Eric Clapton was born March 30th, 1945 in Ripley England, U.K.He was the illegitimate son of Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Fryer, a Canadian soldier stationed in England. Patricia left Eric in the custody of his grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp. Patricia moved to Germany where she eventually married another Canadian soldier named Frank McDonald. Eric was raised believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister. At the tender age of nine the truth was reveled to him by his grandmother.
His formal education consisted of being expelled from the Kingston College of art at the ripe old age of seventeen for playing guitar in class. He then took a job as a manual laborer and spent most of his free time playing the electric guitar. Clapton eventually joined a number of British blues bands, including the Roosters and Casey Jones, and rose to fame as a member of the Yardbirds
Eric withdrew from the spotlight in the early seventies. Trying to overcome an addition he took the advice of Peter Townsend and underwent an effective electro-acupuncture treatment. He was fully rehabilitated and then landed a role in the rock opera-Tommy Unfortunately the 1980's brought Eric sliding deeper and deeper into a serious drinking problem even thou this period of his life brought some of his most successful albums--Another Ticket (1981), Money and Cigarettes (1983), Behind the Sun (1985), August (1986), Journeyman (1989)
In the following decade he again suffered another personal tragedy when guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton road crew members Colin Smythe and Nigel Browne--all close friends of Clapton's--were killed in a helicopter crash. A few months after this tragedy, fate was going to deal him another blow when his own son,Conner,fell forty-nine stories from Del Santo's Manhattan high-rise apartment to his death.Clapton channeled his shattering grief into writing the 1992 Grammy-winning tribute to his son, "Tears in Heaven." Another album, "From The Cradle", came out in 1994 and marked his return to the raw blue standards. In 1997 he was honored with the Record of the year and best male pop vocal performance grammysfor "Change the world".
And in the next coming years,success just seemed to follow him no matter where he went.The only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is often described as an authentic musical genius,but at what a personal price? There's no doubt that the topic of music can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about music, you may find what you're looking for in the next article.
Eric Clapton has been involved in music for over 40 years. He has been involved in numerous bands and also emerged as a solo artist. His career has included stints with such legendary artists as John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, Delaney Bonnie and Friends, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes, and the Yardbirds to name just a few. He has graced the stage with such luminaries as Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, the fabulous Allman Brothers and in recent years, a personal highlight CD with the legendary BB King. His music has become popular all over the world. He has received many different music awards and his music has been in film and television. Today, he still remains one of the top musician's in the world.
Eric Clapton and George Harrison even shared another, much more person item, George's wife, the former Patty Boyd. Eric wrote the song Layla, one of his biggest hits, about her.
Clapton has said many times from the beginning of his career that he was not a singer, yet the public could not get enough of his voice and as his career went on he became known for his vocal performances as well as his virtuoso guitar parts.
Eric Clapton plays a blues style of music with an electric guitar. His early career included being a member of the bands Cream and the Yardbirds. Both of these bands ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the United States. In the mid 60's, Eric Clapton became known as the best guitar soloist in the world, which is what caused the emergence of other guitarists like Jimmi Hendrix to become known.
Eric Clapton is known for his choice of electric guitars and has influenced many different models. He has played guitars like the Fender Telecaster, Gibson, a Gibson Firebird, Gibson ES-335, a Fender Stratocaster and more. He had the biggest influence over the Fender Stratocaster guitar making it extremely popular because he used one for almost 15 years.
In the sixties, it was not unheard of to see the youth of the time emblazoned with buttons claiming CLAPTON IS GOD, which is a tribute to the huge impact he had made on popular music of that time. Indeed, his style of blues playing inspired a whole new generation of guitar players that were emulating his style of bends and picking.
Shortly after joining The Yardbirds, Eric was dubbed "Slowhand" because, whenever Eric would break a string playing, he took his time changing out the broken guitar string for a new one. Every time this happened on stage, the audience would do a slow hand clap as Clapton would change out his broken string. Thus, "Slowhand" became Eric Clapton's nickname.
In addition to making it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the United States as a member of two different bands early in his musician career, Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the United States as a solo artist. He has also received awards like the Silver Klef Award, Order of the Brittish Empire, Many different records and songs of the year, and was made a CBE at Buckingham Palace.
Eric Clapton's music has been extremely popular with people all over the world. Much of his music has been used in television and film. The movie The Color of Money played ?It's in the Way That You Use It.? Lethal Weapon 2 featured Eric Clapton's song ?Knocking on Heaven's Door?. ?Change the World? appeared in the movie Phenomenon and Layla was in several movies like Goodfellas and Casino.
Many people have influenced the music of Eric Clapton and he gives props to people like Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Frank Zappa, and John Mayer. Many musicians have joined Eric Clapton in song and different songs. Most musicians feel it is an honor to play alongside with him.
Recently, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Chol extended an invitation for Eric Clapton to come and play his music in a concert. Eric Clapton did accept the invitation and it is said he may sing there in 2009. However, if he does actually make it to North Korea he will be the first Westerner to ever sing in the communist country.
Eric Clapton is popular for many reasons. His music and his guitar have made a large impact into people for many years. He has received numerous awards and has made many different media appearances pushing him into the forefront of some of the best blues music that has ever been played.
While Eric's life has been a series of high points that people remember, there were also the low points that include the death of a child who fell from a window in his high rise which is said was the inspiration of one of Clapton's more stellar and melodic hits, Tears In Heaven.
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