Eric Clapton - Son, Songs & Bands

Who Is Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton was a prominent member of The Yardbirds and Cream before achieving success as a solo artist. Considered one of the greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all time, he is known for such classic songs as "Layla," "Crossroads" and "Wonderful Tonight."

Early Life

Eric Patrick Clapton was born March 30, 1945, in Ripley, Surrey, England. Clapton's mother, Patricia Molly Clapton, was only 16 years old at the time of his birth; his father, Edward Walter Fryer, was a 24-year-old Canadian soldier stationed in the United Kingdom during World War II. Fryer returned to Canada, where he was already married to another woman, before Clapton's birth.

As a single teenage mother, Patricia Clapton was unprepared to raise a child on her own, so her mother and stepfather, Rose and Jack Clapp, raised Clapton as their own. Although they never legally adopted him, Clapton grew up under the impression that his grandparents were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Clapton's last name comes from his grandfather, Patricia's father, Reginald Cecil Clapton.

Clapton grew up in a very musical household. His grandmother was a skilled pianist, and his mother and uncle both enjoyed listening to big-band music. As it turns out, Clapton's absent father was also a talented pianist who had played in several dance bands while stationed in Surrey. Around the age of eight, Clapton discovered the earth-shattering truth that the people he believed were his parents were actually his grandparents and that the woman he considered his older sister was in fact his mother. Clapton later recalled, "The truth dawned on me, that when Uncle Adrian jokingly called me a little bastard, he was telling the truth."

The young Clapton, until then a good student and well-liked boy, grew sullen and reserved and lost all motivation to do his schoolwork. He describes a moment shortly after learning the news of his parentage: "I was playing around with my grandma's compact, with a little mirror you know, and I saw myself in two mirrors for the first time and I don't know about you but it was like hearing your voice on a tape machine for the first... and I didn't, I, I was so upset. I saw a receding chin and a broken nose and I thought my life is over." Clapton failed the important 11-plus exams that determine admission to secondary school. However, he showed a high aptitude for art, so at the age of 13 he enrolled in the art branch of the Holyfield Road School.