Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

With Eric Clapton’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist on March 6, 2000, he became the first musician to have been inducted three times. He was first honored as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992, then with Cream in 1993, and finally as a solo artist in 2000. While his stints with the groups were relatively brief - he stayed with the Yardbirds only a year and a half, and Cream lasted barely two years - Clapton has been a solo artist for three decades, beginning with the release of Eric Clapton in 1970. Even Derek and the Dominos, the short-lived quartet that cut the classic Layla...and Other Love Songs in 1970, was less a band of equals (a la Cream) than a Clapton-piloted project that bore his highly personalized stamp. As a solo artist, Clapton has brought his singing and songwriting to the fore while maintaining his stature as rock’s preeminent guitarist. Demonstrating a remarkable resilience, Clapton has managed to establish himself as a vital, hitmaking presence in every decade.

Born in the British village of Ripley in 1945, Clapton took up the guitar at age 15 and joined his first group, the Roosters, in early 1963. His first noteworthy band was the Yardbirds, whose 1964 concert recording, Five Live Yardbirds, announced Clapton’s talent as a fiery blues stylist adept at the group’s trademark “rave-ups.” In 1965, John Mayall asked the budding star to join his group, the Bluesbreakers. He appeared on the remarkable 1966 recording Bluesbreakers--John Mayall With Eric Clapton. During his yearlong tenure with Mayall, Clapton earned the nickname “Slowhand” and inspired the scrawling of “Clapton Is God” graffiti around London. Next he joined fellow Mayall alumni Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in Cream, a trio that proved equally adept at lengthy blues improvisations and arty, blues-based psychedelic pop.

After Cream came a brief alliance with American roots-rockers Delaney and Bonnie. This led directly to Clapton’s first solo album, Eric Clapton, which exhibited some newfound emphases. ("Betcha didn’t think I knew how to rock and roll,” he sang in “Blues Power.") Clapton drew from the pool of musicians who played on Eric Clapton in forming Derek and the Dominos, which found him joined by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. The double album Layla...and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) became one of the cornerstone rock records of the Seventies. Clapton became addicted to heroin during this period, and a second Derek and the Dominos album was begun but never completed as he became ever-more reclusive.

A January 1973 comeback concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre re-introduced him to public performing, but his solo career really commenced in earnest a year later with 461 Ocean Boulevard. Recorded in Miami, it was influenced by the mellower likes of J.J. Cale and Bob Marley. Striking a chord with the public, 461 Ocean Boulevard topped the album charts in 1974. Meanwhile, Clapton’s cover of “I Shot the Sheriff,” originally by Bob Marley and the Wailers, helped introduced reggae to a mass audience. Working with a steady band that included guitarist George Terry, Clapton pursued a mellow, song-oriented course that accentuated his husky, laid-back vocals. His Seventies output, including such albums as There’s One in Every Crowd (1975) and No Reason to Cry (1976) has been largely underrated and is ripe for rediscovery. Clapton again struck commercial paydirt in 1977 with Slowhand, a strong set that included Clapton’s definitive version of J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine” and the #3 hit “Lay Down Sally.”

Clapton remained a prolific artist throughout the Eighties, releasing a live double album that reached #2 (Just One Night), cutting two albums (Behind the Sun and August) with Phil Collins as producer, and launching his own label, Duck Records, in 1983, with one of his stronger studio efforts, Money and Cigarettes. In January 1987, he undertook the first of what would become an annual series of multi-night stands at London’s Royal Albert Hall. In 1992, his career received a major boost from his appearance on MTV’s Unplugged series. Returning to his roots on the heels of that acoustic folk-blues set, Clapton next cut a long-promised blues album, From the Cradle (1994). Throughout the Nineties, he continued to amass hits--no mean feat, given the shifting musical climate--including “Tears in Heaven,” a memorable elegy for his late son Conor; “Change the World,” a beatbox-driven collaboration with R&B artist/producer Babyface that won a Grammy for Record of the Year; and “My Father’s Eyes,” a ballad from his 1998 album Pilgrim.

Entering his fourth decade as a solo artist, Eric Clapton remains a relevant, creative force in popular music.”

Eric Clapton Official Web Site