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Eric Clapton. Many know him as the renowned guitarist from England, but few know of the
personality and the true life that Eric Clapton has lived.
This documentary is going to dig into the personal
life of Eric Clapton.
Eric Clapton grew up in small town in England called Ripley. He was raised by his grandparents, Jack and Rose Clapp, who until Eric was about seven,
believed to be his mother and father. His birth mother didn't turn up in his life until
he was nine. This was something that caused much confusion in his life, and is an event
that he later claims as a possible cause for his many romance failures, Clapton's influence
in music started early, watching musicians in his neighborhood such as Buller Collier.
His grandmother Rose would also play piano and sing the hits of the time, such as "Now
Is The Hour," by Gracie Fields, or "I Walk Beside You," by Joseph Locke. Eric got his
first guitar when he was thirteen. It was a Hoyer acoustic that he described as a Spanish
looking guitar with steel strings, and was quite painful to play due to the tension of
the strings. Eric learned to play by listening to an album, figure out how the song went,
and then played along with the album until he got it correct. When Eric was sixteen,
he studied art design at the Kingston School of Art, but was soon dismissed because he
wanted to focus more on music. Eric was seventeen when he was in his first band, the English
R&B group, "The Roosters." He then later joined Casey Jones and the Engineers briefly. Then
Clapton joined the ever famous "Yardbirds," but later left because the direction the band
was going in wasn't too pleasing to Eric, they were more into money rather than the
music. Eric then joined John Mayall in playing in "The BluesBreakers," but after a few months
left to join a band called "The Juniors.." Not too long after this, drummer Ginger Baker
came to Eric wanting to form a power trio, and soon with Jack Bruce on bass, Ginger Baker
on drums, and Eric Clapton on the guitar, the band "Cream" was formed.
Cream's debut album, "Fresh Cream was released in 1966. Their second album, "Disraeli Gears," was
a hit, with the hit single, "Sunshine Of Your Love." Their third album was called, "Wheels
Of Fire," and because of complications in the band, they were barely persuaded to record
a fourth album, which they titled, "Goodbye Cream." Clapton blames Cream's breakup mainly
on the egos of the band members individually, mentioning that in the later tours, they only
played to show off their own individual talents. There was also a fierce rivalry between Jack
Bruce and Ginger Baker that caused complications. Clapton's next band, "Blind Faith," consisted
of Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech. During this time, Clapton also did work with
Delainy and Bonnie and Friends. Clapton's next project, "Derek and the Dominoes" were
some of his most known hits, such as "Layla," which at first didn't get much reaction. However,
Derek and the Dominoes only survived through one album,"Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs."
It was during this time that Clapton was madly in love with Pattie Boyd, who was at the time
the spouse of George Harrison of the Beatles. Most of his songs on this album were written
directly about Pattie, and at one point Eric told Pattie this, and along with how he felt
about her. Over the next few years, he would remain secretly in love with her. After Derek
and the Dominoes, Clapton released his first solo album, "Eric Clapton." This was also
the time when Clapton fell into a deep *** addiction. At the time he was in a relationship
with a girl named Alice Ormby-Gore. Eric refers to this period as "the lost years" in his
autobiography, where his life was dedicated to locking himself up in his house, and having
Alice go out on *** runs for them both. In this time, Clapton's career was on hold.
In 1973, Pete Townshend of "The Who" organized a comeback concert for Clapton at the Rainbow
Theater in London. Clapton later starred a cameo role in The Who's "Tommy" as a thank
you to Pete Townshend for getting him over his addiction. in 1974, Pattie Boyd separated
with George Harrison, and she and Eric Clapton started their relationship with each other.
Clapton then released his second solo album, "461 Ocean Boulevard." The album was named
after the house that Clapton live in while making the album which is pictured on the
album. The album featured the hit Bob Marley cover, "I Shot The Sheriff." The next big
hit was a collaboration with Bob Dylan, "No Reason To Cry," followed by "Wonderful Tonight,"
on the album "Slowhand," which also featured the J.J. Cale cover, "***." Then in 1979,
after Pattie Boyd finally, officially was divorced with George Harrison, Clapton and
Boyd got married. Over the next few years, Clapton became very addicted to alcohol, and
in 1982, he admitted to his addiction, and flew to Hazelden Treatment Center in Minnesota.
After his discharge, he released the album, "Money and Cigarettes." In 1984, he worked
with former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters on his solo album, "The Pros and Cons of Hitch
Hiking." Then went on tour with him. The next two albums, "Behind The Sun," and "August,"
Clapton did with Phil Collins. In 1985, Clapton had an affair with singer/colleague Yvonne
Kelly, and had his first daughter with her named Ruth. After another affair with the
Italian model, Lori Del Santo, Clapton and Boyd divorced. Clapton and Lori had a son
together named Connor, however when Connor was only four, he fell out of a window of
Lori's 53rd floor Condo and died. Clapton wrote the song, "Tears in Heaven" in dedication
to his son. In the early nineties, Clapton found inspiration to build and fund his own
addiction treatment center called, "Crossroads." Clapton's next music work was on MTV's show
Unplugged, and it turned out to be one of his greatest selling albums to date. In 1998,
Clapton, at the time age 53, met and eventually married 22 year old Melia McEnry. Together,
they ended up having three girls, Julia, Ella, and Sophie. In the past couple of years, Clapton
has done reunions, such as shows at Madison Square Garden and Royal Albert Hall with Cream,
and a 2007 World Tour. Clapton is the only person to be inducted three times into the
Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, once with the Yardbirds, once with Cream, and once as a
solo artist. In spring of 2013, he toured America to celebrate 50 years of his music
career. Eric Clapton is, and always will be a legend among legends.