Song:I Shot The Sheriff
Album:The Cream Of Clapton
For someone who was already revered as a guitar god, Eric Clapton's reluctance to start a solo career may seem a little odd. He was finally convinced to do so with the 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard and his only number one hit I Shot The Sheriff. And his reluctance to record the Bob Marley classic borders on laughable. He thought he was disrespecting Marley when in fact the success of Clapton's cover encouraged people to listen to Marley. He was born Mar. 30, 1945 in Ripley, Surrey, England. He joined his first band The Roosters in 1962 and then joined The Yardbirds in 1963. His guitar playing was heavily influenced by Chicago blues and he became the most talked about musician in England. He left The Yardbirds just before they had their first big hit For Your Love in Mar. 1965. and joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. And this is when he started to be a big deal. He formed Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in 1966 and for the next couple of years they were huge stars. But Bruce and Baker weren't getting along and Cream split up in 1968. Clapton and Baker joined the short lived supergroup Blind Faith. While touring with Blind Faith, he became friends with Delaney Bramlett and joined Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. He actually recorded his first solo album Eric Clapton while a member of that group. Clapton's cover of JJ Cale's After Midnight reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. He still didn't want a solo career and formed Derek & The Dominos with the Delaney & Bonnie rhythm section of Bobby Whitlock on keyboards and vocals, Carl Radle on bass and Jim Gordon on drums. Of course guitarist Duane Allman was also on the album which was great. But they split up and Clapton was having heroin issues. He finally agreed to record a real solo album based on some Carl Radle demos. He told producer Tom Dowd he didn't want to record I Shot The Sheriff as a sign of respect to Bob Marley. But he was told that he was wrong and his chart topping cover made Marley a star. Of course Clapton continues to be very active. He left Polydor for Warner Bros. in the early 80s. This comp covers his Polydor recordings. I find Clapton's music uneven and too understated. But there's no question he can really swing that axe. Here's Eric Clapton performing I Shot The Sheriff on The Old Grey Whistle Test 1977.
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