Eric+Clapton+(KE)

the blues. Even though his focus is on the blues, he is credited as an innovator in a wide variety of genres. These include blues-rock and psychedelic rock and in 1966 he formed "Cream". During his time with Cream, Clapton began to develop as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, though Bruce took most of the lead vocals and wrote the majority of the material with lyricist Pete Brown. Cream was also one of the earliest "power trios", with Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Baker on drums. In early 1967, Clapton's status as Britain's top guitarist was rivaled by the emergence of Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was an acid rock-infused guitarist who used effects padals and feedback to create new sounds for the instrument. 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.
 * [|Eric Patrick Clapton]** was born 30 March 1945 and he is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has varied his musical style throughout his career; it has always remained grounded in [[image:http://samirsaba.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/eric_clapton.jpg width="325" height="325" align="right" link="http://www.ericclapton.com/"]]

It was with Cream that Clapton first visited the United States. They went to New York in March 1967 for a nine show stand at the RKO Theater. Cream's repertoire varied from soulful pop to lengthy blues-based instrumental jams and featured Clapton's searing guitar lines, Bruce's soaring vocals and prominent, fluid bass playing. Baker's powerful, polyrhythmic jazz-influenced drumming backed up Clapton and Bruce, securing Cream as a power trio. In 28 months, Cream had become a commercial success, selling millions of records and playing throughout the US and Europe. They redefined the instrumentalist's role in rock and were one of the first blues-rock bands to emphasise musical virtuosity and lengthy jazz-style improvisation sessions.

Although Cream was hailed as one of the greatest groups of its day, and the adulation of Clapton as a guitar hero reached new heights, the supergroup was destined to be short-lived. The legendary infighting between Bruce and Baker and growing tensions among all three members eventually led to Cream's demise.

In the spring of 1970, he was told that Delaney and Bonnie's backup band, consisting of bassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon, and keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, was leaving the group. Seizing the opportunity, Clapton formed a new group, Derek and the Dominos. Not many year later many of the band died and the band was dismissed. media type="youtube" key="fX5USg8_1gA" height="344" width="425" align="right" Clapton's career successes in the 1970s were in stark contrast to his personal life, which was troubled by romantic longings and drug and alcohol addiction. In addition to his (temporarily) unrequited and intense attraction to Pattie Boyd, he withdrew from recording and touring to isolation in his Surrey, England residence. There he nursed his heroin addiction.

"**Layla**" is a song by rock band Derek and the Dominos and the thirteenth track from their album //Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs//, released in December 1970. It is considered one of rock music's definitive love songs, featuring an unmistakable guitar figure, played by Eric Clapton.

In 1974, now partnered with Pattie and no longer using heroin, Clapton put together a more low-key touring band, Marcella Detroit.

In 1981, Clapton was invited by producer Martin Lewis to appear at the Amnesty International,Clapton accepted the invitation and teamed up with Jeff Beck to perform a series of duets—reportedly their first-ever billed stage collaboration. In 1984, he performed on Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' 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. As Clapton recovered 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 that was suffused with Collins's trademark drum and horn sound, became Clapton's biggest seller in the UK to date and matched his highest chart position, number 3.

In 1984, while still married to Pattie Boyd, Clapton began a year-long relationship with Yvonne Kelly. The two had a daughter, Ruth, in January 1985. Clapton and Kelly did not make any public announcement about the birth of their daughter, and she was not publicly revealed as his child until 1991. Clapton and Boyd divorced in 1988 following his affair with Italian model Lori Del Santo, who gave birth to their son Conor on August 21, 1986. Boyd herself was never able to conceive children, despite attempts at in vitro fertilization. Their divorce was granted on grounds of "infidelity and unreasonable behaviour." The early 1990s saw tragedy enter Clapton's life again. On 27 August 1990, fellow 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 20 March 1991, Conor, who was four years of age, died when he fell from the 53rd-story window of his mother's friend's New York City apartment, landing on the roof of an adjacent four-story building. Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "[|Tears in Heaven]", which was co-written by Will Jennings. He received a total of six Grammy Awards that year for the single "[|Tears in Heaven]" and his //Unplugged// album.

Clapton's choice of electric guitars has been as notable as the man himself, and alongside Hank Marvin, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of the electric guitar. With the Yardbirds, Clapton played a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-cutaway Gretsch 6120 and a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335. He became exclusively a Gibson player for a period beginning in mid-1965, when he purchased a used Gibson Les Paul Sunburst Standard guitar from a local guitar store in London. Another moment involving Clapton's guitars resulted in Hard Rock Café's unique and gigantic collection of memorabilia. In 1971, Clapton, a regular at the original Hard Rock Café in Hyde Park, gave a signed guitar to the café 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 Café's atmosphere. In 1988 Fender honoured Clapton 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 both by Clapton's contemporaries such as Rory Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, and by those who have influenced him such as Buddy Guy.

In November 1970 Eric bought six Fender Stratocasters from the Sho-bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee while on tour with the Dominos. He gave one each to George Harrison, Steve Winwood and Pete Townshend. Clapton assembled the best components of the remaining three to create "Blackie", which was his favourite stage guitar until its retirement in 1985. It was first played live January 13, 1973 at the Rainbow Concert.

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