The Yardbirds and the Bluesbreakers In October 1963, Clapton joined the Yardbirds, a
rhythm and blues band, and stayed with them until March 1965. Synthesising influences from
Chicago blues and leading blues guitarists such as
Buddy Guy,
Freddie King, and
B.B. King, Clapton forged a distinctive style and rapidly became one of the most talked-about guitarists in the British music scene. The band initially played
Chess/
Checker/
Vee-Jay blues numbers and began to attract a large
cult following when they took over
the Rolling Stones' residency at the
Crawdaddy Club in
Richmond, London. They toured England with American bluesman
Sonny Boy Williamson II; a joint LP album, recorded in December 1963, was issued in 1965. in London over 200 times since his first appearance there in 1964.. Yardbirds' rhythm guitarist,
Chris Dreja, recalled that whenever Clapton broke a guitar string during a concert, he would stay on stage and replace it. The English audiences would wait out the delay by doing what is called a "slow handclap". Clapton's nickname of "Slowhand" came from
Giorgio Gomelsky, a pun on the slow handclapping that ensued when Clapton stopped playing while he replaced a string. In December 1964, Clapton made his first appearance at the
Royal Albert Hall in London, with the Yardbirds. In March 1965, Clapton and the Yardbirds had their first major hit, "
For Your Love", written by songwriter
Graham Gouldman, who also wrote hit songs for
Herman's Hermits and
the Hollies (and later achieved success of his own as a member of
10cc). In part because of its success, the Yardbirds elected to move toward a pop-orientated sound, much to the annoyance of Clapton, who was devoted to the blues and not commercial success. He left the Yardbirds on the day that "For Your Love" went public, a move that left the band without its lead guitarist and most accomplished member. Clapton suggested fellow guitarist
Jimmy Page as his replacement, but Page declined out of loyalty to Clapton, putting
Jeff Beck forward. Clapton joined
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers in April 1965, only to quit a few months later. In June, Clapton was invited to jam with Jimmy Page, recording a number of tracks that were retroactively credited to
The Immediate All-Stars. In the summer of 1965 he left for Greece with a band called the Glands, which included his old friend Ben Palmer on piano. After a car crash that killed the bassist and injured the guitarist of the Greek band the Juniors, on 17 October 1965 the surviving members played memorial shows in which Clapton played with the band. In October 1965 he rejoined John Mayall. In March 1966, while still a member of the Bluesbreakers, Clapton briefly collaborated on a
side project with
Jack Bruce and
Steve Winwood among others, recording only a few tracks under the name
Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse. During his second Bluesbreakers stint, Clapton gained a reputation as the best blues guitarist on the club circuit. Although Clapton gained fame for playing on the influential album,
Blues Breakers – John Mayall – With Eric Clapton, this album was not released until he had left the band for the last time in July 1966. The album itself is often called
The Beano Album by fans because of its cover photograph showing Clapton reading the British children's comic
The Beano. Having swapped his
Fender Telecaster and
Vox AC30 amplifier for a 1960
Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar and
Marshall amplifier, Clapton's sound and playing inspired the famous slogan "
Clapton is God", spray-painted by an unknown admirer on a wall in
Islington, North London, in 1967. The
graffito was captured in a now-famous photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall. Clapton is reported to have been embarrassed by the slogan, saying in his
The South Bank Show profile in 1987, "I never accepted that I was the greatest guitar player in the world. I always
wanted to be the greatest guitar player in the world, but that's an ideal, and I accept it as an ideal".
Cream Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in July 1966 (replaced by
Peter Green) and was invited by drummer
Ginger Baker to play in his newly formed band
Cream, one of the earliest
supergroups, with
Jack Bruce on bass (Bruce was previously of the Bluesbreakers, the
Graham Bond Organisation and
Manfred Mann). Before the formation of Cream, Clapton was not well known in the United States; he left
the Yardbirds before "For Your Love" hit the US top ten, and had yet to perform there. During his time with Cream, Clapton began to develop as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, though Bruce took most of the lead vocals and wrote the majority of the material with lyricist
Pete Brown. Top UK stars, including Clapton,
Pete Townshend and members of
the Rolling Stones and
the Beatles, avidly attended Hendrix's early club performances. Hendrix's arrival had an immediate and major effect on the next phase of Clapton's career. (replica shown), with its bright artwork and famous "woman tone", was symbolic of the 1960s psychedelic rock era. Clapton first visited the United States while touring with Cream. In March 1967, Cream performed a nine-show stand at the RKO Theater in New York. Clapton's 1964 painted
Gibson SG guitar –
The Fool – a "psychedelic fantasy", according to Clapton, made its debut at the RKO Theater. Clapton used the guitar for most of Cream's recordings after
Fresh Cream, particularly on
Disraeli Gears, until the band broke up in 1968. One of the world's best-known guitars, it symbolises the
psychedelic era. Clapton has also credited
Music from Big Pink, the debut album of
The Band, and its revolutionary
Americana sound as influencing his decision to leave Cream. Cream's farewell album,
Goodbye, comprising live performances recorded at
The Forum, Los Angeles, on 1968, was released shortly after Cream disbanded. It also spawned the studio single "
Badge", co-written by Clapton and
George Harrison (Clapton had met and become close friends with Harrison after the Beatles shared a bill with the Clapton-era Yardbirds at the
London Palladium). In 1968, Clapton played the lead guitar solo on Harrison's "
While My Guitar Gently Weeps", from the Beatles'
self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). Harrison's debut solo album,
Wonderwall Music (1968), became the first of many Harrison solo records to include Clapton on guitar. Clapton went largely uncredited for his contributions to Harrison's albums due to contractual restraints, and Harrison was credited as "L'Angelo Misterioso" for his contributions to the song "Badge" on
Goodbye. The pair often played live together as each other's guest. A year after Harrison's death in 2001, Clapton was musical director for the
Concert for George. In January 1969, when the Beatles were recording and filming what became
Let It Be, tensions became so acute that Harrison quit the group for several days, prompting
John Lennon to suggest they complete the project with Clapton if Harrison did not return.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg, television director of the recording sessions for
Let It Be, later recalled: "I was there when John mentioned Clapton – but that wasn't going to happen. Would Eric have become a Beatle? No. Paul [McCartney] didn't want to go there. He didn't want them to break up. Then George came back." Clapton was on good terms with all four of the Beatles; in December 1968 he had played with Lennon at
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus as part of the one-off group
the Dirty Mac. Cream briefly reunited in 1993 to perform at the ceremony inducting them into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A full reunion took place in May 2005, with Clapton, Bruce and Baker playing four sold-out concerts at London's
Royal Albert Hall, and three shows at New York's
Madison Square Garden that October. Recordings from the London shows,
Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005, were released on CD, LP and DVD in late 2005.
Blind Faith Clapton's next group,
Blind Faith, formed in 1969, was composed of Cream drummer
Ginger Baker,
Steve Winwood of
Traffic, and
Ric Grech of
Family, and yielded one LP and one arena-circuit tour. The
supergroup debuted before 100,000 fans in London's
Hyde Park on 1969. They performed several dates in Scandinavia and began a sold-out American tour in July before their only album was released. The LP
Blind Faith consisted of just six songs, one of them the hit "
Can't Find My Way Home". Another, "Presence of the Lord", is the first song credited solely to Clapton. The album's jacket image of a topless pubescent girl was deemed controversial in the US and was replaced by a photograph of the band. Blind Faith dissolved after less than seven months.
Delaney & Bonnie and first solo album Clapton subsequently toured as a sideman for an act that had opened for Blind Faith,
Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. He also performed as a member of Lennon's
Plastic Ono Band at the
Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969, a recording from which was released as the album
Live Peace in Toronto 1969. On 30 September, Clapton played lead guitar on Lennon's second solo single, "
Cold Turkey". On 15 December that year, Clapton performed with Lennon, Harrison and others as the Plastic Ono Supergroup at a fundraiser for
UNICEF in London. and
Bonnie Bramlett co-wrote "Let It Rain". The album yielded the unexpected US No. 18 hit,
J. J. Cale's "After Midnight". Clapton also worked with much of Delaney and Bonnie's band to record George Harrison's
All Things Must Pass in spring 1970. During this period, Clapton also recorded with artists such as
Dr. John,
Leon Russell,
Billy Preston,
Ringo Starr and
Dave Mason. With Chicago blues artist
Howlin' Wolf, he recorded ''
The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions'', that also included long-time Wolf guitarist
Hubert Sumlin, Winwood, Starr, and members of the
Rolling Stones. Despite the superstar line-up, critic
Cub Koda noted: "Even Eric Clapton, who usually welcomes any chance to play with one of his idols, has criticized this album repeatedly in interviews, which speaks volumes in and of itself."
Derek and the Dominos With the intention of counteracting the "star" cult faction that had begun to form around him, Clapton assembled a new band composed of Delaney and Bonnie's former
rhythm section,
Bobby Whitlock as keyboardist and vocalist,
Carl Radle as the bassist, and drummer
Jim Gordon, with Clapton playing guitar. It was his intention to show that he need not fill a starring role, and functioned well as a member of an ensemble. During this period, Clapton was increasingly influenced by
The Band and their 1968 album
Music from Big Pink, saying: "What I appreciated about the Band was that they were more concerned with songs and singing. They would have three- and four-part harmonies, and the guitar was put back into perspective as being accompaniment. That suited me well, because I had gotten so tired of the virtuosity – or
pseudo-virtuosity – thing of long, boring guitar solos just because they were expected. The Band brought things back into perspective. The priority was the song." The band was originally called "Eric Clapton and Friends". The eventual name was a fluke that occurred when the band's provisional name of "Del and the Dynamos" was misread as Derek and the Dominos. Clapton's biography states that Tony Ashton of
Ashton, Gardner and Dyke told Clapton to call the band "Del and the Dominos", since "Del" was his nickname for Eric Clapton. Del and Eric were combined and the final name became "Derek and the Dominos". Clapton's close friendship with George Harrison brought him into contact with Harrison's wife,
Pattie Boyd, with whom he became deeply infatuated. When she spurned his advances, Clapton's unrequited affections prompted most of the material for the Dominos' album
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Heavily blues-influenced, the album features the twin lead guitars of Clapton and Duane Allman, with Allman's
slide guitar as a key ingredient of the sound. Working at
Criteria Studios in Miami with
Atlantic Records producer
Tom Dowd, who had worked with Clapton on Cream's
Disraeli Gears, the band recorded a double album. The album contained the hit love song "
Layla", inspired by the classical poet of
Persian literature,
Nizami Ganjavi's
The Story of Layla and Majnun, a copy of which
Ian Dallas had given to Clapton. The book moved Clapton profoundly, as it was the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful, unavailable woman and went crazy because he could not marry her. The two parts of "Layla" were recorded in separate sessions: the opening guitar section was recorded first, and for the second section, laid down a few weeks later, drummer Jim Gordon played the piano part for the melody, which he claimed to have written (though Bobby Whitlock stated that Rita Coolidge wrote it). Tragedy dogged the group throughout its brief career. During the sessions, Clapton was devastated by news of the death of Jimi Hendrix; eight days previously the band had cut a cover of "Little Wing" as a tribute. On 1970, one day before Hendrix's death, Clapton had purchased a
left-handed Fender Stratocaster that he had planned to give to Hendrix as a birthday gift. Adding to Clapton's woes,
Layla received only lukewarm reviews upon release. The shaken group undertook a US tour without Allman, who had returned to the Allman Brothers Band. Despite Clapton's later admission that the tour took place amid a blizzard of drugs and alcohol, it resulted in the live double album
In Concert. Recording of a second Dominos studio album was underway when a clash of egos took place and Clapton walked out, thus disbanding the group. Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident on 1971. Clapton wrote later in his autobiography that he and Allman were inseparable during the
Layla sessions in Florida; he talked about Allman as the "musical brother I'd never had but wished I did". Although Radle remained Clapton's bass player until the summer of 1979 (Radle died in May 1980 from the effects of alcohol and narcotics), it was not until 2003 that Clapton and Whitlock appeared together again; Clapton guested on Whitlock's appearance on the
Later with Jools Holland show. Another tragic footnote to the Dominos story was the fate of drummer
Jim Gordon, who had undiagnosed
schizophrenia and years later murdered his mother during a
psychotic episode. Gordon was confined to 16-years-to-life imprisonment, later being moved to a mental institution, where he remained for the rest of his life. Still infatuated with Boyd and torn by his friendship with Harrison, he withdrew from recording and touring to isolation in his Surrey residence as the Dominos broke up. He nursed a
heroin addiction, which resulted in a lengthy career hiatus interrupted only by performing at Harrison's
Concert for Bangladesh benefit shows in New York in August 1971; there, he passed out on stage, was revived, and managed to finish his performance. drummer
Jamie Oldaker, and vocalists
Yvonne Elliman and
Marcy Levy (also known as Marcella Detroit). With this band Clapton recorded
461 Ocean Boulevard (1974), an album with an emphasis on more compact songs and fewer guitar solos; the cover version of "
I Shot the Sheriff" was Clapton's first number one hit. The 1975 album ''
There's One in Every Crowd'' continued this trend. The album's original title, ''The World's Greatest Guitar Player (There's One in Every Crowd)
, was changed before pressing, as it was felt its ironic intention would be misunderstood. The band toured the world and subsequently released the 1975 live LP E. C. Was Here. Clapton continued to release albums and toured regularly. Highlights of the period include No Reason to Cry (a collaboration with Bob Dylan and The Band); Slowhand, which contained "Wonderful Tonight" and a second J. J. Cale cover, "Cocaine". In 1976, he performed as one of a string of notable guests at the farewell performance of The Band, filmed in a Martin Scorsese documentary titled The Last Waltz''.
Continued success certification for the album
Timepieces: The Best of Eric Clapton (1982) In 1981, Clapton was invited by producer
Martin Lewis to appear at the
Amnesty International benefit
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball in London. Clapton accepted the invitation and teamed up with Jeff Beck to perform a series of duets – reportedly their first ever billed stage collaboration. Three of the performances were released on the album of the show, and one of the songs appeared in the film. The performances at London's
Drury Lane theatre heralded a return to form and prominence for Clapton in the new decade. Many factors had influenced Clapton's comeback, including his "deepening commitment to Christianity", to which he had converted prior to his heroin addiction. After calling his manager and admitting he was an alcoholic, Clapton flew to
Minneapolis–Saint Paul in January 1982 and checked in at
Hazelden Treatment Center, located in
Center City, Minnesota. On the flight over, Clapton indulged in a large number of drinks, for fear he would never be able to drink again. Clapton wrote in his autobiography: After being discharged, it was recommended by doctors of Hazelden that Clapton not partake in any activities that would act as triggers for his alcoholism or stress. Nonetheless, Clapton would go back to the Hazelden Treatment Center in November 1987. He has stayed sober ever since. A few months after his discharge from his first rehab, Clapton began working on his next album, against doctors' orders. Working with Tom Dowd, he produced what he thought as his "most forced" album to date,
Money and Cigarettes. Clapton chose the name of the album "because that's all I saw myself having left" after his first rehabilitation from alcoholism. In 1984, he performed on former
Pink Floyd member
Roger Waters' solo album
The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, and participated in the supporting tour. Since then Waters and Clapton have had a close relationship. In 2005, they performed together for the Tsunami Relief Fund. In 2006, they performed at the Highclere Castle in aid of the
Countryside Alliance and played two set pieces of "
Wish You Were Here" and "
Comfortably Numb". Clapton, now a regular charity performer, played at the
Live Aid concert at
John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on 13 July 1985, playing with
Phil Collins,
Tim Renwick,
Chris Stainton,
Jamie Oldaker,
Marcy Levy,
Shaun Murphy and
Donald 'Duck' Dunn. When offered a slot close to peak viewing hours, he was apparently flattered. His album output continued in the 1980s, including two produced with Phil Collins, 1985's
Behind the Sun, which produced the hits "Forever Man" and "She's Waiting", and 1986's
August.
August was suffused with Collins's trademark drum and horn sound, and became Clapton's biggest seller in the UK to date, matching his highest chart position, number 3. The album's first track, the hit "
It's in the Way That You Use It", appeared in the
Tom Cruise–
Paul Newman film
The Color of Money. The songs "Tearing Us Apart" (with
Tina Turner) and "Miss You" continued Clapton's more angry sound. This rebound kicked off Clapton's two-year period of touring with Collins and their
August collaborators, bassist
Nathan East and keyboard player/songwriter
Greg Phillinganes. While on tour for
August, two concert videos were recorded of the four-man band:
Eric Clapton Live from Montreux and
Eric Clapton and Friends. Clapton later remade "After Midnight" as a single and a promotional track for the
Michelob beer brand, which had also used earlier songs by Collins and
Steve Winwood. Clapton won a
British Academy Television Award for his collaboration with
Michael Kamen on the score for the 1985
BBC television thriller series
Edge of Darkness. At the
1987 Brit Awards in London, Clapton was awarded the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 1987, he played on
George Harrison's album
Cloud Nine, contributing guitar to "Cloud 9", "That's What It Takes", "Devil's Radio" and "Wreck of the Hesperus". Clapton also got together with the
Bee Gees for charity. The supergroup called itself
the Bunburys, and recorded a charity album with the proceeds going to the
Bunbury Cricket Club in Cheshire, which plays exhibition cricket matches to raise money for nonprofit organisations in England. The Bunburys recorded three songs for
The Bunbury Tails: "We're the Bunburys", "Bunbury Afternoon" and "Fight (No Matter How Long)". The last song also appeared on
The 1988 Summer Olympics Album and went to No. 8 on the rock music chart. Clapton played at the cricket club's 25th anniversary celebrations in 2011, which were held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. In 1988, he played with
Dire Straits and
Elton John at the
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at
Wembley Stadium and the
Prince's Trust rock gala at the
Royal Albert Hall. In 1989, Clapton released
Journeyman, an album that covered a wide range of styles, including blues, jazz, soul and pop. Collaborators included George Harrison, Phil Collins,
Daryl Hall,
Chaka Khan,
Mick Jones,
David Sanborn and
Robert Cray. The song "
Bad Love" was released as a single and later won the
Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
Son's death, "Tears in Heaven" The 1990s brought a series of 32 concerts to the Royal Albert Hall, such as the
24 Nights series of concerts that took place around January through February 1990, and February to March 1991. On 1990, Dire Straits, Clapton and Elton John made a guest appearance in the
Nordoff-Robbins charity show held at
Knebworth in England. On 1990, fellow blues guitarist
Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and three members of their road crew were
killed in a helicopter crash between concerts. Then, on 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor, died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of his mother's friend's New York City apartment at 117 East 57th Street. Clapton was staying at a nearby hotel at the time of his son's death, and was preparing to pick him up for lunch and a visit to the
Central Park Zoo. He was informed of the incident through a hysterical phone call by
Lory Del Santo, Conor's mother. Once comprehending what was happening, he described feeling like he "went off the edge of the world," and promptly arrived at the scene, feeling "like [he] had walked into someone else's life." The first person to offer condolences towards Clapton was friend and fellow guitarist
Keith Richards, who himself had lost his young son
Tara in 1976. Conor's funeral took place on 28 March at St Mary Magdalene's Church in Clapton's home village in
Ripley, Surrey, with Conor buried in the church graveyard. After his son's death Clapton began attending
AA meetings. Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "
Tears in Heaven", which was co-written by
Will Jennings. At the
35th Annual Grammy Awards, Clapton received six
Grammys for the single "Tears in Heaven" and his
Unplugged album, for which Clapton performed live in front of a small audience on 16 January 1992 at
Bray Film Studios in
Windsor, Berkshire, England. The album reached number one on the
Billboard 200, and is certified
Diamond by the
RIAA for selling over 10 million copies in the US. It reached number two in the
UK Albums Chart and is certified four times platinum in the UK. On 9 September 1992, Clapton performed "Tears in Heaven" at the
1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and won the award for Best Male Video. In 1992, Clapton received the
Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. In October 1992 Clapton was among the dozens of artists performing at
Bob Dylan's
30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. Recorded at
Madison Square Garden in New York City, the live two-disk CD/DVD captured a show full of celebrities performing classic Dylan songs, with Clapton playing the lead on a nearly 7-minute version of Dylan's "
Knockin' on Heaven's Door" as part of the finale. While Clapton played
acoustic guitar on
Unplugged, his 1994 album
From the Cradle contained new versions of old
blues standards, highlighted by his electric guitar playing. In 1995, Clapton for the first and only time appeared on a UK No. 1 single, collaborating with
Cher,
Chrissie Hynde, and
Neneh Cherry on a solo to a cover of "
Love Can Build a Bridge" released in aid of the British charity telethon
Comic Relief. on stage at a White House Special Olympics dinner, December 1998 On 12 September 1996 Clapton played a party for
Armani at New York City's Lexington Armory with
Greg Phillinganes,
Nathan East and
Steve Gadd.
Sheryl Crow appeared on one number, performing "
Tearing Us Apart", a track from
August, which was first performed by
Tina Turner during the Prince's Trust All-Star Rock show in 1986. It was Clapton's sole US appearance that year, following the
open-air concert held at Hyde Park. The concert was taped and the footage was released both on VHS video cassette and later, on DVD. That autumn, Clapton released the album
Pilgrim, the first record containing new material for almost a decade. In October 1999, the compilation album,
Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton, was released, which contained a new song, "
Blue Eyes Blue", that also appears in soundtrack for the film,
Runaway Bride. Clapton finished the twentieth century with collaborations with
Carlos Santana and
B.B. King. Clapton looked up to King and had always wanted to make an album with him, while King said of Clapton, "I admire the man. I think he's No. 1 in rock 'n' roll as a guitarist and No. 1 as a great person."
Collaboration albums at the
Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on 22 January 2005 Clapton released the album
Reptile in March 2001. One month after the
11 September attacks, Clapton appeared at
the Concert for New York City, performing alongside
Buddy Guy. An event marking the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in June 2002, Clapton performed "Layla" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the
Party at the Palace concert in the grounds of
Buckingham Palace. On 29 November 2002, the
Concert for George was held at the
Royal Albert Hall, a tribute to George Harrison, who had died a year earlier of lung cancer. Clapton was a performer and the musical director. The concert included Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr,
Jeff Lynne,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,
Ravi Shankar,
Gary Brooker, Billy Preston,
Joe Brown and
Dhani Harrison. Other media appearances include the
Toots & the Maytals Grammy award-winning album
True Love, where he played guitar on the track "
Pressure Drop". of Rotterdam on 1 June 2006 On 22 January 2005, Clapton performed in the
Tsunami Relief Concert held at the
Millennium Stadium in
Cardiff, in aid of the victims of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In May 2005, Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker reunited as Cream for a series of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Concert recordings were released on CD and DVD. Later, Cream performed in New York at
Madison Square Garden. Clapton's first album of new original material in nearly five years,
Back Home, was released on
Reprise Records on . A collaboration with guitarist J. J. Cale,
The Road to Escondido, was released on 2006, featuring
Derek Trucks and Billy Preston (Preston had also been a part of Clapton's 2004 touring band). He invited Trucks to join his band for his 2006–2007 world tour. Bramhall remained, giving Clapton three elite guitarists in his band, allowing him to revisit many Derek and the Dominos songs that he hadn't played in decades. Trucks became the third member of the Allman Brothers Band to tour supporting Clapton, the second being pianist/keyboardist
Chuck Leavell, who appeared on the
MTV Unplugged album and the
24 Nights performances at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1990 and 1991, as well as Clapton's 1992 US tour. On 20 May 2006, Clapton performed with
Queen drummer
Roger Taylor and former
Pink Floyd bassist/songwriter
Roger Waters at
Highclere Castle, Hampshire, in support of the
Countryside Alliance, which promotes issues relating to the British countryside. On 2006, Clapton made a guest appearance at the Bob Dylan concert in
Columbus, Ohio, playing guitar on three songs in
Jimmie Vaughan's opening act. The chemistry between Trucks and Clapton convinced him to invite
the Derek Trucks Band to open for Clapton's set at his 2007
Crossroads Guitar Festival. Trucks remained on set and performed with Clapton's band throughout his performances. The rights to Clapton's official memoirs, written by Christopher Simon Sykes and published in 2007, were sold at the 2005
Frankfurt Book Fair for . kicking off the
Crossroads Guitar Festival, Illinois, on 27 July 2007 In 2007, Clapton learned more about his father, a Canadian soldier who left the UK after the war. Although Clapton's grandparents eventually told him the truth about his parentage, he only knew that his father's name was Edward Fryer. This was a source of disquiet for Clapton, as witnessed by his 1998 song "
My Father's Eyes". A
Montreal journalist named Michael Woloschuk researched Canadian Armed Forces service records and tracked down members of Fryer's family, and finally pieced together the story. He learned that Clapton's father was Edward Walter Fryer, born 1920, in
Montreal and died in
Newmarket, Ontario. Fryer was a musician (piano and saxophone) and a lifelong drifter who was married several times, had several children, and apparently never knew that he was the father of Eric Clapton. Clapton thanked Woloschuk in an encounter at
Macdonald–Cartier Airport, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. On 26 February 2008, it was reported that Clapton had been invited to play a concert in North Korea by government officials. Clapton agreed in principle and suggested it take place in 2009. Kristen Foster, a spokesperson for Clapton, said that he regularly received offers to play abroad and that there had been no agreement for him to play in North Korea. In February 2008, Clapton performed with his long-time friend
Steve Winwood at Madison Square Garden and guested on his recorded single, "Dirty City", on Winwood's album
Nine Lives. The two former Blind Faith bandmates met again for a series of 14 concerts throughout the United States in June 2009. Clapton's 2008 Summer Tour began on at the
Ford Amphitheatre,
Tampa, Florida, and then moved to Canada, Ireland, England, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany, and Monaco. On 2008, he headlined Saturday night for
Hard Rock Calling 2008 in London's Hyde Park (previously Hyde Park Calling) with support from
Sheryl Crow and
John Mayer. at the
Beacon Theatre, New York City, in March 2009 In March 2009, the Allman Brothers Band (amongst many notable guests) celebrated their 40th year, dedicating their string of concerts to the late Duane Allman on their annual run at the
Beacon Theatre. Eric Clapton was one of the performers, with drummer
Butch Trucks remarking that the performance was not the typical Allman Brothers experience, given the number and musical styles of the guests who were invited to perform. Songs like "
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" were punctuated with others, including "
The Weight", with
Levon Helm;
Johnny Winter sitting in on Hendrix's "
Red House"; and "Layla". On 2009 Clapton appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, playing "
Further on Up the Road" with
Joe Bonamassa. Clapton was scheduled to perform at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concert in Madison Square Garden on 2009, but cancelled due to
gallstone surgery.
Van Morrison (who also cancelled) said in an interview that he and Clapton were to do a "couple of songs", but that they would do something else together at "some other stage of the game".
Clapton, Old Sock, I Still Do, and Happy Xmas Clapton performed a two-night show with
Jeff Beck at
the O2 Arena in London on 2010. The two former Yardbirds extended their 2010 tour with stops at Madison Square Garden, the
Air Canada Centre in Toronto, and the
Bell Centre in Montreal. Clapton performed a series of concerts in 11 cities throughout the United States from to 2010, including
Roger Daltrey as opening act. His third European tour with
Steve Winwood began on and ended , including
Tom Norris as opening act. He then began a short North American tour lasting from to , starting with his third Crossroads Guitar Festival on at
Toyota Park in
Bridgeview, Illinois. Clapton released a new studio album,
Clapton, on 2010 in the United Kingdom and 28 September 2010 in the United States. On 2010, Clapton performed as guest on the
Prince's Trust rock gala held at the Royal Albert Hall, supported by the house band for the evening, which included
Jools Holland,
Midge Ure and
Mark King. and
Buddy Guy at the
Crossroads Guitar Festival on 26 June 2010 On 24 June 2011, Clapton was in concert with
Pino Daniele in
Cava de' Tirreni stadium before performing a series of concerts in South America from 6 to 16 October 2011. He spent November and December 2011 touring Japan with
Steve Winwood, playing 13 shows in various cities throughout the country. On 24 February 2012 Clapton,
Keith Richards,
Gary Clark Jr., Derek Trucks,
Doyle Bramhall II,
Kim Wilson and other artists performed together in the Howlin' For Hubert Tribute concert held at the
Apollo Theater of New York City honouring blues guitarist
Hubert Sumlin who died at age 80 on 4 December 2011. On 29 November 2012, Clapton joined
the Rolling Stones at London's O2 Arena during the band's second of five arena dates celebrating their 50th anniversary. On 12 December, Clapton performed
The Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden, broadcast live via television, radio, cinemas and the Internet across six continents. In January 2013, Surfdog Records announced a signed deal with Clapton for the release of his forthcoming album
Old Sock on 12 March. On 8 April 2013, Eric and Hard Rock International launched the limited-edition Eric Clapton Artist Spotlight merchandise programme benefiting Crossroads Centre Antigua. Clapton toured the US and Europe from 14 March to 19 June 2013 to celebrate 50 years as a professional musician. On 28 February 2013, Clapton announced his intention to stop touring in 2015 due to hassles with travel. On 15 October 2013, Clapton's popular
Unplugged album and concert DVD were re-released, titled
Unplugged: Expanded & Remastered. The album includes the original 14 tracks, remastered, as well as 6 additional tracks, including 2 versions of "
My Father's Eyes". The DVD includes a restored version of the concert, as well as over 60 minutes of unseen footage from the rehearsal. On 13 and 14 November 2013, Clapton headlined the final two evenings of the "
Baloise Session", an annual indoor music festival in
Basel, Switzerland. On 20 November 2013, Warner Bros released
Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013 in CD/DVD/Blu-ray. On 30 April 2014, Clapton announced the release of
The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale as an homage to
J. J. Cale who died on 26 July 2013. This tribute album is named after the 1972 single "
Call Me the Breeze" and comprises 16 Cale songs performed by Clapton,
Mark Knopfler, John Mayer,
Willie Nelson,
Tom Petty and others. On 21 June 2014, Clapton abruptly walked off stage during a concert at the
Glasgow Hydro. Although he did return to perform one final song, thousands of fans were upset by the lack of explanation from Clapton or the venue and booed after the concert ended about 40 minutes before advertised to finish. Both Clapton and the venue apologised the next day, blaming 'technical difficulties' for making sound conditions 'unbearable' for Clapton on stage. A week later he confirmed his retirement plans, attributing his decision to the road being "unbearable" in addition to "odd ailments" that may force him to put down his guitar permanently. In a 2016 interview with
Classic Rock magazine, Clapton said that he had been diagnosed with
peripheral neuropathy in 2013, a condition involving damage to peripheral nerves that typically causes stabbing, burning, or tingling pain in the arms and legs. in 2017 during his
A Celebration of 50 Years of Music tour Clapton performed two shows at
Madison Square Garden in New York on 1 and 3 May 2015 followed by a 7-night residency at London's
Royal Albert Hall from 14 to 23 May 2015 to celebrate his 70th birthday on 30 March. The 2-night concerts in the US marked the 46th anniversary since Clapton, with Cream, opened the "new" Madison Square Garden on 2 November 1968. Clapton has performed more times at Madison Square Garden than any other US venue, a total of 45 times. On 20 May 2016, Clapton released his twenty-third studio album
I Still Do. On 30 September 2016 the live-album
Live in San Diego was released. In August 2018, Clapton announced that he had recorded his twenty-fourth studio album,
Happy Xmas, which consists of blues-tinged interpretations of
Christmas songs, with the album released on 12 October. Between April and September 2019, he played 17 concerts in Japan, Europe and the Southwestern United States. He returned to the road in September 2021, playing eight shows in the southern United States. In May 2022, Clapton announced a run of seven US concerts in September with
Jimmie Vaughan. In May 2023, Clapton performed at the Jeff Beck tribute concerts held at the Royal Albert Hall, sharing the stage with
Rod Stewart,
Ronnie Wood,
Kirk Hammett and
Johnny Depp among others. In 2024, Clapton contributed guitar to a re-release of Mark Knopfler's "
Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of the
Teenage Cancer Trust.
Meanwhile In May 2024, Clapton revealed in an interview with
The Real Music Observer that he was working on a new studio album, titled
Meanwhile. The album was released digitally on 4 October, with CD and vinyl releases following on 24 January 2025. ==Influences==