Clapton: The Autobiography

One of my earliest and fondest memories as a child is listening to the song, "Layla" on cassette with my brother over and over again. We would play it and rewind it so many times until we finally busted the cassette. It was our Dad's and he was really mad, but it was one of the first songs that introduced me to Eric Clapton. My love of his guitar playing was born then, and has never ceased since. Clapton is brutally honest in this memoir and leaves no stone unturned. Even though many consider him a music god (me included), it is safe to say that Clapton is a very troubled and controversial figure. There were many times during the book where I couldn't contain my anger towards him, especially when he discussed his various addictions and show more the way he treated the women in his life. Nevertheless, the music is what I keep coming back to, and what ultimately save his life in the end as well. This is definitely and eye-opening read and a true treasure for all rock fans. I am thankful that this man instilled within me a love of blues rock and made my childhood music experience as great as it was. Now excuse me while I listen to his nasty guitar solos on "Crossroads" yet again! show less

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Eric Clapton takes no shortcuts in his debunking of any possible popular myth that he was in any way special or of good character. His deftness on the guitar came from countless hours of practice and his talent was revered by many involved in the music business. Fans such as myself considered Clapton a better man than he was simply based on the quality of the music he produced and the rock god he portrayed so elegantly on the stage. In page after page Clapton proves how despicable he truly was while in the throes of decades of drug and alcohol addiction. Several hard years laboring to acquire a quality sobriety insisted Clapton make an honest assessment show more of himself and to make appropriate amends. It helps the reader of this autobiography to be himself a recovering drug addict or alcoholic to fully appreciate the brutal and unrelenting exposure of the truth behind the life of Eric Clapton, and the countless and perhaps tiresome confessions he employs in this revealing book. I would imagine it might be too much for those who have no understanding of addiction and recovery, and thus perhaps it becomes a negative reading experience. For me, as disturbing as it is to read my guitar hero confess his often deplorable sins, it is also an instructive and mesmerizing read, as well as joyful to engage in this experience.

Old bandmate Carl Radle, one of rock’s greatest base payers of all time, was another struggling addict who died through substance abuse. Clapton still feels responsible for Radle’s death. It was Carl Radle who first helped Eric Clapton when he needed it most, and when Radle needed someone to lean on Clapton was not available. Same thing happened to me, and you never recover from this guilt. I was early into my own recovery when my cousin John called long distance from Michigan for help. He asked to come to Louisville and learn firsthand how I was staying sober. I was barely hanging on, and particularly selfish to the degree I believed would insure my own survival. It was, for me at least, every man for himself. Soon after that call for help my thirty-two year old lifetime friend died in a tragic auto accident due to his purported inebriation as he fell into a relapsed use of alcohol and cocaine.

Clapton’s tale is quite ugly. It seems as if he felt he had to confess every wrong he ever committed. His list of sins is unimaginable. All the adulteries reported and the mean and awful pranks he played on loved ones portrays him as a very lost soul with an extremely flawed character. The book for me was often painful to read. But he was not bragging about his numerous dalliances as others are wont to do. Clapton judiciously proves again and again how human he is, but he never asks for our forgiveness. He comes clean for himself, knowing he can never make up for what he has missed or the harm he has caused others. In light of the many wasted days and nights in the throes of his active addiction and initial fitful recovery, Clapton still managed to produce some of the greatest music rock and blues aficionados have ever heard. And for this we should be grateful.

In Clapton’s later years he has obviously become extremely appreciative of his friends and family. Perhaps misconstrued as being a bit sentimental at times, he refrains from becoming sanctimonious. Expressed and ebullient gratitude is often too much to bear for the more somber ones among us. But addicts who have regained a strong foothold in life seem to be overwhelmingly relieved and satisfied that their misery is behind them. And the wake never ends. show less

I've never been a fan of blues music but I once read that Clapton was the best guitarist ever. That's questionable. His memoir is little more than a resume, a list of bands he played with, guitars he bought, albums he made, money he made, women he shagged. It's honest, as far as can be remembered through an alcoholic haze, but reveals him as shallow and selfish. If you are looking for a book about just how drunk a person can get, or how stoned, destructive, arrogant, abusive they can be, then this is for you.

It's difficult to rate this, Clapton was such an insufferable person making the vacuous content of little value, but the unremarkable writing (co-written by Clapton's friend Christopher Sykes) pushes it up to 2.5 stars.

This is a book I bought for my birthday and am just now getting around to reading it. I am enjoying it very much. We like listening to music in the evenings and frequently the Clapton CDs are among our favorites. His blues albums are among our favorites.

When I went to pick the book up from a local second hand store it wasn't the copy they had before and I was slightly disappointed. Turned out to be a winning situation as the other book was a Clapton biography and this is an autobiography, his own thoughts on events.

The book starts with Clapton's recollection of his early childhood and discovering his position in the family. At age seven he discovered his mum and dad, Jack and Rose, were in fact his grandparents. The way his birth mother show more treated him was appalling to me and the maternal side of me wanted to hug this confused and rejected child.

As we get into the musical introduction of the book I found I couldn't put it down. He discusses the first guitar he owned, school and the introduction into playing for the public. Those chapters cover the Yardbirds, John Mayall, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos. You also read first hand accounts of his friendships and musical collaborations with the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and his friendship with George Harrison, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood among others.

I knew the song Layla was written to woo George Harrison's wife Patti as he was completely besotted with her but I did not know the inspiration for the song name. Layla and Majnun is narrative poem composed by Persian poet Niẓāmi Ganjavi. Layla is the equivalent of Juliet, forbidden love. Huh.

I'm about to finish the part where he talks about the substance abuse and his son Conor. That's a heart breaker. The parts where Clapton talks about his love for George Harrison's wife Patti was a turn off. He describes his behavior, and other musicians in that era, as having loose morals and that was accepted. Drug addiction, deaths, strong musical ethics, recovery and family.

As it turns out he was extremely unsure of himself and music was an outlet. The rejection of his mother affected him forever and while it seems a rock icon such as Clapton thrived on attention, it was just the opposite. Note the cover of the album below. He refused to look up and read the comic Beano while the photos were being taken. (this was discussed in the book). Also, with Derek and the Dominos no one knew that Derek was actually Clapton. He wanted to play anonymously and reveled in the fact that the band played for small groups of 50 or in festivals and no one knew it was Clapton guitar. Until that news leaked out so......they broke up.



My favorite parts are reading about the fabulous musical talents of that era and how they collaborated. If you are a Clapton fan you may like this book. He makes no apologies for his behavior, he reminisces abut the good, the bad and inspirations. Overall I like this book. show less

I would listen to my father's copy of Slowhand over and over growing up. I still love listening to it today. Recently I read an article about Eric Clapton's surprising to me anti-vax stance, even though he's reportedly had the vaccine, and his history of racist rants. This all came as a bit of a shock ... Clapton is a racist anti-vaxxer? Remembering I had his autobiography on the shelf upstairs I pulled it down and dove in.

The writing, well, let's just say you can feel the different parts of the book which were written in the same period. And of course he barely touched on his 1976 racist rant. Coupled with his current defense of Enoch Powell and his anti-vax stance ... today Clapton is God might read Clapton is a bigoted anti-vaxxer ...

I never belonged to the "Clapton is God" cult but I have always respected him as one of the best blues musicians alive, which is actually saying quite a bit given the folks whose careers overlap with Clapton's. He doesn't write elegant prose, but I found myself learning to like the man behind the guitar as I read his autobiography. His single-minded devotion to playing music as well as he can comes through very clearly. As does the basically good human being behind the guitar.

Eric Clapton's autobiography should have been fascinating, mysterious, and deeply insightful. After all, along with Jimi Hendrix, he was considered a rock guitar "god." So it is with some degree of disappointment that you learn how pedestrian a life can be--shorn of all the drugs, alcohol, girls, fame, and money--when the guitar god in question doesn't appear to understand or appreciate his own gifts.

It's not that Eric Clapton's life was dull--far from it. Or that he's not honest about his trials and triumphs. It's just that you hope for something rare and wonderful to be revealed in the life of a man who achieved such artistic excellence. You want to believe that artistic genius somehow permeates the life of the individual as much as show more what he creates. Here is the short version of Clapton's book: He is born into a working class family. He learns, at age nine, that he is really the illegitimate child of a woman now living happily in Canada. When she first comes back into his life, she demurs when he asks if he can call her "Mum." He feels lost, alone, and different from other people. He discovers the guitar. Soon, he is recognized as a great guitarist. He drifts in and out of several bands, eventually unhappy with all of them. He drifts in and out of several affairs, eventually unhappy with all of them. He becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol. He behaves abominably. He finally hits rock bottom. He marries a very young woman. He finds peace, of a sort.

Eric, is there nothing more that you can tell us about playing so well? Is there something else that we can learn about someone with such an incredible gift? Or is that all there is? I'm sorry, Eric. I wanted to be more in awe of you. Perhaps that's the problem with all gods, guitar and otherwise. They tend to disappoint their followers. show less