h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is about the History of Eric Clapton article of mine that you edited.

There are two things missing.

1. "He has been in the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame twice, once as a member of The Yardbirds and then for Cream. A third nod for his solo career would seem inevitable."
He was put into the Hall of Fame again last week. Loonytunes pointed this out so I'll try and get a date off him.

2. There are two albums missing from the discography. History of Eric Clapton (1972) and Blues Power (1996). These are very obscure ones (so obscure I forgot I had them) and I don't think my 'source' for the discography has the month they were released in. I'll check though.

So, as you'd have gathered, this article will be due for rediting soon!

This comes from his Hall Of Fame entry

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.&#8221 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.

Thanks Loony!

I haven't got the dates for those albums yet. In the meantime, could I please ask that Asteroid Lil be given credit (ie a slot in the 'researchers' bit in the margin), as she gave some well hot advice on how to reword the article .

Hi Mike!

I've been trying to reply to this one for a while, but the telephone network seems to keep cutting me off.

I'll let Anna et al know as quickly as I can about the changes you've suggested, along with your recommendations for co-authorship (including Loony, if you accept), etc. Changes should appear shortly after that, if they are approved. I have a feeling that this one might generate a LOT of editing, even yet...!

Thanks for the indications, anyway!

Regards,

H.

This Clapton piece is shaping up to be a corker. Mike A's comments and Looneytunes's brilliant additions will soon find their way up on to the Approved Guide. I like the Derek and the Dominoes stuff with Duane Allman and I've got this excellent pair of dark blue 'frayed at the seams' big bell bottom trousers, and there's nothing better I like than to listen to the above, or preferably some early Allman Brothers stuff (check out Live At The Filmore East) or even the brilliant (and still underrated) Black Crowes, and just getting into a groove, tapping my shoes underneath the dark shadow that my flares cast, swinging those pants, digging the scene in a 'George Harrison just left The Beatles Era' stylee, looking out for Ali McGraw...

Yeah, I figure it's only fair that Loony be added to the researcher list for this article. Makes sense

I haven't found the release dates -yet-! I wanna do it tonight, and take the opportunity to post here. I'll tell you when I've found them as soon as, uh, I've found them *^_^*

Hmmm, mention The Beatles and I remember that I want to dig out While My Guitar Gently Weeps...
Me, I'm looking out for some leather arm-things with studs, and one of those belts filled with bullet-casings, plus contemplating whether I should grow my hair long.
Well, my tastes -have- changed since I wrote that thing, back in October. Clapton is still da Man, btw. He just doesn't Thrash.

Right! Now for the fruits of my 'labour'...

History of Eric Clapton was released in July 1972.
As for Blues Power, welll, nobody seems to know. I doubt anyone would miss it as it seems very obscure for an album only four years old.

You'll give me a click when the updating's done won't you? Don't forget to credit Looony and Lil (there's a link to Lil's page round the bottom of my homepage).