Eric Clapton

This article is about the musician. For the music album see Eric Clapton (album)

Eric Clapton, 2008

Eric Patrick Clapton called "Slowhand" , CBE , COAL (* the thirtieth March 1945 in Ripley , Borough of Guildford ) is a British blues - and rock - guitarist and singer. He is a 17-time Grammy winner and the only musician to be a three-time member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .

He has shaped the development of blues rock since the 1960s and is considered one of the most important guitarists. On the 2011 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time published by the American music magazine Rolling Stone , Clapton is number 2. With more than 130 million records sold worldwide, Clapton is one of the most successful artists of all time .

Life

childhood

Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England in 1945 . His mother, Patricia Molly Clapton, was 16 years old when he was born. His father was the 24-year-old Canadian soldier Edward Walter Fryer, who was stationed in England and who had left the country at birth. As an illegitimate child, Clapton grew up with his maternal grandparents in Ripley from the age of two. These hid his parentage from him and led him to believe that his mother was his sister. The young Clapton was a rather calm, but exceptionally gifted child in his school days.

Career

1960s

Clapton dropped out of art at Kingston University in London after a short while to join his first band, The Roosters, in January 1963 at the age of 17. In this R&B band, which the later guitarist of the Rolling Stones Brian Jones had belonged to, he met Tom McGuinness . After the group broke up in August 1963, Clapton and McGuinness performed a few times with Casey Jones & the Engineers . In October 1963 Clapton became guitarist for the Yardbirds , with whom he recorded their biggest hit, For Your Love, in 1965 . After leaving the group in April 1965, he joined the Bluesbreakers of John Mayall . He took part in the recordings for the album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton , whereupon he played some solos. At that time he was under the strong influence of BB King .

Mid-1966 left the Clapton Bluesbreakers and was formed with Ginger Baker (drums) and Jack Bruce (bass, vocals), both previously in the Graham Bond Organization had played, Cream , the first supergroup of rock music. The group, which stood out from other rock bands due to their minute-long improvisations, had some hits such as I Feel Free , Sunshine of Your Love , White Room , Crossroads , Strange Brew and Badge and corresponding commercial success. In particular, the openly carried out differences between Bruce and Baker made the musical collaboration in the band permanently difficult.

Clapton began singing and writing songs himself. His compositions and overall style were heavily influenced by the group The Band during this period . With George Harrison of the Beatles he wrote the Cream title Badge . The lifelong friendship between the two also led to Clapton's involvement in the Beatles recording of While My Guitar Gently Weeps (1968). Up until Harrison's death in 2001, Clapton played often with his solo recordings and there were also joint live appearances. After Cream's surprising breakup in 1968, Clapton made an appearance in Rock and Roll Circus in December of that year , starring as The Dirty Mac with John Lennon , Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell .

In March of the following year he or his manager founded the group Blind Faith together with Steve Winwood - with the line-up Clapton (lead guitar), Winwood (organ, piano, vocals), Ginger Baker (drums) and Ric Grech (bass, violin) . After the release of the award-winning album Blind Faith and a tour, this formation also broke up in September 1969. The differences between the individual band members about the future musical direction had become too great. A short time later worked Clapton in John Lennon's new live band, the Plastic Ono Band , as well as on the album Friends and Angels by Martha Velez with.

In late 1969, he toured with Delaney & Bonnie after moving to New York City . In 1970 he recorded his first solo album. With the release of the J.-J.-Cale song After Midnight he achieved a respectable success in the US charts. During this time he also played with the recordings of other musicians, for example with the Plastic Ono Band and Dr. John . With three band musicians from Delaney & Bonnie, he then founded Derek and the Dominos , who recorded the double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs , in which Duane Allman also played as a guest soloist . The album is heavily influenced by the blues and is still considered to be one of Clapton's best albums, especially because of the interaction between the two outstanding guitarists.

The theme song Layla is one of the most played rock songs of the 1970s. He takes up themes from the love story Leila and Majnun by the Persian poet Nezāmi ; Clapton felt himself in a similar situation because of his then-unrequited love for Pattie Boyd- Harrison. The group, which went on tour without Allman, released a live double album, but broke up a short time later.

1970s

Eric Clapton, 1977

Clapton continued to play on numerous studio recordings of friends such as John Lennon and Billy Preston and with Howlin 'Wolf in his London session . During this time he became addicted to drugs and became addicted to heroin . In 1971, Clapton took part in George Harrison's concert for Bangladesh , during which he collapsed on stage. He lived in a “cloud of pink cotton wool”, he said in an interview with Rolling Stone , but got rid of his addiction with a new type of electro-acupuncture.

In 1973 he appeared at the Rainbow Concert organized by Pete Townshend - his prominent backing band was called The Palpitations . Townshend helped Clapton make a comeback after his drug-heavy days. In 1974, Clapton recorded the album 461 Ocean Boulevard in the studio of the same name. His version of Bob Marley's I Shot the Sheriff became a hit as a single release and made Marley and Reggae known to a wider audience. During an appearance in Birmingham in 1976, Clapton insulted black people as "wogs" and urged all "foreigners" not only to leave the hall but also the country. He called for the election of the British politician Enoch Powell , because he would prevent Great Britain from becoming a "black colony". Clapton used the slogan of the right-wing extremist National Front “Keep Britain white!” The racism so expressed by Clapton was, among other things, the reason for the foundation of the musicians' initiative Rock Against Racism . In his biography, Clapton apologized; he was drunk at the time. A week after the performance, however, he had confirmed his failures to a music magazine. In 2004 he told Uncut that Powell was "incredibly brave". Clapton lived with Pattie Boyd, George Harrison's wife until 1977, from the mid-1970s, and they married in 1979. During this time he was addicted to alcohol, after the first rehab he suffered a relapse; Then, the second caused him to Antigua rehabilitation center Crossroads Center Antigua to found.

1980s

Clapton with Tina Turner , 1987

After treating his addiction, Clapton resumed records in the 1980s. In October 1985, Clapton was next to musicians such as Rosanne Cash , Ringo Starr and George Harrison to guest with Carl Perkins , who recorded the television concert Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session in London . The albums Behind the Sun (1985) and August (1986), produced with Phil Collins , clearly showed Collins's preferred pop-oriented style with synth drums and brass, but were particularly successful in Great Britain. The album August reached number 3 the British charts. The opening song It's in the Way that You Use It was used for the score for the feature film The Color of Money, starring Tom Cruise and Paul Newman . Also in 1986 Clapton appeared on an aftershow by Prince in London. Clapton was also a musical guest with Chuck Berry (his idol since the early 1960s) and his concert on his 60th birthday in St. Louis. In 1989 the album Journeyman was released. Since the 1980s, Clapton has also worked as a composer for film music. He worked with Michael Kamen on the Edge of Darkness soundtrack and for the Lethal Weapon film series . He divorced Pattie Boyd-Harrison in 1989 after having two children from loose relationships in 1985 and 1986. Clapton was dressed by Gianni Versace in the 1980s and early 1990s .

1990s

In the early 1990s, Clapton went through a number of tragic events. On August 27, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan , who had participated in two concerts on the Journeyman World Tour at the invitation of Clapton as a guest musician, was killed in a helicopter crash; on March 20, 1991, his four and a half year old son Conor died in a fall from the 53rd floor of a skyscraper in New York. Part of his grief work was the song Circus . Also Tears in Heaven was at that time.

In 1992 Clapton's album Unplugged was released . The MTV Unplugged session earned him six Grammys in 1993 .

In 1991 his live album 24 Nights was released , which was recorded in 1990 and 1991 with an orchestra, blues band and 4- and 9-band line-up at the Royal Albert Hall. The album features the rock hits Pretending and Bad Love , which earned Clapton # 1 on the mainstream rock charts and a 1991 Grammy for best rock song. With the album From the Cradle in 1994 he returned to his blues roots. On the album Pilgrim (1998) produced by Simon Climie , more pop-oriented songs dominated. In 1996 he released the hit single Change the World , for which he received three Grammys in 1997. Since the mid-90s, Clapton has been dressed by his close friend Giorgio Armani . Clapton opened two Emporio Armani stores in New York for Armani in 1996 and composed pieces for Armani's fashion shows in 1997 . His critics were particularly impressed by joint recordings with Carlos Santana .

In the late 1990s he had a relationship with the musician Sheryl Crow . In 1999 he met the then 25-year-old graphic artist Melia McEnery, whom he married in 2002. He has three children with her. That same year, Clapton auctioned a selection of his guitars and amplifiers for the first time for the Crossroads Center. The accompanying benefit concert In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Center at Antigua was released on DVD . In addition, the compilation album Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton , on which the song Blue Eyes Blue is included. The song is part of the soundtrack in the film The Bride Who Doesn't Dare .

2000s

Eric Clapton, 2002

In 2000, Clapton released Riding with the King with BB King . In 2001 the album Reptile was released , which was marketed with the Reptile World Tour . In 2002, Clapton hosted the Concert for George on November 29th at the Royal Albert Hall , a memorial concert for George Harrison a year after his death. He invited friends of Harrison, including Paul McCartney , Ringo Starr , Jeff Lynne , Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Ravi Shankar , Billy Preston , Gary Brooker , Klaus Voormann and Joe Brown . In addition, were Olivia Harrison attended and their son Dhani, who played in the band.

In 2004, Clapton organized the first Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas , the proceeds of which went to his rehab clinic of the same name in Antigua as a benefit event. In the same year he recorded the blues documentary Sessions for Robert J and the album Me and Mr. Johnson . In May 2005 Clapton performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London with Ginger Baker (drums) and Jack Bruce (bass) in a "Cream Reunion Concert" in the original line-up. Shortly afterwards, he had a Martin guitar case made by Hermès from crocodile skin for $ 100,000 . In November 2006, The Road to Escondido , a joint album with JJ Cale, was released. The proceeds from the second Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007 in Chicago also benefited the rehabilitation clinic. At the event were Jeff Beck , Doyle Bramhall II , Robert Cray , Sheryl Crow , Vince Gill , Buddy Guy , BB King, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Sonny Landreth , Albert Lee , Los Lobos , John Mayer , John McLaughlin , Willie Nelson , Robert Randolph , Hubert Sumlin , Derek Trucks , Jimmie Vaughan and Steve Winwood involved.

In 2008 Clapton won the Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Special Class category for the 2007 Crossroads Festival . After a series of concerts with Steve Winwood in February 2008, Clapton completed a tour in the USA and Europe in the summer of 2008. He continued this in early 2009 in Japan and Australia. In May 2009 Clapton played a series of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In autumn 2009 he returned to the USA for 14 concerts with Winwood and released the album and the DVD Live from Madison Square Garden . In March 2009, Clapton appeared on two evenings at New York's Beacon Theater with the Allmann Brothers Band. The band played a series of concerts to mark their 40th anniversary.

2010s

Eric Clapton, 2010

After the concerts with Winwood, he continued the tour in Europe in 2010. Earlier this year, Clapton also performed with Jeff Beck. In between he played a small series of solo concerts in the USA with Roger Daltrey as support. Clapton embarked on another world tour that ended with the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Illinois . The video recording achieved platinum status in Germany. His 14th solo album, Clapton , was released in September 2010 and reached number three in the German charts.

In 2011 he worked with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis on the publication Play the Blues: Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center , for which he received an ECHO Jazz . He also worked as a guest in the studio for Chris Barber and Robbie Robertson. In 2012 Clapton took part in the concert Howlin 'For Hubert for Hubert Sumlin and played guitar on Paul McCartney's album Kisses on the Bottom . In 2012 he was guest guitarist for the Rolling Stones at a concert in London. In December of that year he performed with Steve Jordan and Willie Weeks at the 12-12-12: Concert for Sandy Victims . In 2013 the fourth Crossroads Guitar Festival took place in Chicago and the album Old Sock , which mainly consists of cover versions, was released under Clapton's own label. In the same year, Bobby Whitlock's publication Where There's a Will, There's a Way , on which Clapton played bass , was released.

In 2014 he released the album The Breeze - An Appreciation of JJ Cale together with musicians like Mark Knopfler and Willie Nelson , which reached number 2 in the German charts. Clapton also played a few concerts in Europe, East Asia and the USA. On June 24, 2014, he played his only Germany concert in the SAP Arena in Mannheim . In the same year the documentary and concert film Planes, Trains and Eric was released . In 2015 the British guitarist celebrated his seventieth birthday and released the live album and the concert film Slowhand at 70 - Live at the Royal Albert Hall . The following year the studio album I Still Do followed , the live album Live in San Diego as a tribute to JJ Cale and the compilation Crossroads Revisited with recordings of Clapton's benefit concerts.

In an interview with BBC Radio 2 in early 2018, Clapton said he suffered from tinnitus and hearing loss in addition to peripheral neuropathy (a nerve disorder that leads to impaired perception and pain) . Even so, the Briton started his Eric Clapton World Tour in 2018 and released his first Christmas album, Happy Xmas , in October 2018 . For 2019 Clapton announced concerts in u. a. Vienna, Mannheim and Berlin, he also completed the Dresden Music Festival as part of his Eric Clapton World Tour 2019 . In the fall, Clapton hosted another Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas and announced a European tour for 2020 on October 2, the Summer European Tour 2020 , which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic ( Summer European Tour 2021 ).

Private life

Eric Clapton has been married to Melia McEnery, 31 years his junior, for the second time since 2002. He has three daughters with her (* 2001, * 2003, * 2005). Another daughter (* 1985) and a son (* 1986; † 1991) come from relationships with Yvonne Kelly and Lory Del Santo , which he had with Pattie Boyd during his first marriage (1979-1988) .

Clapton as a guitarist

style

Clapton's musical roots are in the blues of the 1930s and 1940s. His role models were mainly Robert Johnson and Chuck Berry , as well as Muddy Waters , BB King , Albert King , Freddie King and Otis Rush . Although Clapton is capable of playing at a fast pace (as in the live version of Crossroads from the 1968 album Wheels of Fire ), it is not primarily known for this. The value of Clapton's playing lies particularly in his ability to improvise solos with coherent musical architecture (building tension, climax and dissolution).

Nicknamed Slowhand

Clapton explains in his autobiography Mein Leben how he got this nickname: At that time Clapton was part of the band "The Yardbirds". Among other things, they played in the CrawDaddy Club, owned by Giorgio Gomelsky . The band usually played covered songs that were typically three minutes long and stretched them out to five to six minutes. Back then, Clapton played very thin strings because you can pull the notes on them better and it happened more often that a string broke in the middle of a piece. While Clapton pulled the new string, the audience fell into a slow clap (English "to clap" ). This "slow handclap" inspired Gomelsky to call him "slowhand" Clapton.

Instruments

Clapton started his career with the Yardbirds playing a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson ES-335 . At John Mayalls Bluesbreakers and Cream, he moved to Gibson Les Paul and Gibson SG . He was one of the blues musicians whose success prompted the guitar manufacturer Gibson to take the Les Paul back into their range. Since Derek and the Dominoes, Clapton played mainly on Fender guitars, especially on his " Brownie ", a two-tone Sunburst Stratocaster from 1956. Brownie was replaced three years later at the Rainbow Concert by " Blackie ", a black Fender Stratocaster , which he had composed himself from three instruments. Other guitars are the Cherry Red , 1977 Juan Alvarez , Martin 000-42 .

Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster

Clapton was honored by Fender in 1986 with his signature model. The "Eric Clapton Stratocaster" is still in production today and is the second most successful signature guitar after Steve Vais Ibanez Jem . New technology was used on Clapton's guitars, which significantly expanded the sound spectrum. The mid-boost enables you to change the guitar from clear to distorted sounds without changing the volume using a rotary control. Thanks to the Fender Noiseless Pickups installed by Fender in 1999, the guitar is very low-hum in contrast to other Stratocaster models. Until then, lace sensor pickups were used.

Clapton with his typical black Stratocaster, 2007

The “Artist Series” is based on his favorite model “Blackie” from the 1970s and based on Clapton's specifications. The special feature is the guitar neck with a V-profile, which benefits his playing style. It also has very modern features such as the noiseless pickups, which are very low-hum, a 25 dB active mid-booster with a 9-volt battery and a blocked tremolo, as Clapton never uses it.

In 2007 the "Eric Clapton Crossroads Stratocaster" was manufactured. The guitar, adorned with the Crossroads Center logo, was limited to 100 pieces. The profits from these instrument sales went to the Crossroads Center. The Stratocaster with a case and a strap was priced at $ 20,000. Other special editions were the Custom Artist series and the 2009 Limited Edition. There was also the Custom Thinskin Nitro series. This nitro paint is supposed to give the guitar a more natural, clearer and "thinner" sound.

Clapton had the "Eric Clapton Gold Leaf Stratocaster" produced according to special requests for his "Legends Tour 1998". The Stratocaster was equipped with an alder body, lace sensor pickups and a flamed AAA bird's eye maple neck . The body was coated with 24 carat gold (gold leaf). Clapton auctioned this guitar at Christie's in New York in 1999 at his first auction of guitars and amps to support the rehabilitation center he founded in Antigua; it sold for $ 455,500. There were also the Crashocaster models, which were decorated with graffiti motifs by the British artist John Matos for Clapton .

Martin Eric Clapton Series

Martin Guitar dedicated the world's first signature acoustic guitar to Clapton after the success of Unplugged . Clapton had been using Martin guitars of the 000-28 and 000-42 types live and in the studio since the 1970s .

Film music and advertising

Among many other well-known artists, Clapton plays a guitarist in the Louisiana Gator Boys band, which was put together for the film Blues Brothers 2000 . In the feature film Water - The Film , produced by George Harrison, Clapton can be seen in a small supporting role alongside other musicians. He also played the preacher in the 1975 film adaptation of the rock opera Tommy .

Clapton contributed the song I Looked Away to the 1973 television series Hexenkessel . Other Clapton songs were used in Miami Vice (Wonderful Tonight, Knock On Wood, She's Waiting and Layla) , Back to the Future (Heaven Is One Step Away) , The Color of Money (It's In The Way That You Use It) , Brennpunkt LA (Knockin 'On Heaven's Door) , Good Fellas (Layla, Sunshine Of Your Love) , The Friends episode The One with the Proposal (Wonderful Tonight) and Men in Black II (Strange Brew) . Also, Opel and Vauxhall used Layla's reef in their advertising campaigns from 1987 to 1995 .

In September 1987, Clapton became the advertising face of Michelob Beer . He recorded a slower version of After Midnight for the commercial . 1990 advertised Honda with the song Bad Love . When asked by Honda, Clapton used his guitar "Blackie" for the video. He was involved in the score for the Lethal Weapon series of films , the film Fisch & Chips (1996) and On your side (1999) and provided soundtracks for the films Phenomenon - The Impossible Will Come True ( Change the World ), The Visitors and Rush . In 1998 Lexus used some concert recordings from Clapton's Pilgrim World Tour. In 2005, Yahoo used some of its songs for promotional purposes.

Achievements and Awards

Clapton's handprints and signature on the Rock Walk

Clapton has so far recorded more than 115 million album sales, over five million singles and more than ten million video sales and over 20 million radio broadcasts of his songs. His most commercially successful album is Unplugged, which has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide.

Clapton has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame four times ; in the "Rock Single" category in 1998 with Layla and in 2003 with his version of I Shot the Sheriff and in the "Rock Album" category in 1999 with Disraeli Gears and in 2000 with Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs .

In 1987 Clapton won the British Phonographic Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award . In 1990 he was awarded "Top Album by a Rock Artist" at the Billboard Music Awards . He also received a World Music Award in the categories of World's Best Selling Rock Artist of the Year (1993) and Best Selling British Artist of the Year (1994) . He was nominated five times at the American Music Awards , three times as the most popular pop / rock artist (1994, 1997 and 1999). In 1990 the asteroid (4305) Clapton was named after him.

In 1992, Clapton was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Tears in Heaven in the Best Original Song category. His work on the Lethal Weapon film series earned him the BMI Film & TV Award in 1988, 1990 and 1993 , a BAFTA Award in 1986 and the Ivor Novello Award for the Edge of Darkness soundtrack . He was nominated three times at the MTV Movie Awards .

In 1994 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to music history . In 2004 he was appointed Commander of the Order at Buckingham Palace . The Rolling Stone listed Clapton as 55th of the 100 greatest musicians and second of the 100 best guitarists of all time . In February 2015, Clapton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame .

Grammy Awards

Clapton has received 17 Grammy Awards to date .

year	category	plant
1972	Album of the Year	The Concert for Bangladesh
1987	Best Performance Music Video	The Prince's Trust All Star Rock Concert
1991	Best Male Rock Vocal	Bad love
1993	Best rock song	Layla
1993	Best Male Rock Vocal Performance	Unplugged
1993	Album of the Year	Unplugged
1993	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Tears in Heaven
1993	Song of the Year	Tears in Heaven
1993	Record of the Year	Tears in Heaven
1994	Best Traditional Blues Album	From the cradle
1996	Best Male Pop Vocal	Change the world
1996	Song of the Year	Change the world
1996	Record of the Year	Change the world
1996	Best rock instrumental performance	SRV shuffle
1998	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	My Father's Eyes
2000	Best rock instrumental performance	The calling
2000	Best Traditional Blues Album	Riding with the King
2001	Best Pop Instrumental Performance	Reptiles
2006	Lifetime Achievement Award	Cream
2007	Best Contemporary Blues Album	The Road to Escondido

Discography

→ Main article : Eric Clapton / Discography

Studio albums

• Eric Clapton (1970)
• 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)
• There's One in Every Crowd (1975)
• No Reason to Cry (1976)
• Slowhand (1977)
• Backless (1978)
• Another Ticket (1981)
• Money and Cigarettes (1983)
• Behind the Sun (1985)
• August (1986)
• Journeyman (1989)
• From the Cradle (1994)
• Pilgrim (1998)
• Reptile (2001)
• Me and Mr. Johnson (2004)
• Sessions for Robert J (2004)
• Back Home (2005)
• Clapton (2010)
• Old Sock (2013)
• I Still Do (2016)

Fonts

• My life (autobiography, with Christoph Simon Sykes). Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-462-03934-4 .

literature

• Marc Roberty, Alan Tepper: Eric Clapton: Story and songs compact. Bosworth, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-86543-224-7 .
• Michael Schumacher: Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel 2003, ISBN 978-0-8065-2466-5 .
• Harry Shapiro: Eric Clapton: The best guitarist in the world. Heyne, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-08289-3 .
• Peter Kemper : Eric Clapton. A life for the blues , Reclam, Stuttgart 2020, ISBN 978-3-15-011214-4 .

Web links

Commons : Eric Clapton  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikiquote: Eric Clapton  - Quotes

• Eric Clapton's website
• Literature by and about Eric Clapton in the catalog of the German National Library
• Eric Clapton in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Veronika Bock, Ulrich Biermann: March 30th, 1945 - birthday of Eric Clapton WDR ZeitZeichen from March 30th, 2020 (podcast)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ grammy.com: Eric Clapton
2. ↑ whereseric.com: Grammy Aeards - all Awarded to Eric Clapton
3. ↑ ^{a b} 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time . accessed on February 1, 2015
4. ^ Adrian Lam: Eric Clapton's Former California Estate Hits Market for $ 5.5 million. In: RealClear Life. Retrieved June 22, 2018 . 
5. ↑ clapton.de (PDF; 57 kB)
6. ↑ ^{a b} eric-clapton.co.uk biography
7. ↑ www.udiscover.music.de: 5 truths about Brian Jones .
8. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 74 (on Eric Clapton).
9. ↑ Eric Clapton: My Life. Translated from the English by Kristian Lutze and Werner Schmitz. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2007; Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-18061-5 , pp. 46-50.
10. ↑ Eric Clapton . rollingstone.com; Retrieved February 22, 2012
11. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 74 (on Eric Clapton).
12. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 74.
13. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 74.
14. ↑ John Street: Rebel Rock. Politics of Popular Music. Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1986. pp. 74-75
15. ↑ Sarfraz Manzoor: The year rock found the power to unite and in December 2007 that his speech was still relevant The night Eric wasn't so wonderful . In: The Observer , April 20, 2008; Retrieved January 24, 2012
16. ^ Crossroads Center Antigua
17. ^ Gianni Versace Stage Suit . christies.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
18. ↑ Gianni Versace designed stage suit . bonhams.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
19. ↑ Gianni Versace / Fender Guitar Strap . christies.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
20. ^ A Fender / Versace guitar strap . christies.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
21. ↑ youtube.com: The whole story of Conor Clapton (story 'behind' the tears in heaven)
22. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tears-in-heaven-245443/
23. ↑ ^{a b c} Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. 2007
24. ↑ Tour archive
25. ↑ The Runaway Bride (original soundtrack) , accessed October 27, 2014, AllMusic
26. ↑ Hermès crocodile leather guitar case
27. ↑ Eric Clapton - Awards - IMDb , accessed on 26 October 2014 IMDb (English)
28. ↑ 2010 Eric Clapton Tour and Set List Archive | Where's Eric! , accessed February 19, 2015
29. ↑ February 24, 2012 - Howlin 'For Hubert , accessed February 19, 2015
30. ↑ November 29, 2012 - Eric Clapton with The Rolling Stones , accessed February 19, 2015
31. ↑ Andreas Potzel: Eric Clapton receives Sold Out Award from the SAP Arena | Musikmarkt ( memento from July 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), July 7, 2014, musikmarkt.de
32. ↑ rollingstone.de: Eric Clapton suffers from an illness that is one of the worst for musicians
33. ↑ Eric Clapton Gold Leaf Stratocaster
34. ↑ Eric Clapton Crossroads Stratocaster
35. ↑ 1986 Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster Reviews & Prices | Equipboard , accessed October 26, 2014, equipboard.com
36. ↑ Article on Clapton's "Blackie" ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed 2006, whereseric.com
37. ↑ Eric Clapton Crossroads Fender Stratocaster and Twin Amp Limited Editions , accessed October 26, 2014, whereseric.com
38. ^ Neville Marten: Would You Buy A Used Guitar From This Man? , 1995, Guitarist Magazine Japan Special
39. ↑ Christie's : A Selection of Eric Clapton's Guitars , June 24, 1999, pp. 132-135
40. ^ Television Commercials , accessed October 28, 2014, whereseric.com
41. ↑ BMI radio awards : My Father's Eyes , Lay Down Sally , Tears in Heaven , Wonderful Tonight , Layla , equipboard.com
42. ^ Grammy Hall of Fame Awards
43. ↑ Minor Planet Circ. 16249 (PDF)
44. ^ Martin Charles Strong, John Peel: The great rock discography . 2004, ISBN 978-1-84195-615-2 , p. 290.
45. ↑ Eric Clapton: Blues guitar legend , BBC News, December 31, 2003
46. ↑ Musician Clapton delighted by CBE , BBC News, Nov. 1, 2004
47. ↑ 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 . 
48. ↑ Eric Clapton 2015 Blues Hall Of Fame Inductee , accessed February 19, 2015.
49. ↑ The GRAMMYs' Biggest Winners: The 90s . grammy.com, January 9, 2014