Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton turns 80 today, March 30!
He's won 18 Grammy Awards. His name is among those of the greatest musicians in the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame“. He's called Slowhand because he makes the guitar cry in his hands. His life is marked by gentle music and tragedy.
As part of the groups Cream and The Yardbirds, and later as a solo artist, Eric Clapton was inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame“ three times.
He is considered one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. He was ranked second on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth on Gibson's "50 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". He was named number five on Time magazine's list of the "10 Greatest Electric Guitarists" in 2009.
Eric Clapton was born on March 30, 1945, at his grandmother's home in Ripley, Surrey, England. His mother, Patricia Clapton, was 16 years old when she gave birth to him. His father, Edward Walter Fryer, was a Canadian soldier stationed in England during World War II. But shortly before Eric was born, his father returned to his wife in Canada.
Patricia's parents practically raised Eric as their own child. The boy grew up believing that his mother was his sister. His grandparents never officially adopted him, but remained his guardians until 1963. When Eric was nine years old, he learned the truth about his origins. Later, his mother married and left for Canada, and then for Germany with her husband. Eric has two sisters and one brother. His brother died in a car accident in 1974.
Eric Clapton was raised and educated in an environment of musicians. His grandmother played the piano. Eric's mother later said that his real father was actually a gifted musician who played piano in several bands in Surrey. Unlike him, however, Eric became a master of the guitar.
For his 13th birthday, Eric wished for his first guitar. It was one of the cheapest and since it was very difficult for him to play it, Eric abandoned it. In 1961, he was expelled from college because he spent all his time playing the guitar and listening to the blues.
At the age of 17, Eric became a member of the band The Roosters, which broke up soon after. In 1963, he joined the band The Yardbirds. The band members invited him because at that time he was the most popular guitarist in R&B club circles.
While he was a member of the band (18 months), his nickname Slowhand appeared and he recorded his first albums: "Five Live Yardbirds" and "Sonny Boy Williamson and The Yardbirds". However, the band turned to a commercial sound and Eric left it because he was convinced that his musical path was the path of the blues.
As a member of the group John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton also received his second nickname "God" (God). His nickname came from graffiti on the wall of a London tube station, on which a fan wrote "Eric is God". He joined other groups, but in 1970 his first solo album "Eric Clapton" was released.
He was not only a brilliant performer and musician, but also a composer. He helped many of his colleagues with their projects. For example, in 1968 he recorded the guitar solo for George Harrison's composition - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The two musicians were very close friends, but this friendship was put to a serious test when Clapton fell in love with Harrison's wife, Patti Boyd. Eric dedicated two of his most famous songs, "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight", to her.
Eric and Patti Boyd married in 1979. Their marriage lasted 10 years and plunged the musician into one of the worst depressions of his life. During this marriage, Eric Clapton had relationships with other women. From his affair with Italian television star Lori Del Santo in 1986, his son Connor was born. The child died in a tragic accident on March 20, 1991, when he fell from the 53rd floor of an apartment building where he lived with his mother. Clapton poured out his grief over the loss in "Tears In Heaven".
This song, as well as the 1992 acoustic live album "Unplugged", won 5 "Grammy" awards. Eric Clapton also dedicated the songs “Signe”, “Circus” and “My Father's Eyes” to his son.
At the time, Patti Boyd still did not know that years earlier Clapton had fathered a daughter named Ruth, who was born during his affair with record label manager Yvonne Kelly in 1984.
Patti Boyd and Eric Clapton divorced in 1989. In 2002 Eric married Melia, who was 31 years his junior. They had three daughters.
Many of these moments in the musician's life are described in his autobiography Clapton: The Autobiography, which was published in October 2007. It has been published in twelve languages and is among the best-selling books in the world. There, about Patti Boyd Clapton writes:
"No matter how hard I try, I can't get her out of my mind".
Eric Clapton's other great passion in life is guitars. In his musical career, he has used a huge selection of guitars, including Gibson models such as the Les Paul, SG and ES-335, as well as Fender's mainstays - the Telecaster and Stratocaster. Fender, Gibson and Martin have all produced limited edition models with the musician's signature.
In 2018, Eric Clapton admitted to BBC Radio 2 that he has serious health problems and is even losing his hearing, but has no intention of stopping making music and performing live. It is believed that the cause of his hearing loss is Clapton's habit of always turning his amplifier "up to 11", which means always playing at the maximum possible volume. Constant exposure to such loud noise, especially in smaller studio spaces, leads to permanent hearing loss.
“The only thing that worries me now is being in my 70s [of life] and being [still] capable“, he says.
Although music publications again wrote about the musician's deteriorating health in early 2023, he continues to perform concerts. Several dates for his performances in Japan have been announced in April, and in September Clapton has five concerts in the United States.
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Source: svobodnaevropa.bg