Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton (born 30 March 1945) is an English <a href="/facts/Rock_music/zBM2guyQ">rock</a> and <a href="/facts/Blues/f2WSr9QQ">blues</a> guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in <a href="/facts/Rolling_Stone/HhCFoJ9F">Rolling Stone</a>'s list of the "<a href="/facts/Top_100_Greatest_Guitar_Players_of_all_Time/kWFcmgyx">100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time</a>" and fourth in <a href="/facts/Gibson_(guitar_company)/0LDC3Qen">Gibson</a>'s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was named number five in <a href="/facts/Time_(magazine)/N4FXc99l">Time</a> magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.
After playing in a number of different local bands, Clapton joined <a href="/facts/The_Yardbirds/IHMH18BK">the Yardbirds</a> from 1963 to 1965, and <a href="/facts/John_Mayall_%2526_the_Bluesbreakers/WYYXWYT4">John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers</a> from 1965 to 1966. After leaving Mayall, he formed the <a href="/facts/Power_trio/XmGzy2KC">power trio</a> <a href="/facts/Cream_(band)/Tk43F73r">Cream</a> with drummer <a href="/facts/Ginger_Baker/MeuV570g">Ginger Baker</a> and bassist/vocalist <a href="/facts/Jack_Bruce/gseXCP39">Jack Bruce</a>, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and "arty, blues-based <a href="/facts/Psychedelic_pop/v1mvS3uG">psychedelic pop</a>". After four successful albums, Cream broke up in November 1968. Clapton then formed the <a href="/facts/Blues_rock/8R8cjQYc">blues rock</a> band <a href="/facts/Blind_Faith/KuIez2tX">Blind Faith</a> with Baker, <a href="/facts/Steve_Winwood/F2VXpcqG">Steve Winwood</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ric_Grech/SnHNzGm1">Ric Grech</a>, recording <a href="/facts/Blind_Faith_(Blind_Faith_album)/BhwFPafl">one album</a> and performing on one tour before they broke up. Clapton then toured with <a href="/facts/Delaney_%2526_Bonnie/IEp1QTEM">Delaney & Bonnie</a> and recorded his <a href="/facts/Eric_Clapton_(album)/bMIBAto0">first solo album</a> in 1970, before forming <a href="/facts/Derek_and_the_Dominos/exr77llM">Derek and the Dominos</a> with <a href="/facts/Bobby_Whitlock/AqLBmKG7">Bobby Whitlock</a>, <a href="/facts/Carl_Radle/gX9ALelh">Carl Radle</a> and <a href="/facts/Jim_Gordon_(musician)/t3ykCEvN">Jim Gordon</a>. Like Blind Faith, the band only lasted one album, <a href="/facts/Layla_and_Other_Assorted_Love_Songs/mBJkADfa">Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs</a>, which includes "<a href="/facts/Layla/7Bpz7SMG">Layla</a>", one of Clapton's <a href="/facts/Signature_songs/3kbT3hxD">signature songs</a>.
Clapton continued to record a number of successful solo albums and songs over the next several decades, including a 1974 cover of <a href="/facts/Bob_Marley/IsGkJ0UC">Bob Marley</a>'s "<a href="/facts/I_Shot_the_Sheriff/CbTFhr6v">I Shot the Sheriff</a>" (which helped reggae reach a mass market), the <a href="/facts/Country_music/UJM3Un98">country</a>-infused <a href="/facts/Slowhand/xFsW85M7">Slowhand</a> album (1977) and the pop rock of 1986's <a href="/facts/August_(Eric_Clapton_album)/eMgYzwpD">August</a>. Following the death of his son Conor in 1991, Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "<a href="/facts/Tears_in_Heaven/r3JI2IoK">Tears in Heaven</a>", which appeared on his <a href="/facts/Unplugged_(Eric_Clapton_album)/ynSBXdco">Unplugged</a> album. In 1996 he had another top-40 hit with the R&B crossover "<a href="/facts/Change_the_World/yzlWIkpH">Change the World</a>". In 1998, he released the Grammy award-winning "<a href="/facts/My_Father%2527s_Eyes_(song)/DBp5bKWN">My Father's Eyes</a>". Since 1999, he has recorded a number of traditional blues and blues rock albums and hosted the periodic <a href="/facts/Crossroads_Guitar_Festival/0aLSXv36">Crossroads Guitar Festival</a>. His latest studio album, <a href="/facts/Meanwhile_(Eric_Clapton_album)/MYBxQoCA">Meanwhile</a>, was released in 2024.
Clapton has received 18 <a href="/facts/Grammy_Award/2bxYJjPV">Grammy Awards</a> as well as the <a href="/facts/Brit_Award/bxtQ4aR2">Brit Award</a> for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004, he was awarded a <a href="/facts/CBE/HlY9buuN">CBE</a> for services to music. He has received four <a href="/facts/Ivor_Novello_Awards/ASUL8V0L">Ivor Novello Awards</a> from the <a href="/facts/British_Academy_of_Songwriters%2c_Composers_and_Authors/n71JsHvX">British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors</a>, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the only <a href="/facts/List_of_Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame_inductees/fe4BEjrT">three-time inductee</a> to the <a href="/facts/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame/6hRagsTD">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a>: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream. In his solo career, he has sold 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the <a href="/facts/List_of_best-selling_music_artists/LnwvfKQU">best-selling musicians of all time</a>. In 1998, Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and <a href="/facts/Drug_addict/76UrWQuT">drug addict</a>, founded the <a href="/facts/Crossroads_Centre/qtAUcE44">Crossroads Centre</a> on <a href="/facts/Antigua/4JdvT4Qt">Antigua</a>, a medical facility for those recovering from substance abuse.

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Eric Clapton