Purchase
The Autobiography
Broadway
October 2007
On Sale: October 9, 2007
352 pages
ISBN: 038551851X
EAN: 9780385518512
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography
“I found a pattern in my behavior that had been repeating
itself for years, decades even. Bad choices were my
specialty, and if something honest and decent came along, I
would shun it or run the other way.†With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the
story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant
and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an
icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well
known for his reserve in a profession marked by
self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles,
for the first time, his remarkable personal and professional
journeys. Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents,
Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine,
believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early
teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent
would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and
inspire devoted fans to scrawl “Clapton is God†on the walls
of London’s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the
world's first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar,
but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two
years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and
Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived
but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history,
including the classic “Layla.†During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi
Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling
Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while
working with the latter that he fell for George’s wife,
Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the
depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug
addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his
addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean
Boulevard, with its massive hit “I Shot the Sheriff.†He
followed that with the platinum album Slowhand, which
included “Wonderful Tonight,†the touching love song to
Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1979. A short
time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol
as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that
not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the
eventual breakup of his marriage.
In the eighties he would battle and begin his recovery from
alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was
coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His
beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident.
At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy
by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much
stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the
achingly beautiful “Tears in Heaven.†Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man
who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite
extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling
memoirs of our time.
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