Many people think that Eric Clapton is the most knowledgeable guitar player in the world. He will be back on stage in the summer of 2006. His story has a lot to do with the timeless music he has made for decades, and fans from many different generations look up to him. His life has been hard and sad, and many of his fans see his music as a way for him to triumph over those things.
Early Years
Clapton was born in England in 1945, but he didn't grow up in the country.
Many people think that Eric Clapton is the most knowledgeable guitar player in the world. He will be back on stage in the summer of 2006. His story has a lot to do with the timeless music he has made for decades, and fans from many different generations look up to him. His life has been hard and sad, and many of his fans see his music as a way for him to triumph over those things.
Early Years
Clapton was born in England in 1945, but he didn't know much about his parents until he was older. His father was a Canadian soldier who served in World War II. After the war, he went back to Canada, and his real mother left soon after to go with him. Eric was left with his grandparents to raise him. Until he was nine years old, he thought his grandparents were his real parents. Clapton's grandparents tried to protect him from the shame of being a "illegitimate" child by telling him that his real mother was his sister.
As a young teen, Clapton was first interested in music when he saw Jerry Lee Lewis perform on TV. That day, he fell in love with the blues and never stopped. He went to school with the goal of becoming a stained glass designer, but when he was 17 and played his guitar in class, he was kicked out. Even though it seemed like a setback at the time, the event pushed Clapton to make music his full-time job.
Start of a Job
Clapton then got a series of low-paying jobs and kept learning and playing the blues on his guitar. In 1963, he joined a band called the Yardbirds, which included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck, all of whom were very famous guitarists. The band became a huge hit right away, and they were known for their bluesy sound and catchy guitar melodies. But as the band moved toward mainstream rock and roll, Clapton lost interest and left the group in 1965.
Clapton spent the next year making the Bluesbreakers a very popular band, but in 1966 he decided to start his own group, which he called Cream.
Getting to the Top
Cream was one of the best-known and most-loved bands in the world, and each of their albums did very well. Cream was mentioned in the same breath as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The three-member band put out three albums before deciding to end things with a 1969 song called "Goodbye." There were many reasons why the band broke up, but people thought that drug use and egos were the main ones.
Later that year, Clapton joined forces with Steve Winwood, Ric Grech, and Ginger Baker to form rock's first "super group." Even though Blind Faith was the band's only self-titled album, it went to number one on the North American Billboard album charts and is still selling well today.
Going Solo
After being in some very successful bands, Clapton decided to go out on his own, which turned out to be a very smart move. But Clapton had to get over his drug addiction first, which wasn't easy. Once he did, though, he went right back to doing what he loved best. In 1974, he put out an album called 461 Ocean Boulevard. The album had a cover of I Shot the Sheriff by Bob Marley. It did well on the charts and brought reggae more attention, which was seen as "the" boost for the genre as a whole.
Clapton has put out 15 studio albums in the last 30 years. Many of the songs on these albums are considered anthems rather than singles, such as "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," "Lay Down Sally," "Cocaine," and "Wonderful Tonight."
Putting everything together
Clapton's work has led to more than just millions of records sold and tens of millions of fans. He is the only musician to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. He has also won a number of Grammy Awards and is known all over the world for how good he is at playing the guitar. He has never stopped loving the blues, and he still thrills crowds with his heartfelt versions of his songs and other songs written over the years. Seeing him live is a privilege and an honour for anyone who gets the chance.
