Eric Clapton Tour Overview
Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. He ranked second in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.
After playing in a number of different local bands, Clapton joined the Yardbirds in 1963, replacing founding guitarist Top Topham. Dissatisfied with the change of the Yardbirds sound from blues rock to a more radio-friendly pop rock sound, he left in 1965 to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. On leaving Mayall in 1966, after one album, he formed the power trio Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and "arty, blues-based psychedelic pop".[6] After Cream broke up in November 1968, he formed the blues rock band Blind Faith with Baker, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech, recording one album and performing on one tour before they broke up. Clapton embarked on a solo career in 1970.
About Eric Clapton
Clapton was born on 30 March 1945 in Ripley, Surrey, England, to 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton (1929–1999) and Edward Walter Fryer (1920–1985), a 25-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec. Fryer was drafted to war before Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up believing that his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband, Jack Clapp, Patricia's stepfather, were his parents, and that his mother was actually his older sister. The similarity in surnames gave rise to the erroneous belief that Clapton's real surname is Clapp (Reginald Cecil Clapton was the name of Rose's first husband, Eric Clapton's maternal grandfather). Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier and moved to Germany, leaving Eric with his grandparents in Surrey.
Clapton received an acoustic Hoyer guitar, made in Germany, for his thirteenth birthday, but the inexpensive steel-stringed instrument was difficult to play and he briefly lost interest. Two years later he picked it up again and started playing consistently. He was influenced by blues music from an early age, and practised long hours learning the chords of blues music by playing along to the records. He preserved his practice sessions using his portable Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder, listening to them over and over until he was satisfied.
Eric Clapton Facts
- Eric Clapton received a German-made steel string guitar for his 13th birthday. This guitar was inexpensive and very difficult to play. Clapton tried to get over that hump, but lost interest as it was just too hard to play.
- ric Clapton has been part of some of the best known bands in music history. After playing in small clubs with local British acts, he joined The Yardbirds. Two years later he moved on to play with John Mayall & The Bluesbrakers. Clapton was also a member of Cream, The Dirty Mac, Plastic Ono Band and Derek and the Dominos, to name just a few.
- ric Clapton has sold an impressive 100 million records worldwide. That number is only for his solo sales. That already incredible number increases quite a bit when you factor in Clapton’s other bands. For instance, Cream was considered one of the best and most popular bands when it was active. The Yardbirds also had substantial sales, some of which came during Claption’s stint with the band.
- Clapton recorded the album 461 Ocean Boulevard in 1974. The emphasis for these recordings was placed on shorter songs, and fewer guitar solos. The Bob Marley classic “I Shot The Sheriff” was included and became a massive hit for Clapton. This was Clapton’s first number 1 song, and made the world take notice of Reggae. It also brought a wider audience to reggae legend Bob Marley and his catalog of recordings.
