{"id":20365,"date":"2020-03-30T10:35:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T15:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/micklabriola.com\/?p=20365"},"modified":"2020-03-30T10:36:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T15:36:03","slug":"eric-clapton-day-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/micklabriola.com\/eric-clapton-day-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Clapton Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Patrick Clapton<\/b>, CBE<\/a><\/span> (born 30 March<\/span> 1945) is an English rock<\/a> and blues<\/a> guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee<\/a> to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame<\/a>: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds<\/a> and of Cream<\/a>. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time.<\/sup> Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone<\/a><\/i>‘<\/span>s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time<\/a>“<\/sup>and fourth in Gibson<\/a>‘<\/span>s “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time”.<\/sup> He was also named number five in Time<\/a><\/i> magazine’s list of “The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players” in 2009.<\/sup><\/p>\n

In the mid-1960s Clapton left the Yardbirds to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers<\/a>. Immediately after leaving Mayall, Clapton formed the power trio<\/a> Cream with drummer Ginger Baker<\/a> and bassist Jack Bruce<\/a>, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and “arty, blues-based psychedelic pop”.<\/sup> After Cream broke up, he formed blues rock band Blind Faith<\/a> with Baker, Steve Winwood<\/a>, and Ric Grech<\/a>. Clapton’s solo career began in the 1970s, where his work bore the influence of the mellow style of J. J. Cale<\/a> and the reggae<\/a> of Bob Marley<\/a>. His version of Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff<\/a>” helped reggae reach a mass market.<\/sup> Two of his most popular recordings were “Layla<\/a>“, recorded with Derek and the Dominos<\/a>; and Robert Johnson<\/a>‘s “Crossroads<\/a>“, recorded with Cream. Following the death of his son Conor in 1991, Clapton’s grief was expressed in the song “Tears in Heaven<\/a>“, which appeared on his Unplugged<\/a><\/i> album.<\/p>\n

Clapton has been the recipient of 18 Grammy Awards<\/a>, and the Brit Award<\/a> for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004 he was awarded a CBE<\/a> at Buckingham Palace for services to music.<\/sup><\/sup><\/sup> He has received four Ivor Novello Awards<\/a> from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors<\/a>, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In his solo career, Clapton has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time<\/a>.<\/sup> In 1998, Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict<\/a>, founded the Crossroads Centre<\/a> on Antigua<\/a>, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.<\/p>\n