Highlights From ‘Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars’ Showtime Documentary
Showtime’s insightful documentary on Eric Clapton is quite impactful. The documentary uses photos, interviews with famous friends and previously unreleased video footage to let fans see an entirely different side of Clapton. Here were a few things we learned after watching this documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDIcW-0dFt4
He Became Interested In The Blues As A Youngster
Clapton was abandoned by his mother and raised by his grandparents. He first heard blue music on a BBC Children’s show. The show played a vareity of musical styles for listeners and when he first heard the blues he remembered thinking ‘this is for me…it took all the pain away’.
He Wanted To Avoid the Trappings Of A Career Based On Pop Hits
When the Yardbirds were on a bill with the Beatles, who were very popular at the time, Clapton noticed how impossible it was for The Beatles to play effectively with their adoring fans screaming non-stop. He never wanted things to go that way in his career. When Yardbirds had a hit with ‘For Your Love’ he noticed things in the band begin to change & he decided to leave the band.
Clapton Pioneered Guitar Techniques AND Recording Techniques
Clapton was not a ‘put the mic a few inches in front of the speaker’ player. He insisted on moving the mics around to capture the sound and feeling of the room he was playhing in. He felt that best approxmiated the feeling at a live show. This specification was an unorthodox recording technique at the time, but it began to become widely accepted and used.
Cream’s Run Ended Because Of The Tension Beteween Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker
Although Clapton was one to jump from band to band, Cream disolved because Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker were in a fight every single day.
A Persian Story Inspired ‘Layla’
While Clapton was trying to convince George Harrison’s wife Pattie to leave George for him and she continually rebuffed him, Clapton begin reading a story called Layla and Majnum. He saw himself in the tragic story of love. The tale and his feelings for Pattie inspired the beginning of that tune that became ‘Layla’.
Eric’s Alcohol Addiction Was Worse Than Heroin
After Clapton’s grandfather (who raised him) died, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. The alcohol addiction was the worst and it turned him into a person that he was not proud of. He blames his raciast comments during a show in 1976 on his alcohol addiction.
