There are performers in the world of popular music who, during their lifetime, were presented “to the face of saints”, recognized as a deity and a planetary heritage.
Among such titans and giants of art, with full confidence, one can rank the guitarist, singer and a wonderful person named Eric Clapton.
Clapton's musical activity covers a tangible period of time, over half a century, an entire era in the history of British rock is associated with his personality.
And to this day, Eric plays music without slowing down (perhaps just a little bit). He is still cheerful, energetic, despite his advanced age.
Eric Clapton: That's how it all began
Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945. His mother, Patricia, was only 16 at the time. One Canadian soldier began to look after the girl, and she could not resist the temptation. It is noteworthy that the man had an official family in his homeland, and after demobilization he returned to his own.
After the birth of the child, Patricia got together with another Canadian military man and married him. Together, the young people drove off to Germany, and the woman in love left the newborn in the care of her parents. Eric considered his grandparents to be his real parents, and when he found out the truth, it caused him severe psychological trauma.
As a teenager, he became interested in music, listened to jazz and blues, and at the age of 16 he persuaded him to buy a guitar for him. This is where the legend began. For days on end, the boy sat at his tape recorder and filmed musical parts by ear.
In addition to music, Eric was fond of drawing. After school, the young man entered the Kingston College of Art, but even there he managed to pluck guitar strings, often to the detriment of his studies. At the end of the first year, the negligent student was expelled.
And the future star of the rock scene had to earn extra money as a bricklayer and plasterer. After work, Eric went to play in a local cafe. There, the guy was noticed by the guys from The Roosters. The group, however, broke up after a couple of months, but provided the experience of stage practice to Eric.
In 63, young Clapton got into a team called The Yardbirds. It is noteworthy that the talented guitarist left her literally on the eve of the moment when the group became famous. Vanity he had at that time was completely absent.
Claptonis God
The guy did not have to walk around for a long time. Eric was invited to his troupe Blues breakers by the rising star of English blues-rock John Mayal. Eric weighed the pros and cons and agreed. However, by August 65, he was bored with playing with Mayal, and he went on a world tour with a company of familiar musicians. Returning home, Clapton turned to his former employer, and good-natured John took him back.
In 66, friends recorded a powerful record, which, without much bother, was called Blues breakers With Eric Clapton. None of the musicians imagined how much she would "shoot".
3 weeks after the release, the album hit the top ten of the national list and stayed there for several months, and by that time one of the recording participants had already caught a cold - he again went on the run.
It was during that period that inscriptions began to appear on English walls and fences: “Clapton is God!”, And at concerts, the audience yelled: “Let God salt!”. Interestingly, the "deity" at that time was 21 years old.
"Cream" of the musical society
In those days, the guys from the Graham Bond Organization were rehearsing near the Blues breakers. Their rhythm section was made up of an excellent duet - drummer Ginger Baker and bass player Jack Bruce.
Great musicians on stage, but in life they are eternal rivals. Their creative disputes sometimes reached fights. Then the drummer stayed with Bond, Bruce went to Manfred Mann.
When Clapton met Baker, both of them admired each other's skill so much that they decided to join forces. Knowing nothing about the long-standing enmity of former colleagues, Eric agreed, but on the condition that Jack Bruce would play bass. Gritting their hearts, both "sworn friends" agreed to reconcile for the sake of a common cause. So there was a kind of supergroup Cream ("Cream").
For the first time "Cream" performed in the middle of 66 at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. The trio became a real bomb, especially against the background of the rest of the participants. And in general, the group revealed itself to its full potential precisely at concerts, in the studio this energy disappeared somewhere.
Probably, it did not completely disappear, after all, listeners bought their records with pleasure - and you can’t deceive the public. Cream was especially loved on the other side of the ocean. The group lasted only two years and released four albums.
Flash of "Blind Faith"
The next group with Clapton was called Blind Faith. In addition to the main guitarist, it included: Baker on the drum kit - well known from Cream, Rick Grech on bass and Steve Winwood on the keys.
The ensemble released only one work, but what a work! She immediately topped the charts in the Old and New Worlds.
Solo career
Starting in the seventies, Eric decided not to commit himself to any band, but to record on his own with the help of accompanying musicians. In the USA in the 70th he released the first solo album, called without any frills - Eric Clapton.
At that time, Eric was good at working as a session musician, he was happy to help his friends: George Harrison, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr, Howlin Wolfe.
However, a strong friendship with Harrison did not prevent the loving Eric from stealing his beloved woman - Patti Boyd (by the way, Clapton's famous song "Layla" is dedicated to her).
This period was marked by the musician's heroin addiction and a difficult struggle with the disease. It was possible to get rid of the harmful passion with the help of doctors in order to move from one misfortune to another - to drunkenness ...
After a long break from his career, Clapton returned to the stage and studio, which was marked by several powerful recordings, in particular:
- 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974);
- There's One in Every Crowd (1975);
- No Reason to Cry (1976);
- Slowhand (1977)
- Backless (1978).
The records of Boulevard and Slowhand achieved particular success. Both at different times fell into the list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" according to Rolling Stone magazine, the first at 409, the second at 325.
In the eighties, the guitarist was no less fruitful, however, albums were released about once every two years:
- Another Ticket(1981);
- Money and Cigarettes (1983);
- Behind The Sun (1985);
- August (1986);
- Journeyman (1989).
Clapton either composed original material or turned to "evergreen" blues and other evergreens. From the middle of the decade, he began to collaborate with Phil Collins, which could not but affect the sound of the albums of those years.
In the nineties, the virtuoso released only two studio records and a couple of live ones. Unplugged (1992) received special attention from the audience - in the then fashionable format of an acoustic performance. A year earlier, the musician suffered a personal tragedy - his four-year-old son fell out of the window of a high-rise building. Eric piercingly expressed his grief in the song Tears in Heaven "Tears in Heaven".
In the XNUMXs, the legendary representative of British rock toured and recorded a lot. Notable are his joint projects with other cult performers - BB King and JJ Cale, whose admiration for the work of Clapton never hid.
Later, the stage veteran played performances with Steve Winwood, Jeff Beck, Roger Waters, and participated in the Crossroads Guitar Festival.
Clapton's latest album to date is Happy Xmas, released in the fall of 2018 and consisting of blues variations of Christmas songs.
In short, life goes on!
