In a time when Guitar Hero and Rock Band are hugely popular, interactive computer games it is ironic to read the real life story of one of the biggest rock stars of all time, Eric Clapton. Clapton: The Autobiography (Broadway Books, 2007) will make you want to encourage your child not to become a rock star, ever.
Clapton is best known for his masterful guitar work and vocals on Layla, I Shot the Sheriff, Badge, Cocaine and Tears in Heaven. (Clapton wrote Layla and Tears in Heaven.) While monetarily Eric Clapton is a huge success, much of this autobiography is given over to times spent totally inebriated, barely able to perform. Clapton consumed mass quantities of cocaine, PCP, heroin and valium just to name a few of the stronger drugs he was at one time addicted to. Alcohol became his legal drug of choice and proved the hardest for him to shake. Then there are the endless women who came and went in and out of Clapton’s life. While Clapton doesn’t make mention of a sex addiction, there is ample evidence to point this way as well.
It is amazing that Eric Clapton is still alive much less able to write solidly in a convincingly British and humbled voice. Clapton’s autobiography reveals enough to feed music junkies who have followed his musical career from The Yardbirds, Derek and the Dominoes, Cream, and finally to Eric Clapton, successful solo musician and guitar god. Perhaps the best part of this musician autobiography is that it doesn’t provide too much information. We can read about the tragic and accidental death of Clapton's young son Connor and feel the sorrow of both parents, but it’s not too much detail. This restrained telling of events can also be compared to Clapton’s guitar playing. While he is a virtuoso of his instrument, Clapton has learned to restrain the showy riffs of younger and less talented musicians, and to focus on achieving incredible tone and expression.
Another entertaining aspect of Clapton’s autobiography is the list of famous friends he has had past and present who make appearances. Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, Pete Townsend, George Harrison, Ginger Baker and Phil Collins are all friends of Clapton’s. Mick Jagger at one point steals one of Eric’s girlfriends, while Eric steals a wife from George Harrison.
The Autobiography of Eric Clapton is a fun read that reveals the point of view of one of rock and roll’s greatest legends.
