Eric Clapton
 Legendary guitarist Eric
Clapton was born in Ripley, England on March 30, 1945. Raised by his
grandmother, Clapton fell in love with the blues at an early age,
and began playing guitar at age 15. Clapton performed in pubs as a
teenager before dropping out of the Kingston College of Art in 1962
to pursue a career in music. The young musician moved to London, where
he struggled to make a living, performing for a short time with a
party band called The Roosters. Clapton soon found a spot in the more
established R&B/rock band The Yardbirds, who had an engagement
at the Crawdaddy Club, where the Rolling Stones had begun their career.
After releasing two successful albums with the group, 1964's Five
Live Yardbirds and 1965's For Your Love (whose title track
reached No. 3 in Britain), Clapton parted ways with the Yardbirds
to join a band called John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. (The Yardbirds
replaced Clapton with Jeff Beck, and later Jimmy Page.)
Though Mayall himself was a respected figure in the British blues
scene, Clapton, now nicknamed "Slowhand," brought new attention
to the Bluesbreakers. "Clapton Is God" graffiti began appearing
in London, and the group the Bluesbreakers got a new record contract
with Decca; their eponymous 1966 debut reached No. 6 in the
U.K. Soon dissatisfied with Mayall's domineering nature, Clapton,
bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker broke away from Mayall
in the summer of 1966 to form a new blues-rock band called Cream.
1.graffito: (pl -ti) n. 乱画, 粗糙雕刻
2.eponymous: adj. 齐名的
Thanks to its members' established reputations as talented
musicians, Cream had a devoted following as soon as it began. After
releasing 1966's Fresh Cream, the psychedelic blues-rock
group toured the U.S., where Clapton was already renown for his
skilled guitar technique. After releasing Disraeli Gears
and Wheel of Fire (which went platinum within a year of its
release), Cream had become internationally famous, thanks to radio
hits such as "White Room," and "Sunshine of Your Love." Unfortunately
Clapton and Jack Bruce began feuding, their growing ego conflict
breaking up the band in 1968. Their posthumous release Goodbye
reached No. 2 in the U.S., hinting at what might have been.
1.psychedelic: adj. 起幻觉的, 迷幻的 n. 迷幻剂
Less than six months after leaving Cream, Clapton already formed
a new band, Blind Faith, composed of Clapton, Ginger Baker, ex-Family
bassist Rick Grech and ex-Traffic keyboardist Steve Winwood. The
"supergroup" debuted at a free concert in London's Hyde Park in
June 1969, playing to over 100,000 fans. Their eponymous debut was
released the following month and quickly became a hit. Unfortunately
the band's first U.S. tour, an instant sell out, was their last,
as members struggled over artistic direction. By the time the tour
was over, Blind Faith decided to call it quits.
Temporarily without a band, Clapton became a highly sought-after
session musician. Not long after returning to Britain, Clapton was
asked by John Lennon to perform with his Plastic Ono Band at a September
1969 charity concert in Toronto. Clapton also performed with the
group at a December 1969 appearance in London, and contributed guitar
to their infamous "Cold Turkey" single. Meanwhile, Slowhand also
contributed his talents to the band Delaney and Bonnie, accompanying
them on several tours. By early 1970 Clapton had completed his first
solo album, using Delaney Bramlett's backing band and writing several
songs with Bramlett; the eponymous album became a hit thanks to
the Top 40 single "After Midnight."
Despite being a world-famous guitarist, Clapton still didn't like
the idea of being a solo performer. While contributing to his friend
George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass in early 1970,
Clapton fell in love with Harrison's wife, Patti, began using heroin,
and formed a new group, Derek and the Dominos. Featuring Clapton
and most of Delany and Bonnie's band, the band toured Britain before
releasing their debut record, Layla and Other Love Songs,
a double album, later that year; the single, a tribute to George
Harrison's wife, became a Top 10 hit. Following a U.S. tour and
another string of U.K. dates, the group broke up while recording
their follow-up, too consumed with drugs to prepare a proper album.
For the next two years, Clapton retired from music, a full-time
heroin addict. Even while not actively performing, Clapton's
stature grew, largely thanks to the 1972 compilation
The History of Eric Clapton, which featured material from
all of his previous bands. Finally overcoming his drug habit, Clapton
staged a comeback in January 1973 with a performance at the Rainbow
Theatre in London, commemorated on a live album. Clapton
returned to recording with 1974's 461 Ocean Boulevard, which
spawned the No. 1 single "I Shot the Sheriff," a Bob Marley cover.
The hastily-recorded follow-up There's One in Every Crowd
went gold, though it did not chart. After collaborating with The
Band for 1976's No Reason to Cry, Clapton returned to the
charts with 1977's Slowhand, which went platinum thanks to
hits like "Cocaine" and "Wonderful Tonight."
1.addict: vt. 使沉溺, 使上瘾 n. 入迷的人, 有瘾的人
2.stature: n. 身高, 身材, (精神、道德等的)高度
3.compilation:n. 编辑
4.commemorate: vt. 纪念
Following the release of the 1977 album Backless, Clapton
married Patti Harrison, who had recently divorced George, and continued
performing live. Although he had kicked heroin, Clapton remained
an alcoholic, and his career began to go downhill. His 1981
album Another Ticket was rejected by Polydor, who forced
the guitarist to re-record it with a new producer. Because this
was Clapton's last album under his contract with the label, Polydor
did not promote it; during a tour to support the album, Clapton
collapsed onstage in Wisconsin, nearly dead from pleurisy
and alcohol-related ulceration of his digestive tract.
Amazingly, Another Ticket reached the Top 10 thanks to the
hit single "I Can't Stand It," and Clapton recovered from his medical
problems and alcohol dependence, signing a new deal with Warner
Brothers. After releasing the blues-oriented Money and Cigarettes
in 1983, Clapton recorded a follow-up, Behind the Sun. Unfortunately
Warner Brothers was unhappy with the album and practically re-wrote
it for Clapton, bringing in a new producer, professional songwriters,
and a new backing band. The radio- oriented result, released in
1985, was only a minor success. Clapton separated from his Patti,
whom he formally divorced in 1988.
1.alcoholic: adj. 含酒精的 n. 酗酒者, 酒鬼 2.pleurisy:
n. [医] 肋膜炎, 胸膜炎
3.ulceration: n. 溃疡
4.digestive: adj. 消化的, 有助消化的
5.tract: n. 广阔的地面, 土地, 地方, 地域, (解剖)管道, 小册子
After the birth of his son, Connor, in August 1986, to an Italian
model, Clapton released August, which featured contributions
from Phil Collins and Tina Turner, yet failed to sell well. Clapton's
sagging career received a huge boost from the 1988 release
of Crossroads, a boxed retrospective of Slowhand's
life output. 1989's Journeyman marked a return to Clapton's
earlier, blues-influenced style, but his comeback was cut short
when his beloved son was killed in an accidental fall in March 1991.
While still mourning, Clapton prepared a soundtrack for the 1992
film Rush, which featured the hit tribute single "Tears in
Heaven."
1.sag: v. 松弛, 下陷, 下垂, (物价)下跌, 漂流 n. 下垂, 下陷, 物价下跌,
随风漂流, 垂度
2.retrospective: adj. 回顾的
His career invigorated by "Tears in Heaven," Clapton made
an appearance on MTV Unplugged. The resulting album was released
in August 1992 and became an instant smash, selling over seven million
copies in the U.S. alone and winning Clapton six Grammies. Riding
on his return to star status, Clapton released 1994's From the
Cradle, an album of blues standards he had long wanted to record;
the effort won him four Grammies. His performance of the Babyface-written
"Change the World" on the 1996 Phenomenon soundtrack earned
Clapton yet another Grammy.
1.invigorate: v. 鼓舞
In a bizarre twist, Clapton then took time off from his solo career
to work with British trip-hop producer Simon Climie, releasing the
1997 techno album Retail Therapy as the duo T.D.F., where
Clapton himself is referred to as "X-Sample."
Clapton returned to his roots for the 2000 release, Riding With
The King, a collaboration with the great blues guitarist
B.B. King
1.collaboration: n. 协作, 通敌
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