70 Fun Facts About Eric Clapton

In which English county was Eric Clapton born in 1945?

He grew up believing his grandmother was his mother and his mother was his older sister.

Clapton's father was a soldier from which country?

Edward Fryer returned to Montreal before Eric was born and apparently never knew he had a famous son.

Which R&B band did Clapton join in October 1963 and leave in March 1965?

He quit the day their pop hit "For Your Love" was released, disliking the commercial direction.

How did Clapton get his famous nickname?

Manager Giorgio Gomelsky coined it during his Yardbirds days.

Whom did Clapton recommend as his replacement, only for him to decline and suggest Jeff Beck?

Beck, Page and Clapton were never in the group at the same time.

Which bandleader's group did Clapton join in 1965, producing the album fans call "The Beano Album"?

The cover shows Clapton reading the children's comic The Beano.

What three-word slogan was famously spray-painted on an Islington wall in 1967?

The famous photo of it includes a dog urinating on the wall.

Who were Clapton's two bandmates in the power trio Cream?

Bruce sang most of the lead vocals and wrote most of the songs with lyricist Pete Brown.

Which 1967 Cream album was recorded in New York in just five days in May?

It featured Clapton's psychedelic-painted Gibson SG, "The Fool".

Cream's live hit "Crossroads" was a version of which Robert Johnson song?

Clapton has called Johnson his single most important influence.

Cream's single "Badge" was co-written by Clapton and which Beatle, credited as "L'Angelo Misterioso"?

Clapton in turn played the solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the White Album.

Clapton played the lead solo on which Beatles White Album track?

He used a red 1957 Les Paul nicknamed Lucy that he had given Harrison.

Which one-off group did Clapton and Lennon play in at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus?

Keith Richards on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums completed the line-up.

Blind Faith, Clapton's 1969 supergroup, included Ginger Baker, Ric Grech and which singer-keyboardist?

They debuted before 100,000 fans in Hyde Park and lasted less than seven months.

Which Blind Faith song was the first credited solely to Clapton as a writer?

The album's original cover of a topless young girl was replaced in the US.

Clapton's first solo album yielded a US No. 18 hit with a cover of which J. J. Cale song?

Delaney Bramlett produced the record and co-wrote six songs.

How did Derek and the Dominos get their name?

Tony Ashton had suggested "Del", his nickname for Clapton.

Which guitarist joined the Layla sessions as a guest and added slide guitar to the album?

Clapton called him "the musical brother I'd never had but wished I did".

"Layla" was inspired by a Persian poem about Layla and Majnun by which 12th-century author?

Ian Dallas, a friend converting to Islam, gave Clapton the book.

"Layla" was written about Clapton's unrequited love for whose wife?

Pattie Boyd eventually married Clapton in 1979.

Who is officially credited with co-writing "Layla" for its piano coda?

Rita Coolidge, his girlfriend at the time, has claimed she wrote the piano part.

At which Miami studio was Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs recorded with producer Tom Dowd?

Dowd had also produced Cream's Disraeli Gears.

Which Hendrix song did the Dominos record as a tribute eight days before Hendrix died?

Clapton had bought a left-handed Stratocaster to give Hendrix the day before his death.

Which fellow rock star organised the 1973 Rainbow Concert to help Clapton kick heroin?

Clapton repaid him by playing the Preacher in the film of Tommy.

Clapton's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" gave him his first US No. 1. Who wrote it?

It appeared on 461 Ocean Boulevard and helped reggae reach a mass audience.

The title of 461 Ocean Boulevard refers to the address of a house in which Florida town?

Clapton later recommended the house and Criteria Studios to the Bee Gees.

On which 1977 album did "Wonderful Tonight" and the J. J. Cale cover "Cocaine" appear?

The album took its name from Clapton's nickname.

Clapton wrote "Wonderful Tonight" while waiting for Pattie Boyd to get ready for whose Buddy Holly party?

He wrote it on 7 September 1976 on his Martin D-28.

Where and when did Clapton finally marry Pattie Boyd?

Harrison attended the wedding party with Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.

At which Minnesota treatment centre did Clapton check in for alcoholism in January 1982?

He returned in 1987 and has been sober ever since.

Why did Clapton name his 1983 album Money and Cigarettes?

He called it his "most forced" album, made against doctors' orders.

Which drummer-singer produced Clapton's mid-1980s albums Behind the Sun and August?

August became Clapton's biggest UK seller to date, peaking at No. 3.

Clapton's hit "It's in the Way That You Use It" appeared in which Tom Cruise–Paul Newman film?

It was the opening track of August.

For which 1991 film soundtrack was "Tears in Heaven" originally written?

Director Lili Fini Zanuck later made the documentary Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars.

Who co-wrote "Tears in Heaven" with Clapton?

Jennings urged Clapton to write the whole song himself because it was so personal.

How old was Clapton's son Conor when he died in 1991?

He fell from a 53rd-floor window in Manhattan.

Which single kept "Tears in Heaven" at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks?

It remains Clapton's best-selling US single, with over 2.8 million sold.

Where was Clapton's MTV Unplugged performance recorded in January 1992?

He asked to redo "two – no, three – no, five" songs after saying "that's it".

Roughly how many copies has Unplugged sold worldwide, making it the best-selling live album ever?

It is also Clapton's own best-selling album.

The acoustic Unplugged version of "Layla" won which Grammy in 1993?

Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 27 on its 500 Greatest Songs list.

Clapton's 1996 Song of the Year Grammy winner "Change the World" came from which film's soundtrack?

It was written by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Gordon Kennedy and Tommy Sims.

Under what pseudonym did Clapton and Simon Climie release the 1997 electronic album Retail Therapy?

It came out the same year he won Song of the Year for "Change the World".

Which 1995 Comic Relief cover with Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry was Clapton's only UK No. 1?

He contributed a solo to the charity recording.

Which blues legend's 2000 duets album with Clapton had a video casting Clapton as his chauffeur?

The album was titled Riding with the King.

On which Caribbean island did Clapton found the Crossroads Centre for addiction treatment in 1998?

He funds it partly through the periodic Crossroads Guitar Festival.

What was the name of Clapton's favourite Stratocaster, assembled from parts of three guitars and retired in 1985?

It sold for $959,500 at Christie's in 2004 to fund the Crossroads Centre.

How much did Clapton's retired favourite Stratocaster fetch at Christie's in June 2004?

Fender later made 275 relic replicas, right down to the flight case.

Clapton's psychedelic-painted 1964 Gibson SG was known by what name?

Todd Rundgren later bought it for $500 and renamed it "Sunny".

Which red-refinished 1957 Les Paul did Clapton give his Beatle friend in 1968?

Clapton played it on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and borrowed it back for the Rainbow Concert.

Clapton is the only three-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Which are the three?

He has sold 100 million records as a solo artist.

How many Grammy Awards has Clapton received?

He also has four Ivor Novello Awards and a CBE.

Where did Clapton rank on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time?

Gibson placed him fourth and Time fifth.

Which London venue has Clapton played more than 200 times, calling it "like playing in my front room"?

His debut there was with the Yardbirds in December 1964.

Which US venue has Clapton played more than any other, a total of 45 times?

Cream opened the "new" Garden on 2 November 1968.

What role did Clapton play in Ken Russell's 1975 film of the Who's Tommy?

He wears an obviously fake beard in some shots after shaving his real one off mid-shoot.

Which bluesman did Clapton call "the father figure I never really had"?

He also cited Robert Johnson as his single most important influence.

What was the first album Clapton ever bought?

Seeing Buddy Holly's Fender on TV made him think "that's the future".

What make of acoustic guitar did the 13-year-old Clapton receive for his birthday?

The cheap steel-string was so hard to play he briefly lost interest.

From which art school was Clapton expelled in 1962 for focusing on music?

He then busked around Kingston, Richmond and the West End.

What was Clapton's first band, joined at 17 in 1963?

Its other guitarist, Tom McGuinness, later joined Manfred Mann.

Clapton was diagnosed in 2013 with which nerve condition that might end his guitar playing?

He walked off stage in Glasgow in 2014 blaming "unbearable" sound conditions.

Clapton married Melia McEnery on New Year's Day 2002 in a church in which village?

They have three daughters.

What was the title of Clapton's 2024 studio album?

It was released digitally in October 2024 with vinyl following in January 2025.

What honour did Clapton receive from the Queen in 2004 for services to music?

He also holds the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

The 2005 Cream reunion shows took place in London and at which New York venue?

They had briefly reunited in 1993 for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

Which 2006 collaboration album did Clapton make with J. J. Cale?

Derek Trucks and Billy Preston played on it.

On which Delaney & Bonnie-era Clapton song did Bonnie Bramlett get a co-writing credit?

Delaney Bramlett co-wrote six songs and produced the album.

Which football club does Clapton support, sponsoring its 1978-79 UEFA Cup tie against Galatasaray?

He put the club's scarf on the back cover of his album Backless and played a 1982 concert before John Wile's testimonial at The Hawthorns.

Which carmaker built Clapton a one-off special project car, the SP12 EC, in 2012?

He showed it at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed; he also owned a vintage Mini Cooper Radford that was a gift from George Harrison.

What was Clapton's charity supergroup with the Bee Gees, in aid of a Cheshire cricket club, called?

Their track 'Fight (No Matter How Long)' appeared on the 1988 Summer Olympics Album and reached No. 8 on the rock chart.