Biography - Eric Clapton - A Man and his Music

it's 1963 and all across England it's a new cup of tea in clubs around London a rock slide of raw energy called The Rolling Stones is raising the stakes for rock and rollers cool cats with attitude are grooving on modern jazz mods on scooters are soaking up R&B and American tinted soul and beneath it all runs a river of blues born in the American South and introduced during and after the war by servicemen and Voice of America Radio into this strange brew steps a teenage guitar player from the tiny village of Ripley in Surrey he has a sound that electrified everyone who hears it a tone that makes bandmates and producers step back and off and audiences fall at his feet his name is Eric Patrick Clapton and to this day according to fans and musicians around the world nobody but nobody comes close the first time in person was at a club in London I had my back when I heard the guitar player started playing a blues solo I figured there was nobody in England who could play what I was hearing who was English man I said yo guitar player sure can play the blues and Wilson bigger says my guitar player is having a drink at the bar so I turned around and I saw this young man with an angelic face and they had his eyes closed and he was playing this incredible boobs although there's something about his playing that moved everybody simple as that we call it the pocket where he placed the notes and it didn't matter if it was live or if it was in the studio it was just impeccably placed Eric Clapton in my opinion is the number one rock guitarist [Music] - really in many ways was one of the figures who introduced musicality into rock and roll and you had to really seriously deal with him in the way that you might have to deal with a jazz classic he had this big thing on America I think we all did British teens like Eric born just after World War Two envied the freedom and opulence the US seemed to be enjoying all the English people wanted to go to that because they look such a good life you know sunshine and beach babes and England was drab and dreary at that time I mean I guess you've got to realize that musically that's where the inspiration was coming from the blues so powerful and so undeniable and so American there were a lot of young people who started to buy whatever blues records were available in England whatever they could get Eric Clapton was certainly among the first what British blues fanatics may not have heard was the conflict behind the music America was divided American blacks had their music that they would listen to on their black radio stations and then whites had their own music it was called its record so they let the white people deliver the black guys doing it what Eric Clapton heard in the Blues would change his life in return he changed the lives of many blues players whose music he popularized in October 1963 when Eric Clapton joined The Yardbirds they were intended as the ambitious producer Giorgio Gomelsky 'he's answered to the Rolling Stones when the stones left his club to tour he was one act short so they vacated the club Jamel ski came down and booked us on the spot to take over the cordetta so in a way that was our big break Eric was just 18 when singer Keith Relf recruited him for the band his grandmother had to sign as his legal guardian Rose was worried about Erin devoting his life to music but she had faith in her Rick even buying him his first two guitars on installment powered by Eric's guitar The Yardbirds were in the media twin crowd phenomena their weekly rave ups at London's Crawdaddy and marquee clubs became the hottest ticket in town in the Richmond Athletic Club they danced and at some point in the evening you know kids would take their shirts off and they'd walk these pins you know it is mayhem around this time Eric earned the nickname slow hail the American strings were not available to us so you sort of customized a guitar but the strings were weak it was inevitable that Eric would would break two or three it became a standing joke actually is that the audience very good may scream and we're just slow hand cutting and and that's how you got that's how you got the name Slowhand from day one Jamel ski had big plans for the yardbirds Eric went from playing weddings and coffee bars to a full-time schedule of touring and weekly club dues recording two albums in the first 18 months five live Yardbirds recorded in 1964 with a mic swinging from a fishing pole is still rated one of the best live albums ever recorded in 1963 the yardbirds were invited to back up a bona fide American blues man Sonny Boy Williamson we got hooked on on this wonderful black American music but we were white musicians you know I mean there was lots of suburbs from the suburbs playing with the rough-edged Williamson shattered certain romantic notions but it only deepened Eric's respect for the emotional honesty and pure musicianship of the blues Williamson was touched as well he went back to America and he he there was a story told to Robbie robertson of the band he said these white boys they want to play the blues so bad and they do yeah certainly on that occasion for all their talent and popularity The Yardbirds hadn't yet hit the top of the pop charts but they were determined to and so was their manager in 1963 the band opened for the Beatles Christmas concerts in London things were starting to rock and roll there was a publisher in the audience and he had this acetate er for your love which he gave to Giorgio and so we always had on this is great this is we're likeness but not Eric - Eric the catchy song was a disaster when I was actually actually the fanatic at that point fanatic and wanting to get deeper and deeper and deeper into the blues and he didn't really understand that perhaps we wanted to do other things and you know it may not sound quite like the blues but we wanted to we wanted to forge our own identity there was an ultimatum issued and I said well okay I'll leave for your love became exactly what it was intended at a massive international pop hit the yardbirds went on to enjoy several years of pop stardom - guitar legends consecutively filled Eric's pots first Jeff Beck then Jimmy Page founder of Led Zeppelin Eric's decision to walk away was the first dramatic standoff in a struggle between blues and popular music that would rock his career and his personal life for the next 40 years Eric Clapton's mother gave birth to him in the front room of her parents home on March 17 1945 when she was 16 his father was a piano playing Canadian soldier who had no intention of marrying her in fact he was already married for two years Pat was the entire villages favorite topic of gossip then she left Eric to be raised by her parents and moved to Germany to start a new life when Eric was nine Pat visited Ripley with a six-year-old son from her new marriage Eric learned that the people he called mum and dad were not his real parents hat on this first meeting thought it would be easier on Eric if he didn't get too attached to her so she treated him as her little brother even in public the experience was more than confusing it was shattering Eric changed dramatically after his mother's visit he was moody and aloof his schoolwork began to slip he had always sensed that people in the village treated him as if he were different now he knew why you have to realize that in 1962 the situation that Eric was in was more taboo Eric began to wear his different nurse an attitude I actually took an instant dislike to Eric because I thought this guy was so you know cocky and he was so sure of himself and okay and it's a trench coat on by his early teens Eric was pretty much a loner he spent his free time drawing building model airplanes and riding his bike obsessively his other pastime was listening to music on TV and radio and playing records enthralled with American blues artists like Big Bill Broonzy BB King Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy Eric tried teaching himself to play the guitar by copying the records frustrated by his lack of progress after about a year and a half he laid down the guitar but kept listening when later in his teens he heard the haunting call of blues man Robert Johnson's voice and guitar his response to Johnson's music was so powerful he almost couldn't listen and yet he couldn't stop I felt to most of my youth that my back was against the wall and the only way to survive that was with dignity and pride and courage and I heard that in certain forms of music I heard it most of unlikely as it seemed Johnson seemed to share the loneliness and alienation of an English schoolboy on a quest for his identity eric was unmotivated in school but at 16 his artistic talent got him a spot in Kingston school of art on probation Kingston's proximity to London offered access to nightlife and a music scene a dream he had nursed since age 13 began to take shape what struck me was about Eric he was always really straight boys he knew all the places to go the music scene was irresistible he hung out in the Ealing and flamingo and hundred clubs with many of the young musicians who would later revolutionize British and then American pop music his circle included Jimmy Page Steve Winwood Ginger Baker Jack Bruce Jeff Beck Pete Townsend players like Eric were rotating in and out of pick-up bands during intermission at the club's Eric was far too busy practicing new licks and polishing his look to spend much time on school warnings from the school and his family had no effect when the end-of-the-year portfolio review came up Eric just seventeen years old was dismissed from Kingston college he was shocked he was broke he was blue by day he worked laying bricks with his grandfather then practiced guitar with a ferocity that disrupted the whole family sleep he would work you know whole week on a four note phrase for Eric playing the blues wasn't a choice it was a calling as always one man with his guitar versus the world no alternatives whatsoever other than just sing and play to ease his pain and I echoed what I felt in many aspects of my life despite his own insecurities Eric had begun to sense a depth of talent and artistic ambition within himself that compelled him to push beyond the horizons of The Yardbirds well-crafted pop so when they pressured him to make a pop record they were asking him to give up the one thing in his life that felt undeniably real within a month of quitting the yardbirds veteran blues scholar and band leader John Mayall recruited Eric for one of England's top blues band John Mayall's Bluesbreakers Eric rapidly became Mayall's frontman recording a landmark British blues album Clapton is God graffiti began to appear on walls and in subway station just think while I've gone too far I never accepted the fact that I was the best guitar player in the world I always wanted to be the best guitar player in the world but that's an ideal and I accept it as an ideal they may well call him god but eric has true humility it's not for long he knows that he's a very simple man Jack Bruce who also played with the Bluesbreakers had little use for Eric's purist approach to the blues I was a kid from Glasgow with the classical training and who had played a lot of jazz so I wanted to apply the things that I knew to but using the language of the blues Bruce opened Eric's eyes and ears to new possibilities the straight-ahead blues repertoire that had felt so essentially a year ago now felt restrictive Clapton was ready for the next challenge Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker would provide it in June 1966 drummer Ginger Baker invited Eric Clapton to form a new band with him Eric was intrigued but only on the condition that bass player Jack Bruce be included little did he know that he is walking into a minefield so Tina had to approach me but gingerly had fallen out in fact northern fallin eyes he had kinda threatened me with a knife the notoriously volatile chemistry between Bruce and Baker and the musical energy it generated put Eric at the center of one of the wildest rides in rock history well it was a very quick step wasn't everything from being with John Mayall which was very textbook blues to going into it sort of jazz-rock fusion band we went to gingers a little house and we set up in his front room and we just played together and it was obvious from the very first few notes really that there was something there something special [Music] Eric who quickly realized that their combined talents we're the best British popular musicianship had to offer suggested the band's name from their first major concert at the National Jazz and Blues Festival at Windsor in July 1966 cream left audiences breathless creams freeform jams quickly became legendary none of this was the band leader so no one would say stop it alright enough so if one of us took off Atlantic Records quickly grabbed cream for the American market Robert Stigwood was working for Paula Graham at the time and I turned her eyes that now that's what we need in the elevated company of Baker and Bruce Eric's plane continued to evolve in a kind of journey that you take your audience on as a soloist was was really the point of what creme was about and it was very excited one night at the London Polytechnic the band was introduced to a young American guitarist and this guy came up to me and said I'm Jimi Hendrix can I'd like to sit at your bank and I said okay Clapton was eager to meet Hendrix also and of course he blew us all away I mean he was playing a guitar behind his head with his teeth and upside down and quite incredible you know it got to all of us the stakes were raised for cream and their virtuoso guitarist he and Hendrix continued to inspire and nudge each other forward until Hendrix's untimely death in 1970 and it wasn't only guitar ideas that Eric shared with Hendrix Eric said one of us has got to have curly hair and I said well it's not gonna be P so every day I'm glad it was me having seen the pictures the first time I heard it Clapton play guitar I said well he's a great guitar player somebody's gonna have to do something about those tant's at the time he was in the curly-haired stage and the platform shoes about this tall in the pink stretchy pants crane toured Europe to rave reviews it was time to conquer America Eric took advantage of everything New York City had to offer from Bien's in Central Park to BB King at cafe au go go I met this young handsome guy very young and everybody said that's Eric Clapton Eric Clapton so we sit and talk seemed like we became friends then Eric especially loved groupies I think we all learnt about groupies in New York yeah there was some groupies in New York all right three days before the band's visas were to expire Atlantic studios sent for cream who proceeded to record the mind-expanding Disraeli gears the psychedelic brilliance of Disraeli gears was a breakthrough for Eric and cream influencing musical history for decades to come there is this sense of this kind of blues psychedelia this root sea deep music was also going to take you to a kind of Wonderland creams music was so unique that Atlantic Records at first rejected sunshine of your love which became an anthem of the summer of love and one of Atlantic's biggest selling singles at first Eric had found creams brinkmanship challenging but now he often left the stage frustrated and dissatisfied we always wanted to impress each other in the band so that could lead to a lot of rivalry we were not that interested in the audience to be honest with you it wasn't about that cream was one of the world's hottest act the musicians could not believe the enthusiasm of American audiences or the fun you could have as a 22 year old millionaire in the drug and free love capital of the United States but offstage the cream had begun to sour Bruce and Baker were so fiercely at odds that they often had to travel separately I just have to leave the studio and go down there and top as much spirit down my body as quickly as possible to stop myself from killing Jack I think it was really hard on Eric because it was between between gingery me probably non-stop I remember once he was reduced to tears somewhere in Scandinavia as profits increased management stepped up both the tour schedule and the demands for a new album we never had any time off three days of the studio right Leroy began as fatigue increased relationships disintegrated even further rumors about a breakup surfaced and were denied but in his heart Eric had major doubts about the music he and cream were purveying to their adoring fans in fact he had already developed a new passion Clapton was listening to a very different kind of music at that point it was listening to the band and their focus on these beautifully simple in their way of almost folkloric songs so he didn't need to be Eric Clapton is God he didn't need to be that anymore you want them to be a great songwriter Eric secret desire for escape was granted through an uncanny incident in May 1968 he gave a rather high-handed interview to Rolling Stone magazine that he quickly came to regret the self-satisfied note of his remarks was deflated by John Landau's review of a recent cream concert in the same issue he's talking about how excessive and ego driven and over-the-top the band had become feeling like a very well paid fraud Eric literally fainted in a restaurant when he awoke he had decided once again walk away in two years with cream Eric Clapton had scaled the heights and landed bruised and very rich just 23 he bought a lavish Country Estate in Surrey he planned to rest and recover from the emotional whirlwind of cream but within weeks opportunity was pounding not knocking on the door Steve Winwood from traffic began stopping by to jam soon Ginger Baker wanted in then bass player Ric Grech signed off as soon as the record company's got win a dubious Eric found himself packing for a tour with an official media powered supergroup while the name speaks for itself to the blind faith as the short-lived blind faith tour rolled on Eric spent most of his time with the support van Delaney and Bonnie Eric was with us coming and hanging in the Holiday Inn and he had never hung out in a Holiday Inn and drank scotch and coke and smoked who in some Mississippi people I'm sure was an unusual experience the relationship with Delaney permanently changed Eric's direction as an artist until now he had played guitar almost exclusively the fact was he doubted his singing ability Eric's got a beautiful voice it's not all wrong raunchy oh that road-weary sound that way I guess we all I wanted it when I was young after hearing Eric performed his moving composition presence of the Lord with blind faith Delaney convinced Eric that he was not only a superb songwriter but a stellar singer Clapton has always looked for father figures or guides Delaney gave Clapton the confidence to sing blind faith made one album together Delaney produced Eric's first solo album and they toured Europe together before moving on Eric's fascination with Delaney and Bonnie went deeper than fans could have imagined he told me one time had you your upbringing and that really prepared me because I mean I grew up you know I chopped cotton and did all those things you know for him I heard all that singing in the fields and stuff he says you got your moves from the fields and I got mine from records after buying his home Eric had planned to settle down with Alice Ormsby Gore the daughter of a British Lord but life was never that simple for Eric Clapton hey what you doing he's I'm sitting here getting my hair cut not working out can I come visit you for a couple of days and the rest as they say is what you call it rock and roll history Bobby Whitlock's visit blossomed into Derek and the Dominos Eric's new band took shape during the recording of George Harrison's album all things must pass Eric had played on Beatle George Harrison song while my guitar gently weeps now Harrison invited Clapton and Bobby to join him on his first solo album soon two more ex-members of Delaney's bands showed up it became a landmark event in every sense during the recording sessions Eric fell wildly in love with George's wife fashion model Pattie Boyd Harrison at first patty had no idea how serious Eric's intentions were but as their flirtation became an affair it brought more pain than joy it seemed like it was an impossible quest I mean you don't fall in love with the wife of the Beatle George knew that I knew and everybody knew that everybody knew but nobody ever said anything about it in the meantime Derek and the Dominos had begun playing small clubs the band's name came from a friend's nickname for Eric he's talked about you know the idea that you know Derek was this character that I had to invent you know to kind of avoid being a frontman and to avoid admitting to myself that I was in love with my you know best friend's wife the dominoes soon headed for the states where they made the brilliant double album Layla and other assorted love songs Eric Clapton in many ways is a very typical English guy you know he's not very comfortable with his emotions you know but in Layla I think was just too much for him taken from a Persian love poem in which a man Mangin loses his mind for love of a woman he can't have the title song is a cry from the heart she was later and I was mashed but while Eric and the Dominos were creating extraordinary music the stress of Eric's personal situation had begun to wear on him he turned to drugs with typical Clapton intensity that done that set which I watched I thought all got along to the dressing room but when I opened the door well everybody was like in a strange state but glazed eyes and not of this planet we never spent any money on this stuff people weren't happy to give it to us so they could be next to us we all went through that thing we were boys young men thinking we were totally invincible as if Eric wasn't already close enough to the edge in July 1970 his friend Jimi Hendrix died in a drug and alcohol induced coma a few months later Eric's grandfather Jack died leaving him shaken shortly afterward came the news that Dwayne Allman who played the searing slide guitar on Layla had died in a motorcycle accident and Eric was still living with Alice longed for patty it was it was a stressful situation and things blew up trying to record in the second to do our second album Eric words were exchanged between he and the drummer Jim Gordon and put his guitar down said I'll never play with you again walked out the door for the next two years Eric locked himself into his home and locked the rest of the world out he wrote some music built model airplanes and developed a massive heroin habit as did Alice Eric may have viewed these dark days as a necessary rite of passage and we got the idea about being a junkie because of his Robert Johnson and although he didn't be like that he had suffered and he felt like this was part of something that he had to do in my limited way I tried to get Eric to stop I Eric I still do and of course it pained me to see that he was being devastated by drugs Clapton was at that point the point at which he's gonna either wake up or die I'll tell him I said Eric you can ride a blue song in the back of a limo you don't have to live this thing George Harrison and Pete Townsend who had known Eric since each of their earliest days as musicians were among the few visitors allowed in Pete Townsend devoted himself to saving Eric and Alice from self-destruction Alice's father helped Townsend stage a huge benefit concert as a ploy to get them out of the house the rainbow concert broke the cycle encouraged by Townsend Eric decided to get clean most importantly he later said that during his treatment he learned that his talent came from his soul and not from drugs Eric Clapton has been through that and has come out and plays beautifully today to me proves that it's not the drugs that did it the artist is the one who's responsible drug-free and physically fit Eric plunged into recording and touring in 1974 he released a new album that was a commercial and artistic triumph 461 Ocean Boulevard took a mellow more melodic approach showcasing Eric's talents as a songwriter it included a cover of Bob Marley's I shot the sheriff that essentially introduced white audiences to reggae music so what drove Clapton still in recovery from a brush with the deadliest of drugs to plunge directly into drinking [Music] [Laughter] [Music] as a young man eric clapton burnt to sing the blues ever since then he had been questioning his choice not his technical ability but did he have the emotional chops the music deserved to him the edge was not just a musical style to him the edge was a way of life tinier Lee killed him some people well there's a lot deeper and darker than others but the high step that they attained if they lived through that was pretty awesome from the mid 70s to the early 90s Eric earned his right to sing the blues not from his fingers or his throat but from his heart it was a period of artistic searching and personal reckoning brilliant peaks and perilous lows Eric's hugely successful 1977 album Slowhand yielded the love song to Patty wonderful tonight he had the honor of touring with his adopted musical father blues icon Muddy Waters sharing the stage for a last performance shortly before muddies death Eric also came close to dying of bleeding ulcers and to trashing his career for somebody who has the identity problems that Eric left and that stuff from when he was a kid something always looms is the answer whether it's the blues or this woman or you know that style of music that's the thing that's gonna tell him who he is finally to those closest to air it was a demolition derby fueled by substance abuse and self-doubt even while kicking heroin Eric had begun drinking heavily he just exchanged one major serious deal for another one alcohol believe was more destructive on his body than anything else that he had ever done after nine years of longing Eric and Pattie finally married in 1979 but Eric found the adjustment difficult the reality of it inevitably was you know was not the promise of you know whatever the mystical dream of Layla was though he adored Pattie Eric had been a massively successful rock star since the age of 18 he was used to doing and having whatever and whomever he desired Patti's inability to bear children further complicated matters by the mid-1980s Clapton had fathered two children outside of his marriage at one time he asked Pattie to share a home with him and the mother of his son the Italian model Laurie delsanto Pattie declined [Music] while Eric always insisted that his drinking was under control the facts told a different story in 1976 at a concert in Birmingham Eric endorsed Enoch Powell a reactionary politician known for his anti-immigration rhetoric for somebody who is you know had his life changed and who has devoted himself to black music they're especially problematic his remarks sparked the founding of an organization called Rock Against Racism that still fights bigotry in the UK Eric explained his behavior as the ranting of a drunk but the incident wasn't easily forgotten by fans or the press I don't think Eric Clapton is a racist at all alcohol confused him it clouded up his brain as Eric turned out a series of unfocused projects fans and friends began to wonder if Slowhand had lost his mojo there's definitely a time after it's like big successes you know I shot the sheriff time where it did seem to lose lose direction a bit I mean I did make a couple of studio albums with him and I didn't personally think they were very good a close friend of Eric's gary brooker of Procol Harum has provided a mixture of acceptance and plain speaking since they first became friendly at a pub near Eric's home I mean always had the greatest respect for him as a player and like you mister guy I never thought he was a deity after Eric's first attempt to quit drinking in the early 80s Brooker introduced him to a hobby he remains typically fanatical about at the time was fly-fishing on Austin if you'd like to come out I thought okay you know the fresh air a bit another thing that brought solace to Eric during these difficult years was the laid-back atmosphere at the local pub where he could hang out with Brooker and just be himself he said he's best when he's when he's happy and having a laugh you know he can get very serious particularly about his music sometimes that's a good thing broker's friendship and the informal blues jams he put together in local venues offered Eric a much-needed break from his high visibility high-intensity public life nobody's ever gonna see him as a sideman in a stadium anyway but in village holes he can be after many attempts Eric mastered his drinking in 1987 clean and sober Eric returned to Patti but too much damage had been done by 1988 they were divorced before his death in the early 80s the great blues man Muddy Waters had become a surrogate father to Eric whenever Clapton felt lost muddies advice was simple play the blues but even when playing the blues Eric still wasn't plugging in artistically is he gonna be pulsing or Oh osses innovate finally in 1985 Slowhand returned Eric gave a brilliant performance at Philadelphia's Live Aid concert that won him a new generation of young record buying fans Eric seemed to be finding his way back home his 1989 album journeyman paid tribute to his own journey to the lifelong dedication of his blues heroes and to the honest workmen like his bricklayer grandfather whose attention to detail and mastery of craft inspired Eric as a teenager but once again the walls of his life were about to cave in by 1991 Eric had decided to be more of a hands-on father to his son with lorry delsanto on march 19th he took Conor to the circus in New York City for the first time on March 20th he was still savoring the experience when a phone call from lorry informed him that Conor was dead he had fallen from an open window on the 53rd floor of a high-rise apartment building [Music] clapton packed one acoustic guitar and headed for Antigua to grieve as always it was the music that brought him back from the edge Eric Clapton has never been an easy artist to categorize he is an experimental entity he's always redefining himself they can look at every picture and never see a picture that way he looks the same it was like a chameleon always looking for that blues thing to some he is the quintessential blues man he's shown that a person don't have to be black to do good blues you've shown they has a soul that the blues singers have to others the greatest rock guitarists of all time the song tears in heaven written after his son Connors death captures the essence of Eric Clapton as an artist and a man I was falling in love with it I still don't believe I'm not gonna see him in a couple of weeks with it's pure emotion and simple direct beauty it is the blues and pomp both personal and universal it is the heartfelt song of a mature journeyman who has lived the blues the most important thing is that I honor my son's memory you know I want him to be remembered and I want to remember him through good music since picking up his first guitar in 1958 Eric has often struggled to express what he feels in his soul through his guitar and his voice I think the soul of the blues isn't the person and I think it it takes a certain person to bring it out emotionally and their voice and in the guitar playing perhaps for him reaching artistic maturity may mean knowing when not to struggle when to step out of the way whether it's being a bricklayer or whether it's being an artist the only thing that gets in a way of that is the artist when he stands aside and that's that what we can't see or hear or touch or feel or anything take over then true beauty takes place you close your eyes and listen to the music and it takes you to where you want to go how wonderful Clapton's contribution to music hasn't gone unnoticed in 1993 he was awarded five Grammys for his MTV Unplugged album and performance he is the only artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times after losing Conor Eric had a choice and he chose life in the sense I was lucky to have him the reality of his existence that maybe stopped drinking and taking drugs and I spent four years with him as a sober human being and still AM though he no longer lives the flamboyant life of a rock superstar he uses his wealth and influence to benefit causes that matter to him in 1997 he founded the Crossroads Recovery Center in Antigua a rehab facility that offers free treatment for local residents in need when Eric put his famous guitar Blackie up for auction it raised nearly a million dollars for the crossroads Center eric has consistently paid tribute to his musical influences in 2000 Eric recorded with BB King and when we got together we had a good time so like when I was going to church a sanctified meeting and in 2004 he released a tribute to is all-time blues hero Robert Johnson he's a big part of what the Blues is today and he's turned on millions of people to the music and you know countless guitar players I used to say that they reimpose back into the United States and then when they became to us then white America paid attention especially young people he continues to be an adventurous pop artist exploring new sounds and collaborations as they spark his interest Eric Clapton is always full of surprises I think like last year found myself playing in his garden learnt two hours of new material like teddy bears picnic and you're a pink toothbrush our stirring rendition of sitting in the rain for a kid's party and it was thoroughly enjoyable and he played the best I've ever heard him play most importantly Eric Clapton appears to be a happy man as many men his age prepare to be grandparents Clapton finally has a family in 1999 he fell in love with a 25 year old American graphic designer Melia McHenry had a daughter with her and got married today he is a devoted father of two young daughters and to his daughter Ruth born in 1986 bond pleased for it just as a person he's enjoying his life and and that he sees where the important things are now he doesn't owe us anything he's done it he could just sit at home and enjoy his family and he'll be out now again I know Eric Clapton has met the devil at the crossroads and walked away with his soul he seems nicely but we've yet to hear him attack something really very challenging I think that's so there's something something to come yet on the other hand we're none of us getting any younger and got to come up with a critic way they treated me [Music] Eric Clapton continued in the philanthropic spirit when he headlined a benefit concert for the victims of the tsunami in Asia the benefit held in Wales raised almost two million dollars for the people affected by the December 2004 tragedy then in May 2005 Clapton teamed up with his former cream bandmates for a reunion at London's historic Royal Albert Hall the very same venue where the original supergroup performed their last show together in 1969 the reunion concert drew fans from around the world proving that cream does indeed rise to the top

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Length: 44min 35sec (2675 seconds)

Published: Tue May 12 2020