played with each other in other groups. Clapton and Baker played together in the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith, Baker and Bruce played together with the Graham Bond Organisation, BBM and Blues Incorporated, and Bruce and Clapton played together near the end of Clapton's tenure with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
Once while playing a Cream concert, he and Ginger Baker suddenly stopped playing; Jack Bruce, apparently due to the volume of his amplification, did not notice.[35]
Even though all three were band members of The Yardbirds, Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck never played in the band all at the same time. The three guitarists did however all play on stage at the same time at the ARMS charity concerts in 1983 in honour of Ronnie Lane. Clapton and Page had previously played together with The Immediate All-Stars in 1965. And, as noted above, Clapton and Beck played together in 1981 at The Secret Policeman's Other Ball.
When "Layla" from Unplugged hit #12 on the U.S. charts, Clapton became one of only two artists (the other being Neil Sedaka) to have made the Billboard Hot 100 with two versions of the same song.
Upon his return to England after recording Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, he was supporting a £1,000-per-week heroin addiction.
Clapton holds the #10 ranked guitar solo for the song "Crossroads" in Guitar World magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. While this is his highest ranked solo, he also boasts four others.
His name has appeared on some albums distributed in Japan as Eric Crapton,[36] though this is most likely a case of bad Engrish rather than sabotage.
For his performances with Jeff Beck at The Secret Policeman's Other Ball the duo were introduced on stage by event co-organizer John Cleese who can be clearly discerned on the album and film soundtrack as introducing Eric CLACTON. (Clacton is the name of a working-class English seaside resort. Clapton is also the name of a working-class district of East London.) It has never been established if Cleese's introduction was a slip-of-the-tongue, an error by a middle-aged comedian unfamiliar with contemporary musicians - or if Cleese was making a playful joke about Eric Clapton's name.
Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, did the cover to Clapton's album Pilgrim.
Clapton's fast playing and hard multi tone string bends frequently caused strings to break mid performance. Clapton would remain on stage diligently replacing the string and retuning the guitar to the accompaniment of a staple British expression of dis-approval - the slow hand clap. This earned him the nickname "Slowhand". The irony of the moniker in the face his quick licks was intentional.

[edit] References
^ "Biography Channel: Eric Clapton". Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
^ "Biography Channel: Eric Clapton". Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
^ "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All time", Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
^ The Immortals: The First Fifty. Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
^ Romanowski, , Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ "Eric Clapton" by Chris Welch, extract from Cream: Strange Brew at Official Cream website. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
^ Romanowski, , Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ Romanowski, , Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ Romanowski, , Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ "The 2nd US Tour." Cream: Classic Artists
^ Romanowski, , Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ The Layla Sessions liner notes, page 4.
^ artistfacts.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
^ Schumacher, Michael (1992). Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2466-9.
^ msnmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
^ Schumacher, Michael (1992). Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2466-9.
^ The Layla Sessions liner notes, page 7.
^ Schumacher, Michael (1992). Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2466-9.
^ allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
^ Biography on Clapton Fanclub Magazine. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
^ The Layla Sessions liner notes, page 12.
^ Romanowski, Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ Romanowski, , Patricia (2003). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll Rolling Stone Press, ISBN 0-671-43457-8
^ Schumacher, Michael (1992). Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2466-9.
^ allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
^ allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
^ allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
^ The Immortals: The First Fifty. Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
^ "Joel Rickett on the latest news from the publishing industry", The Guardian, 22 October 2005. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
^ Daily Telegraph, 27 March 1998; see [1]
^ "Soundtracks for Goodfellas" at IMDB. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
^ "French ban for speeding Clapton", BBC, 14 October 2004. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
^ "Profile: Cream: God and the brawlers, a heavenly rock band", The Times Online, 1 May 2005. Retrieved on 2005-07-04.
^ "About (4305) Clapton", Harvard University. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
^ Those Were the Days liner notes, page 28.
^ Engrish.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.

[edit] Further reading
Ray Coleman, Clapton! The Authorised Biography (Warner Books, 1985; originally published as "Survivor")
D. Widgery, Beating Time (Chatto & Windus, 1986)
Fred Weiler, Eric Clapton (Smithmark, 1992)
Eric Clapton: Crossroads liner notes
Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton - The Complete Recording Sessions 1963-1992
Marc Roberty, Eric Clapton: The New Visual Documentary (Omnibus Press, 1994)
Marc Roberty, Clapton - The Complete Chronicle (Mitchell Beazley, 1993)
Michael Schumacher, Crossroads - The Life and Music of Eric Clapton (Warner Books, 1998)
Robin Bextor, Eric Clapton - Now & Then (Carlton Books, 2006)

[edit] See also
The Yardbirds
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Cream
Blind Faith
Delaney & Bonnie and Friends
The Plastic Ono Band
Derek and the Dominos

[edit] External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Eric ClaptonEric Clapton's official site
Official site of Clapton's "Crossroads" Rehab centre, Antigua
Eric Clapton Guide
Eric Clapton Portal by Where's Eric! - The Eric Clapton Fan Club magazine
[5]
ClaptonWeb.com - The french Portal
Slowhand Tourography
Clapton marries in secret, BBC, 3 January, 2002
[6]
Eric Clapton at MusicBrainz
Eric Clapton at the Internet Movie Database
VIDEO: "I DON'T KNOW WHY", Delaney and Bonnie and Friends with Eric Clapton on lead vocals & George Harrison on rhythm guitar
Concert review of Eric Clapton at Standard Time



Cream