# Eric Clapton: The artist formerly known as God: New full live concert video 2018

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2018/03/30/eric-clapton-the-artist-formerly-known-as-god-new-full-live-concert-video-2018/
- Published: 2018-03-30T00:06:47+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**30.03. – Happy Birthday !!! Eric Patrick Clapton was born on 1945 in his grandparents’
home at 1 The Green, Ripley, Surrey, England. He was the son of 16-year-old Patricia
Molly Clapton (b. 7 January 1929, d. March 1999) and Edward Walter Fryer (b. 21 
March 1920, d. 1985), a 24-year-old Canadian soldier stationed in England during
World War II. Before Eric was born, Fryer returned to his wife in Canada.**

It was extraordinarily difficult for an unmarried 16-year-old to raise a child on
her own in the mid-1940s. Pat’s parents, Rose and Jack Clapp, stepped in as surrogate
parents and raised Eric as their own. Thus, he grew up believing his mother was 
his sister. His grandparents never legally adopted him, but remained his legal guardians
until 1963. Eric’s last name comes from Rose’s first husband and Pat’s father, Reginald
Cecil Clapton (d. 1933).

Eric’s mother, Pat, eventually married and moved to Canada and Germany as her husband,
Frank McDonald, continued his military career. They had two girls and a boy. Eric’s
half-brother, Brian, was killed in a road accident in 1974 at the age of 26. His
half-sisters are Cheryl (b. May 1953) and Heather (b. September 1958).

Eric was raised in a musical household. His grandmother played piano and his uncle
and mother both enjoyed listening to the sounds of the big bands. Pat later told
Eric’s official biographer, Ray Coleman, that his father was a gifted musician, 
playing piano in several dance bands in the Surrey area.

Quiet and polite, he was characterized as an above- average student with an aptitude
for art. But, from his earliest years in school, he realized something was not quite
right when he wrote his name as “Eric Clapton” and his parents’ names as “Mr. and
Mrs. Clapp”. At the age of nine, he learned the truth about his parentage when Pat
returned to England with his six-year-old half brother for a visit. This singular
event affected him deeply and was a defining moment in his life. He became moody
and distant and stopped applying himself at school. Emotionally scarred by this 
event, Eric failed the all- important 11 Plus Exams. He was sent to St. Bede’s Secondary
Modern School and two years later, entered the art branch of Holyfield Road School.

By 1958, Rock and Roll had exploded onto the world. For his 13th birthday, Eric 
asked for a guitar. Finding the inexpensive Spanish Hoya difficult to play, he put
it aside. In 1961, when he was 16, Eric began studying at the Kingston College of
Art on a one-year probation. He was expelled at the end of that time for lack of
progress as he had not submitted enough work. The reason? Guitar playing and listening
to the blues dominated his waking hours.

Typical of his introspective nature, Eric looked beneath the surface and explored
the roots of rock in American Blues. The blues also meshed perfectly with his self-
perception as an outsider and of being “different” from other people. Sometime in
1962, he asked for his grandparents’ help in purchasing a £100 electric double 
cutaway Kay (a Gibson ES-335 clone) after hearing the electric blues of Freddie 
King, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and others.

Eric spent his early days in music busking around Richmond and Kingston, he also
began spending time in London and the West End. In early 1963, 17 year-old Eric 
joined his first band, The Roosters. Following the band’s demise in August 1963,
he spent one month in the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers. Before turning
to music as a full-time career, he supported himself as a laborer at building sites,
working alongside his grandfather, a master bricklayer and plasterer.

In October 1963, Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith recruited him to become a member
of The Yardbirds because Clapton was the most talked about guitar player on the 
R&B pub circuit. During his 18-month tenure with The Yardbirds, he earned his nickname,
Slowhand, and recorded his first albums: Five Live Yardbirds and Sonny Boy Williamson
and The Yardbirds. The band also recorded the single, “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”.
But, Eric had not abandoned his serious research into the American Blues. When The
Yardbirds began moving towards a more commercial sound with “For Your Love”, he 
quit. His path in music was the blues.

In April 1965, John Mayall invited Eric to join his band, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
With this group, Clapton established his reputation as a guitarist and earned his
second nickname: “God”. It came from an admirer’s graffiti on the wall of London’s
Islington Tube Station that boldly proclaimed “Clapton is God.” Eric’s time with
the band was turbulent and he left for a while to tour Greece with friends. Upon
his return from Greece, Eric rejoined the Bluesbreakers. It was during this time
that the now classic Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton was recorded. While with the
Bluesbreakers, Eric also recorded a one- off four-track session with a band dubbed“
The Powerhouse”. This studio band included John Paul Jones, Steve Winwood and Jack
Bruce.

After leaving the Bluesbreakers for a second and final time in July 1966, Eric teamed
up with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to form Cream. Extensive touring in the U.S.
and three solid albums – Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, and Wheels of Fire – brought
the band worldwide acclaim. While a member of Cream, he cemented his reputation 
as rock’s premier guitarist and was elevated to superstar status. Although Cream
was together for only two years, they are considered one of the most influential
rock groups of the modern era. Clapton was unique because he did not simply replicate
the blues riffs he heard on records. He incorporated the emotion of the original
performances into his own style of playing, thus expanding the vocabulary of blues
guitar. Cream crumbled beneath the weight of the member’s egos and constant arguing.
They disbanded after two final performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 26 
November 1968.

Following Cream’s break-up, Clapton founded Blind Faith – rock’s first “supergroup”–
with Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech. Disbanding after one album and
a disastrous American tour, Eric tried to hide from his growing fame by touring 
as a sideman with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. While with this outfit, Eric was encouraged
to sing by Delaney Bramlett. He also began composing more. A live album from the
Delaney & Bonnie tour was released in 1970. Clapton’s self-titled debut was released
that same year.

In the summer of 1970, Eric formed Derek and the Dominos with Jim Gordon, Carl Radle
and Bobby Whitlock from Delaney & Bonnie’s band . The Dominos would go on to record
the seminal rock album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. A concept album, its
theme revolved around Clapton’s unrequited love for George Harrison’s wife, Patti.
The band would drift apart following an American tour and a failed attempt at recording
a second album.

Hit hard by the break up of The Dominos, the commercial failure of the Layla album
and his unrequited love, Eric sunk into three years of heroin addiction. Although
he rarely emerged from his Surrey Estate, he filled box upon box with tapes of songs.
He kicked his drug addiction and re-launched his career in January 1973 with two
concerts at London’s Rainbow Theater organized by his friend, Pete Townshend (The
Who). The concerts represented a turning point in his career. In 1974, he reappeared
with a new style and sound with 461 Ocean Boulevard. Eric had become an assured 
vocalist and composer in addition to a guitar hero.

With each album after 461 Ocean Boulevard, Eric reinvented himself musically. Throughout
the 1970s and early 1980s, albums and tours would follow year in and year out. In
1985, Clapton found a new audience following his performance at the worldwide charity
concert, Live Aid. Annual stands at the Royal Albert Hall and successful albums 
like August, Journeyman and the Crossroads box set kept him well in the public mind.
In the late 80s, he carved out a second career as the composer of film scores. His
career went from strength to strength and reached new heights in 1992 with the release
of Unplugged and the Grammy winning single, “Tears In Heaven.”

In 1994, Eric returned to his blues roots with the release of From The Cradle. The
album was Clapton’s tribute to his musical heroes and contained cover versions of
blues classics. 1997 brought an excursion into electronica with the release of TDF’s
Retail Therapy . Eric posed as X-Sample in the studio “band” TDF. In 1998, he released
the soul-influenced Pilgrim, his first album of all new material in nine years. 
In 2000, he continued his love affair with the blues when he recorded an album with
American blues legend, B.B. King. Riding With The King was released in June and 
within three weeks of release, was certified gold.

Shortly after the release of Riding With The King, Clapton was back in the studio
recording his next solo project. Reptile was released in March 2001. In late 2002,
he began to record a new studio album. Work continued through the summer of 2003
and enough material was recorded for two albums. In addition to new solo material,
Eric recorded covers of Robert Johnson songs during these sessions. The Johnson 
songs were assembled and in March 2004, Eric’s tribute album, Me and Mr. Johnson
was released. The solo material recorded during these sessions was released in 2005
on Back Home.

In 2005, Eric also revisted the past. He, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce re-formed 
Cream for four very special reunion shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The concerts
took place at the venue where their farewell shows took place 37 years earlier, 
in November 1968. In October 2005, the men performed three further concerts at New
York’s Madison Square Garden. The London shows were released on CD and DVD in late
2005.

In his more than 40 year career, Eric Clapton has received many awards. He is the
only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (as a member of both the 
Yardbirds and Cream and as a solo artist). He has also won or shared in eighteen
Grammy Awards.

Eric has also contributed to numerous artists’ albums over the decades. The most
well known session occurred in September 1968, when he added guitar to George Harrison’s
composition, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” It is on the album, The Beatles (best
known as “The White Album”). He can also be heard on albums by Aretha Franklin, 
Steven Stills, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon and Yoko Ono),
Ringo Starr, Sting, and Roger Waters.

After conquering his heroin addiction, Eric replaced it with an addiction to alcohol.
Throughout the remainder of the 1970s and into the 1980s, his life and work suffered
due to his alcoholism. In January 1982, Eric entered the Hazelden Foundation, a 
rehabilitation facility in the United States. He did backslide, but has been sober
since 1987 through membership in Alcoholics Anonymous. Since then, Eric has been
committed to working with others who suffer from addictions to drugs and alcohol.

In February 1998, Eric announced the opening of Crossroads Centre, a rehabilitation
facility for drug and alcohol abuse on the island of Antigua. One of its principles
is to provide subsidized care for some of the poorest people of the Caribbean who
can not afford such care on their own. A foundation was established to provide “
scholarships” for these individuals. On 24 June 1999, Clapton auctioned 100 of his
guitars, including “Brownie” (the guitar on which he recorded “Layla”), at Christie’s
Auction House / New York. The 1999 auction netted almost $5 million (US) for the
foundation. On 30 June 1999, Clapton hosted a concert to benefit the Centre at New
York City’s Madison Square Garden. Proceeds from its airing on America’s VH1 and
DVD and video sales benefited the Centre. Five years later, Eric planned the second
and final major fundraising effort for the Centre. On 4, 5 and 6 June 2004, he hosted
the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas. The three day event presented the
cream of the world’s guitarists in a benefit event for the Centre. The event was
filmed and proceeds from the sale of the DVD also benefit the foundation. Additionally,
a second guitar auction took place on 24 June 2004. It raised an additional $6 million
for the foundation and included the sale of “Blackie”, his legendary Fender Stratocaster
and a cherry red Gibson ES335, known as “The Cream Guitar”.

Eric is married. He and his wife, Melia, have three daughters – Julie Rose (b. June
2001), Ella Mae (b. January 2003) and Sophie (b. February 2005). The couple married
on 1 January 2002.

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

His son, Conor (b. 15 August 1986), died on 20 March 1991 when he fell from a window
in his mother’s New York City apartment. Conor’s mother is Lory del Santo, a film
actress / television personality.

Eric married his first wife, Patti Boyd Harrison on 27 March 1979. They had no children
and divorced in the late 1980s.

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