Eric Clapton

Ancestors

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Legendary English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter

Biography

Eric Clapton is Notable.

Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, the son of 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton (7 January 1929 – March 1999) and Edward Walter Fryer (21 March 1920 – 15 May 1985), a 25-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec. ^[1] Fryer shipped off to war prior to Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband, Jack Clapp, who was stepfather to Patricia Clapton and her brother Adrian, believing they were his parents and that his mother was actually his older sister.

Clapton married in 1979 in Tucson, Arizona. The couple had no children. In 1984 while recording Behind The Sun, Clapton began a relationship with the manager of the recording studio in Montserrat. Both married but not to each other, the two had a daughter in January 1985. Her existence was kept from the public until the media realized she was his child in 1991.

Eric Clapton with his son

Clapton and his wife tried unsuccessfully to have children, even trying in vitro fertilisation in 1984, but were faced instead with miscarriages. They divorced in 1988 following his affair with an Italian model, who gave birth to their son, Conor, on 21 August 1986. Conor died in 1991, at the age of four and a half, when he fell out of an open bedroom window on the 53rd floor of a Manhattan apartment building. The death of his son was the inspiration for Clapton's song, "Tears in Heaven".

Eric Clapton in Argentina

He has gone on to become one of the greatest rock & blues guitarists of all time. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009. Since 2019, he has toured in the US, Japan, and Europe. In 2023, Clapton performed at the Jeff Beck tribute concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England.

Clapton married again in a low-key church ceremony in January 2001. He has three daughters and one grandson.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration: "England & Wales Birth Index"
   FreeBMD Entry Information (accessed 30 May 2023)
   Clapton, Eric P. (Mother's maiden name: Clapton).
   GRO Reference: 1945 Apr-May-Jun in Surrey S.W. Volume 2a Page 821.

See Also:

• http://www.ericclapton.com/eric-clapton-biography
• Wikipedia:Eric_Clapton