Eric Patrick Clapton 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". In 2023, Clapton was named the 35th best guitarist of all time. He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.
Cream were a British rock band formed in London in 1966. The group consisted of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Bruce was the primary songwriter and vocalist, although Clapton and Baker contributed to songs. Formed by members of previously successful bands, they are widely considered the first supergroup. Cream were highly regarded for the instrumental proficiency of each of their members.
461 Ocean Boulevard is the second solo studio album by English musician Eric Clapton. It was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" earlier in the month. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies.
Derek and the Dominos was a short-lived English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previously played together in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, during and after Clapton's brief tenure with Blind Faith. Dave Mason supplied additional lead guitar on early studio sessions and played at their first live gig. Another participant at their first session as a band was George Harrison, the recording for whose album All Things Must Pass marked the formation of Derek and the Dominos.
Fresh Cream is the debut studio album by the British rock band Cream, consisting of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. The album was released in the UK on 9 December 1966, as the first LP on the Reaction Records label, owned by producer Robert Stigwood. It was released in both mono and stereo versions, at the same time as the release of the single "I Feel Free". The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was released in a slightly different form in January 1967 by Atco Records in the US, also in mono and stereo versions.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the only studio album by the English–American rock band Derek and the Dominos, released on 9 November 1970 as a double album by Polydor Records and Atco Records. It is best known for its title track, "Layla", which is often regarded as Eric Clapton's greatest musical achievement. The other band members were Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon, and Carl Radle (bass). Duane Allman played lead and slide guitar on 11 of the 14 songs.
Disraeli Gears is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart., and No. 1 on the Swedish and Finnish charts. The album was also No. 1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the No. 1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the United States. The album features the singles "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love", as well as their respective B-sides "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "SWLABR".
Me and Mr. Johnson is the fifteenth solo studio album recorded by Eric Clapton, released in March 2004 by Reprise Records. It consists of covers of songs written and originally recorded by Robert Johnson. The album cover was painted by Sir Peter Blake, using a series of photographs of Clapton. Clapton had planned to record an album of new material, but by the time of the recording sessions there were not enough new songs written, so the band instead recorded a series of Johnson songs.
"Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock and psychedelia, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive bass riff he developed after attending a Jimi Hendrix concert. Guitarist Eric Clapton and lyricist Pete Brown later contributed to the song and drummer Ginger Baker plays a distinctive tom-tom drum rhythm.
The History of Eric Clapton is a compilation double LP, released in 1972 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom, and Atco Records in the United States. It features Eric Clapton performing in various bands between 1964 and 1970, including The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos.
Eric Clapton is the debut solo studio album by English rock musician Eric Clapton, released in August 1970 by Atco and Polydor Records.
British guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton's recording career as a solo artist began in 1970, with the release of his self-titled debut, Eric Clapton. Since then, he has released several best selling albums, such as Unplugged (1992), From the Cradle (1994), and Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton (1999).
"Cross Road Blues" is a song written by the American blues artist Robert Johnson. He performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical talent. This is based largely on folklore of the American South that identifies a crossroads as the site where such pacts are made, although the lyrics do not contain any references to Satan or a Faustian bargain.
"I'm So Glad" is a Delta blues-style song originally recorded by American musician Skip James in 1931. Blues historian Gerard Herzhaft notes "This spiritual probably dates back to the beginning of the blues". Blues writer Stephen Calt describes it as "a Two-Step piece marked by fiendishly fast playing [in] an eight bar arrangement comprised of single measures." He adds it is not related to an earlier Lonnie Johnson tune.
What's Shakin' is a compilation album released by Elektra Records in May 1966. It features the earliest studio recordings by the Lovin' Spoonful and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, as well as the only released recordings by the ad hoc studio group Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse, until they were reissued years later.
Eric Clapton at His Best is a two-LP compilation of Eric Clapton's work after he left his earlier band Cream, released in September 1972. It was concurrently released with a two-LP compilation of Cream tracks, Heavy Cream, along with "at His Best" solo retrospectives by Cream's other members Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
The Complete Recordings is a compilation album by American Delta blues musician Robert Johnson. The 41 songs were recorded in two sessions in Dallas and San Antonio, Texas for the American Record Company (ARC) during 1936 and 1937. Most were first released on 78 rpm records in 1937. The Complete Recordings, released August 28, 1990, by Columbia Records, contains every recording Johnson is known to have made, with the exception of an alternate take of "Travelling Riverside Blues".
"Born Under a Bad Sign" is a blues song recorded by American blues singer and guitarist Albert King in 1967. Called "a timeless staple of the blues", the song also had strong crossover appeal to the rock audience with its synchronous bass and guitar lines and topical astrology reference. "Born Under a Bad Sign" appeared on the R&B chart and became a blues standard.
"Outside Woman Blues" is a blues song originally recorded by Blind Joe Reynolds in 1929. It is one of few known recordings made by Reynolds, who used "Woman Blues" in several song titles, including "Cold Woman Blues", "Goose Hill Woman Blues", and "Third Street Woman Blues".
"Blues Power" is the second solo single by British rock musician Eric Clapton, off his 1970 debut studio album Eric Clapton. It was released in 1970 as a 7" vinyl gramophone record under Polydor Records. The song never reached any of the music charts worldwide.
