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Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945 in Ripley, England. He is considered by critics and fans to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Clapton is the only person to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times, as a member of the Yardbirds, Cream and as a solo artist. Clapton is also well known for his wide variety of musical styles including blues, pyschedelic rock, pop, and successful hit love songs. His career has also suffered drug and alcohol addiction, personal hardships and tragedy from the deaths of several loved ones.
Eric Clapton, the illegitamate son of a young mother and a married Canadian soldier, was raised by his grandparents in a musical household. When he was 14 years old, he learned to play the guitar, having been influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. In January 1963, after being expelled from the Kingston College of Art for playing his guitar in class, he joined his first R&B band, The Roosters. He stayed with the band from January through August 1963. In October of that year, Clapton played for a brief stint (one month) with the blues band, Casey Jones and the Engineers. By this time his reputation as a guitar player grew and he was recruited to join the legendary blues band, The Yardbirds. During his 18-month tenure with the band, he earned the nickname “Slowhand” as when he replaced his broken guitar strings on stage, the crowd participated in slow hand clapping. Despite the band’s first two successful albums, Five Live Yardbirds (1964) and For Your Love (1965), Clapton quit when the group was headed toward a more pop-oriented sound rather than continue with his favourite, the blues.

In 1966, Clapton joined one of Britain’s top blues band, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and released the classic album, Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. Also, during the year with the band, he earned a second nickname, “God,” as he impressed the English music scene with his amazing guitar playing. At the end of 1966, Eric Clapton decided to form his own group, the legendary blues-based psychedelic supergroup, Cream. The power trio, also consisting of bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, became one of the most influential rock bands of all time. During the same year, the group released their debut album, Fresh Cream, which became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom (UK #6) and went to number 39 on the charts in the United States. Their second album, Disraeli Gears, was released the following year and became a worldwide smash hit, (US #4, UK #5), was certified platinum and spawned the hit single, Sunshine of Your Love. The double live album, Wheels of Fire, was released in 1968 and was as successful as its predecessors (US #1, UK #3). Due to the success of their first three albums and extensive touring, Cream achieved worldwide acclaim approaching that of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. However, extensive drug abuse and constant infighting within the group eventually led to the Goodbye album (1969) and the break up of the band.

Shortly after the breakup of Cream, Clapton re-united with Baker, bassist Rick Grech, and Traffic's Steve Winwood to form the short-lived group, Blind Faith. They released their first and only self-titled album (Blind Faith, 1969) and went on an intensive American tour.  The stress of the tour resulted in the demise of the band less than a year later.

Eric Clapton then became the occasional guest guitar player on the husband and wife team, Delaney & Bonnie, which opened for Blind Faith during their tour in 1970. They released an unsuccessful live album (Delaney & Bonnie On Tour with Eric Clapton, 1970) and Clapton decided to pursue a solo career. The same year, he released his self-titled solo debut album, which garnered only moderate success and included the single, J.J. Cale’s After Midnight.

Disappointed by the lack of success of his solo album, Clapton then joined bassist Carl Radle, keyboardist Bobby Whitlock and drummer Jim Gordon to form the group Derek and the Dominos. The band, along with slide guitarist, Duane Allman, went on to record Clapton’s landmark double album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. The song Layla was inspired by a difficult love triangle between Clapton, his close friend George Harrison, and Harrison's wife Pattie (she and Clapton eventually married in 1979 and divorced in 1988). Unfortunately, personal struggles and career pressure on the guitarist led to a major heroin addiction, which eventually led to the demise of Derek and the Dominos.

In the early seventies, Clapton withdrew from the spotlight to try to conquer his addiction. Following a controversial but effective electro-acupuncture treatment, Clapton was fully rehabilitated. In 1974, he released the album, 461 Ocean Boulevard, which included a number one hit cover version of Bob Marley’s, I Shot the Sheriff. The album received mixed reviews from critics and fans due to the fewer guitar solos and more compact songs.

In 1975, he continued to be drug-free, but became dependent on alcohol. The same year, he also released the successful albums, There’s One In Every Crowd and The Live E.C. Was Here. In 1977, he released the major album, Slowhand, which spawned the hits, Lay Down Sally, Wonderful Tonight and Cocaine. In 1981, Clapton was hospitalized for a short time due to his serious drinking problem.

After conquering his alcoholism, he released several critically acclaimed albums including, Another Ticket (1981), Money and Cigarettes (1983), Behind the Sun (1985), August (1986), and Journeyman (1989).

In the late 1990s, Clapton suffered tremendously in his personal life when his close friends, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Colin Smythe, and Nigel Browne, were killed in a helicopter crash. A few months later, his son Conor fell forty-nine stories from a Manhattan high-rise apartment to his death.

In 1992, he returned to his blues roots with the album, Unplugged. It became one of his most successful albums (sold more than 10 million copies in the US alone) and included the poignant tribute to his son, Tears in Heaven, which became a worldwide hit. Clapton received six Grammys that year for the single and the Unplugged album.

In 1994, he released the album, From the Cradle, which marked a return to raw blues with the electric guitar, and was well received by fans and critics. 4 Eric returned to his In February 1997, he won for Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards for Change the World, from the soundtrack of the John Travolta movie Phenomenon.

In 1998, he released the soul-influenced, crticially acclaimed album, Pilgrim, his first album of all new material in nine years. In 2000, he released the album, Riding With the King, referring to the American blues legend, B.B. King. The album was a huge hit and was certified gold.
In 2004, he released the tribute album, Me and Mr. Johnson, which included covers of Robert Johnson songs, and hit number 6 on the US charts. In 2005, he released new solo material for the album, Back Home, which was later certified gold. Clapton released the album, The Road To Escondido, in 2006. The album, a collaboration with his mentor J.J. Cale, won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in February 2008.
Clapton also spends time raising money for Crossroads, the drug rehabilitation centre he founded in Antigua.