Product Description

“I found a pattern in my behavior that had been repeating itself for years, decades even. Bad choices were my specialty, and if something honest and decent came along, I would shun it or run the other way.”

With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well known for his reserve in a profession marked by self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles, for the first time, his remarkable personal and professional journeys.

Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents, Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine, believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and inspire devoted fans to scrawl “Clapton is God” on the walls of London’s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the world's first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar, but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history, including the classic “Layla.”

During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while working with the latter that he fell for George’s wife, Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean Boulevard, with its massive hit “I Shot the Sheriff.” He followed that with the platinum album Slowhand, which included “Wonderful Tonight,” the touching love song to Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1979. A short time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the eventual breakup of his marriage.
In the eighties he would battle and begin his recovery from alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident. At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the achingly beautiful “Tears in Heaven.”

Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4352 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-09
• Released on: 2007-10-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Readers hoping for sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll won't be disappointed by the legendary guitarist's autobiography. As he retraces every step of his career, from the early stints with the Yardbirds and Cream to his solo successes, Clapton also devotes copious detail to his drug and alcohol addictions, particularly how they intersected with his romantic obsession with Pattie Boyd. His relationship with the woman for whom he wrote Layla culminated in a turbulent marriage he describes as drunken forays into the unknown. But he genuinely warms to the subject of his recovery, stressing its spiritual elements and eagerly discussing the fund-raising efforts for his Crossroads clinic in Antigua. His self-reckoning is filled with modesty, especially in the form of dissatisfaction with his early successes. He professes ambivalence about the famous Clapton is God graffiti, although he admits he was grateful for the recognition from fans. At times, he sounds more like landed gentry than a rock star: bragging about his collection of contemporary art, vigorously defending his hunting and fishing as leisure activities, and extolling the virtues of his quiet country living. But both the youthful excesses and the current calm state are narrated with an engaging tone that nudges Clapton's story ahead of other rock 'n' roll memoirs. (Oct. 9)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Thats why they call it the blues. Guitar legend Eric Clapton looks back at his life in this self-inflicted account of painful memories. Clapton, a veteran of such legendary bands as the Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos, is ruthless with himself. He holds nothing back, nor does he ask forgiveness for a life of selfishness and excess. Bill Nighy becomes Clapton in this first-person narrative. With dignity and humility coming through in his performance, Nighy talks about Claptons decades of cheating, philandering, drug use, selfishness, and outright stupidity. But hes so brutally honest and guilty it feels like he is too hard on himself. We have to wonder if a more dispassionate chronicler might have wielded a kinder pen. M.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author

ERIC CLAPTON is married to Melia McEnery and is the father of four daughters. He lives outside London.

Customer Reviews

An eye-opener for sure, but not arrogant at all.
I'm reading various negative reviews of this book, and I cannot believe that people are calling Eric Clapton arrogant in his writing. This book had its flaws, but Clapton's supposed "name dropping" and "arrogance" does not exist, at least not in this book.

I'll say first that I love Eric Clapton's music. He's the reason I'm playing my guitar, and he's taught me a lot about music. I'm only 24, though, and the only image I've ever had of Clapton is his current old man image. It's not much of an image, so I've always just focused on his guitar playing and music making. And because the guitar playing is one-of-a-kind amazing, I've managed to put Clapton up on this pedestal, and I didn't mind. To me, he deserved it.

The book erased that godly image of Clapton I had. As soon as he started getting into details about his life instead of his music, that image was erased from my mind. He did tons of drugs and drinking, had a bunch of issues with sex and women, which probably led to his crazy first marriage. I couldn't believe that the actual Eric Clapton was letting this stuff out! He's always been extremely shy, and you can tell in this book. The way he writes about his experiences are detailed, but at the same time so abstract. For example, when he starts to talk about his son's death, or his daughter that he didn't raise, you wonder some things, because he just doesn't talk about how those things made him feel.

I also could've gone with more guitar details. He talks about what his first guitar was, how much it cost, where his parents bought it for him and how he learned to play it, but he just doesn't talk about how playing it made him feel, and how he felt owning it for the first time (funny, because he's got the blues, and blues players are all about the feel. He just lets it out in his guitar playing, I guess.)

I honestly don't know where people get the "arrogant" criticisms from, though. He actually downplays his skills and does not reflect with happiness when he thinks about all the people he screwed up. Maybe the arrogance criticism comes from the fact that he only focuses on his side of the story. But how can he tell someone else's story? Either way, he reflects with remorse, and a little bit of shame as well. And calling Clapton a name dropper is an oxymoron. He was part of a music movement and an innovator, not a hanger-on. If anything, people were name dropping him.

Don't criticize the book because it only has a few black and white pictures. Clapton has always been very private, and him writing this book (all by himself, by the way, which explains why the writing is jumpy and brief at times) was enough insight into his life. And did a reviewer here actually think it was wrong that he married a younger woman and bought a boat? Why does that even matter?

And I'm biased here, but I found the story admirable and kind of sad at the end. Unlike a lot of his peers, he lived to tell his story. It broke my heart when he said the only thing he dislikes about getting old is that he won't see his young daughters when they're grown. In the end, he's a man who got down on his knees and admitted every single thing he did wrong. You can't turn back time and take everything back, but you can learn from your mistakes. And I think that's what Clapton did, and in this book he tries to tell the reader.

Moving and Memorable
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. Clapton gives a no holds barred account of his life, his failings and his successes. The portion about his son's death is very sad and disturbing. What's even sadder is how Clapton, a serious alcoholic at the time, admits he didn't devote the kind of attention to his young son that he should have.

I'm not sure what the negative reviews screaming "arrogance!" here are all about. The man in question is extremely talented as well as opinionated. He also repeatedly acknowledges he is a deeply flawed person. He comes across as confident in his undisputed musical ability, and humble about how lucky he is to have been given a second chance at happiness after a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse. I further admire the fact that Clapton even at a young age, and at a time when he had no fame or fortune, stuck to his guns and played music on his own terms when many around him were selling out. Furthermore, he is quick to point out the irony of his life and his own idiosyncrasies.

I won't go into to too much detail about his life, I think the reader should read the book.

I'm not giving it 5 stars because I would have liked to hear more about Clapton's music and how he got to be the guitar virtuoso that he is.

Clapton's 150ft yacht - a touch of irony.
I bought a used copy of Clapton's biography because I was searching for information about Screaming Lord Sutch's band in the very early 60's and I knew it contained one or two comments on Sutch's musicians - they were best rock players in the UK in around 1960. I've only once seen Clapton perform - that would have been in Birmingham UK around 1965, when the Yardbirds were a supporting act for The Animals. As a reader of anything and everything, I went on to read through the book anyway.

Early in his career, he quit the Yardbirds, because he felt they had sold out - in producing records aimed at commercial success. But in the final chapters, he boasts of buying a 150 ft yacht and how its purchase would be financed by a forthcoming world tour - a slight touch of irony there. Someone mentioned that the name of the yacht is Va Bene.

Anyone who wants to see pictures of the boat can Google "va bene yacht". Clacton mentions that its captain is Nick Line. Searching on "va bene nick line" leads to:

Captain Nick Line, who has worked on the Va Bene, a 158 ft yacht, for four years, says the Va Bene is owned by a high-profile musician. "For him, the yacht is a secure holiday," says Line.

Evidently Eric had the yacht refurbished. A report says:

"Her remodelled interior will provide contemporary luxury and elegance for twelve guests in six ensuite staterooms. The owner's stateroom was completely stripped out and re-configured by Struik & Hammerslag under the direction of the yard to a H2 Interior design. The new owner's suite now includes a large bathroom - with separate bath, walk in shower, double hand basins and separate toilet/bidet, a walk in closet and large office that converts into a bedroom for up to three children."

"Each of the other five staterooms on board were given a face lift with new fabrics for the deck head and bulk head panels, new mirrors, lighting, as well as replacement bedding and soft furnishings. In the VIP suite the entire full width bathroom was removed and replaced with modern fittings and limestone décor."


Clapton says in his book: "I was on cloud nine, and had to keep telling myself, 'Yes, you do deserve this.'"

My verdict on the book: Read it if you are a Clapton fan, otherwise I am sure you can find a better use of your time.