Eric Clapton Net Worth

Eric Clapton's Quotes

• Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying around, I'd rather lie around. No contest.
• I am, and always will be, a blues guitarist.
• [about "Layla"] To have ownership of something that powerful is something I'll never be able to get used to. It still knocks me out when I play it.
• My original interests and intentions in guitar playing were primarily created on quality of tone, for instance, the way the instrument could be made to echo or simulate the human voice. At the time when I was still thrashing around on the acoustic guitar trying to sound like Leadbelly or Jesse Fuller, there was someone who had already achieved this particular goal. That was Hank Marvin [Hank B. Marvin] of The Shadows. He had found, and settled on, a clean, pure sound which disallowed any kind of ham-fisted playing. Only the lightest touch was permitted. The result was a marvelous mixture of clear, sweet melody over a strong rock beat (and what a great drum sound). On top of all this, he looked like Buddy Holly and played a real Stratocaster!
• When all the original blues guys are gone, you start to realize that someone has to tend to the tradition. I recognize that I have some responsibility to keep the music alive, and it's a pretty honorable position to be in.

Interesting Facts about Eric Clapton

1. His maternal grandparents, who raised him, had the surname Clapp. His mother was born when his grandmother was married to a man with the surname Clapton. It has been the source of much confusion about Clapton's real surname.
2. On March 10, 1991, 4-year-old Conor Clapton died after falling out a window of his mother's 53rd-floor apartment. Eric Clapton's Grammy-winning song "Tears in Heaven" was dedicated to the memory of his son.
3. He had a daughter, Ruth, with Yvonne Kelly in 1986. It was made public in 1993.
4. In 1996, he became linked to the singer Sheryl Crow.
5. His son Conor, by Lory Del Santo, was born August, 21, 1986. At the time, Clapton was still married to Pattie Boyd.
6. According to the August 1998 issue of the British music magazine "Q", Clapton ranks #10 on the list of the 100 richest rock stars, with an estimated fortune of over £75m.
7. He was a member of The Yardbirds, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, and Derek & The Dominos.
8. He played the guitar solo on the song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles, creating a precedent. No other guitarist from outside the band performed on a song by the band.
9. George Harrison was married to model Pattie Boyd from 1966 to 1977. Clapton fell in love with Boyd, and wrote "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" about her. She left Harrison for Clapton, and they were married from 1979 to 1989. Harrison and Clapton referred to each other as "husbands-in-law".
10. His guitars of choice include a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Standard.
11. His daughter Julie Rose was born June 13, 2001.
12. On January 1, 2002, Eric Clapton and Melia McEnery were married at a church near his home in Surrey, England. Guests were told they were attending the christening of the couple's six-month-old daughter, Julie Rose. After Julie Rose and Clapton's 16-year-old daughter, Ruth, were baptized, the vicar called Clapton and McEnery to the front, and they exchanged wedding vows.
13. He played guitar along with original James Bond guitarist Vic Flick on Michael Kamen's theme for Licence to Kill (1989). The duo were filmed "playing" in various London locations for the expected video. However, the producers decided to opt for a song, sung by Gladys Knight, and the Clapton/Flick instrumental has never been released.
14. He is the only artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: in 1992 as a member of The Yardbirds, in 1993 as a member of Cream, and in 2000 as a solo performer.
15. He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1995 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to music.
16. His daughter Ella Mae was born January 14, 2003.
17. In July 2001, he was voted the South East's best guitarist in Total Guitar Magazine's poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists.
18. Stephen Stills asked him to join Crosby Stills & Nash so that he could help beef up their sound in concert. He refused because he was in the middle of forming Blind Faith with Steve Winwood.
19. He was on the short list of guitarists to replace Brian Jones in The Rolling Stones.
20. In 1969, played with John Lennon and Yoko Ono's The Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Pop Festival. Other members included Klaus Voormann on bass and Alan White on drums.