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Born on the 30th of March, 1945, Eric Patrick Clapton was the son of 16 year old Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Walter Fryer, a 24 year old Canadian soldier stationed in England during the second world war. Before Eric was born, Fryer returned to Canada and his wife.

Eric’s grandmother played piano and his uncle and mother both enjoyed listening to the sounds of the big bands. His father had been a gifted musician, playing piano in several dance bands in the Surrey area.

For his thirteenth birthday, Erica as for a guitar. He found his first one difficult to play and put it aside. Then when he was sixteen he went to the Kingston College of Art. He was expelled after a year for lack of progress due to the fact the he spent his time playing guitar and listening to the blues.

In early 1963, 17 year-old Eric joined his first band, The Roosters. Following the band’s demise in August 1963, he spent one month in the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers. Before turning to music as a full-time career, he supported himself as a laborer at building sites, working alongside his grandfather, a master bricklayer and plasterer.

In October 1963, Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith recruited him to become a member of The Yardbirds because Clapton was the most talked about guitar player on the R&B pub circuit. During his 18-month tenure with The Yardbirds, he earned his nickname, Slowhand, and recorded his first albums: Five Live Yardbirds and Sonny Boy Williamson and The Yardbirds.

In April 1965, John Mayall invited Eric to join his band, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. With this group, Clapton established his reputation as a guitarist and earned his second nickname: “God”. It came from an admirer’s graffiti on the wall of London’s Islington Tube Station that boldly proclaimed “Clapton is God.”

Eric’s time with the band was turbulent and he left for a while to tour Greece with friends. Upon his return from Greece, Eric rejoined the Bluesbreakers. It was during this time that the now classic Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton was recorded. While with the Bluesbreakers, Eric also recorded a one-off four-track session with a band dubbed “The Powerhouse”. This studio band included John Paul Jones, Steve Winwood and Jack Bruce.

After leaving the Bluesbreakers for a second and final time in July 1966, Eric teamed up with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to form Cream.

Following Cream’s break-up, Clapton founded Blind Faith - rock’s first “supergroup” - with Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech. Disbanding after one album and a disastrous American tour, Eric tried to hide from his growing fame by touring as a sideman with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. While with this outfit, Eric was encouraged to sing by Delaney Bramlett. He also began composing more. A live album from the Delaney & Bonnie tour was released in 1970. Clapton’s self-titled debut was released that same year.

Eric went through further musical transformations, survived a three year heroin addicition and came back to win a Grammy in 1992 for the single “Tears in Heaven”.

One of Eric’s biggest influences is Robert Johnson. In his book “Discovering Robert Johnson”, Eric wrote “Robert Johnson to me is the most important blues musician who ever lived. He was true, absolutely, to his own vision, and as deep as I have gotten into the music over the last 30 years, I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry than I think you can find in the human voice, really. … it seemed to echo something I had always felt.”.

Blogs about Eric Clapton:

flash.popphoto.com
PopPhoto Flash: Money Can’t Buy Everything

revolution30.blogsome.com
Ken Leebow’s Business Card for the 21st Century :: CBS Sunday Morning News Interviews Eric Clapton :: November :: 2006

www.consolatio.com
Sedulia on Grief: Eric Clapton: The terrible numbness that I lived in

www.mediafuturist.com
MediaFuturist: Is this REALLY Eric Clapton playing (stretching the boundaries of fair use)

mavrixonline.com
mavrixonline.com: John Mayer Plays with Blues Legend Eric Clapton

playguitar.blogsome.com
Play Guitar :: DVD Review: Eric Clapton - Live At Montreux 1986 :: September :: 2006

Jimmy Page, guitarist of iconic band Led Zeppelin is cursing the fractured finger that has forced their long awaited reunion concert to be postponed. Apparently he tripped over a stone in the garden and came down a bit too hard and the pinky took some damage.

Led Zeppelin were due to have their first concert in 19 years after their split in 1980 at London\’s 02 Arena on the 26th of November. This has now been pushed back to December.

Jimmy Page said:

\”I didn\’t just come down on my hand, I came down on other parts of my body as well. But of course it was the hand that had a bit of an injury to it,\”

\”It\’s got a fracture in the little finger of the left hand, which is a nuisance because it\’s really needed. It\’s just going to take a little while for it to heal, that\’s all.\”

\”It\’s not permanent damage. I\’ve broken fingers before, a lot worse than this.\”

However Page is totally confident that they will manage to do the December gig:

\”We\’ll make the gig all right and we\’ll do all the rehearsals too. It\’s just going to need like two, two and a half weeks\”.

Jimmy went on to confirm that fans will be getting what they come for at the upcoming gig:

\”It\’s pretty much a lot of the songs that people would want to hear. We just got together and started playing and it started to take on its own shape, if you like,\” he said.

\”It\’s probably what you\’d want to hear, and what we want to play too, so that\’s a great, great chemistry.\”

Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin has said that he wants this to be \”one last, great show\” and insists it will not be followed by a tour.

Led Zeppelin split in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham, who choked on his own vomit following a drinking binge.

More than one million people applied for the 20,000 tickets after the reunion gig was announced.

The concert is a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, the late founder of the Atlantic Records label, who signed the group in 1968.

Plant, Page and bassist John Paul Jones, with Bonham\’s son Jason on drums, will headline the gig.

Led Zeppelin have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide and the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Blogs About Led Zeppelin:

Indie Blog Heaven
On the heels of Jimmy Page hurting his finger, thus having to cancel Led Zeppelin’s reunion show, NME have came up with a nice list of other odd rock injuries.

Blogovich
“When they unite, you’ve got the key members,” Page told Sun Media (Canada) the other day. “You can’t play it any better, as they’re the people who actually played it and wrote it in the first place . . . ”

Sound and Vision
The Legendary Band’s Original Albums Available for the First Time at All Online Music Retailers November 13

One Way Street
As someone who grew up with the band’s music, I have a primer for you kids looking to buy some Led Zep on iTunes.

Riley B. King was born on the 16th of September 1925. He grew up to become crowned \”The King of Blues\” and is widely regarding as one of the best blues musicians of all time. The initials B.B. are actually short for Blues Boy King.

Now aged 76 B.B is still actively wearing this crown - continuing to sing and play the blues with relentless passion.

He has released over fifty albums and is currently recording his latest album. He got his first break back in 1948 with an appearance on Sonny Boy Williamsons radio program on KWEM. He then managed to get a regular ten minute spot on another radio station called WDIA.

Over the years, B.B. has developed one of the world\’s most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist\’s vocabulary. His economy, his every-note-counts phrasing, has been a model for thousands of players, from Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Jeff Beck. B.B. has mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In B.B.\’s words, \”When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille.\”

BB King Related Blogs
variety.com writes:
It was in 1967 that King, already a staple in the blues world, first performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival and San Francisco’s Fillmore West.

petanqueandpastis writes:
when he played his guitar, he was amazing ! He also moved around pretty well from the waist up, with his face twisting and writhing with every note he squeezed out

West Coast Music writes:
B.B. King has encouraged and inspired so many musical artists and entertained several generations of blues fans

Professional Rock Stars writes:
B King, a dedicated Photocharity Music Angel for many years now, will also perform at the event, held in his honor

us metal band mudvayne have announced that their next album release - dubbed “By the People, For the People”, will be created by their legion of loyal fans.

By voting and submitting work through their official website, fans can help pick the track listings, submit art work and participate in the video for the first single release from the album, “Dull Boy”.

The eagerly anticipated album boasts several live recordings, demos & rarities as well as an incredible never before heard cover of the Police’s “King of Pain.”

Chad Gray, of Mudvayne, states “We have some of the greatest fans and this album is a way for us to give back to those that have supported us throughout the years”.

Mudvayne has shifted over 4 million units across the globe, claiming an incredible 6 gold certified releases. In 2005, the band were also nominated for best metal performance at the Grammy’s.

Check out this video of Mudvayne live

Other Mudvayne related news:
Interview with Mudvayne singer…..

The drumming world record, previously held at a rather respectable 101 hours , was broken on 7th october this year.

Jagjit Singh Batalvi, a renowned tabla player, tapped his way into the record books to the sound of cheers and celebrations all around the Shiromani Sikh temple, in Mississauga, Canada.

Jagjit, 29, was trained in india by two of the world’s best known tabla players, and now resides in Canada. He is currently teaching.

His world record attempt is being confirmed with the Guiness world records now.

Check out this Video Of Jagjit Singh’s Students Playing Tabla

Welcome to a new series on the PlayRecord.Net Blog. We are going to be profiling some of the greatest and most famous guitarists of all time and giving you the lowdown, links, videos and other online goodies for your inspiration and enjoyment. To kick off, we are looking at jimi Hendrix:

Born on November 27, 1942, hendrix is considered one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock music history. His first success in England, and he even played a gig down the road from PlayRecord.Net in the town of Ilkley. Unfortunately it was before the time of most of the PlayRecord.Net employees. He went on to achieve worldwide fame following his 1967 performance at the Monterey pop festival and famously headlined at the iconic 1969 woodstock Festival.

Hendrix taught himself to play the guitar and generally preferred to play a fender stratocaster guitar turned upside down (so that the right-handed guitar could be played left-handed) and restrung to suit him. This upside down left handed style is the same as adopted by kurt cobain among others. hendrix helped pioneer the technique of the feedback solo, taking something that was previously an undesirable sound and making it a cornerstone of his style.

Hendrix drew influences from blues greats such as B.B. King, muddy Waters, albert King, and T-Bone Walker, He also built upon the styles of rhythm and blues and soul guitarists curtis Mayfield, steve Cropper, and Cornell Dupree, as well as from traditional jazz.

Hendrix’s flamboyant stage persona was probably inspired by rock pioneer little Richard, who he toured with as part of “The Upsetters”. hendrix is also famously influenced by The Who’s pete Townsend who was performing in london when hendrix was starting his career there.

Hendrix strove to combine what he called “earth”, a blues, jazz, or funk driven rhythm accompaniment, with “space”, the high-pitched psychedelic sounds created by his guitar improvisations. As a record producer, hendrix also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas; he was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic and phasing effects during recording.

Hendrix was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 1992 and the uk music hall of fame in 2005. His star on the hollywood walk of fame (at 6627 hollywood Blvd.) was dedicated in 1994. In 2006, his debut album, Are You Experienced, was inducted into the united states national recording Preservation Board’s national recording Registry. rolling stone named hendrix number 1 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of All time in 2003.

Check out this Video of Jimi at Woodstock!

Other Hendrix Related Blogs:
Peter Lattman writes this Blog
Jimi Hendrix Steals the Show At Intellectual Property Auction…

drummer live 2007 is Europe’s largest public drum and percussion show.

Playing the drums is booming – more and more people are starting to play or returning to play, and this has reflected the growth and expansion of this year’s show. If you want to play the drums, drummer live 2007 is one amazing show, and one you simply cannot miss.

Following the massive turnout and incredible success of the last two years, they have moved venue from wembley to one of Europe’s largest exhibition centres, London’s ExCeL, for an even bigger and better 2007 event.

Check out this Video of Niko McBrian at Drummer Live 06

Other Drummer Live Related News:

Lotpatrol writes this blog
With a star-studded line-up for the 2007 event, this year’s show has the most exciting group of drummers ever assembled, live over two days…

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr (real name Richard Starkey) is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

All the other Beatles have already been honoured with the title, both as individuals and also as a collective, but insiders now reveal that Ringo is to be inducted in the New Year.

Ringo enjoyed significant success in the 70’s with his solo efforts - at one point out selling Paul, John & George and having 7 consecutive chart hits.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a museum in Cleveland. Artists who have had a major influence on the music industry are celebrated here.

Since 1986, a small selection of artists have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in an annual ceremony held in New York.

Inductees include Elvis Presley, U2, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, The Police & Eric Clapton.

Check Out This Video Of Ringo With Some Other Favourites

Other Ringo Star Related News:

Variety.com Writes This Blog:
Starr has seen the digital light of day, inked a deal with Capitol/EMI for new and previous recordings and opened the door for catalog compilations. He made a solid solo album in 2005, “Choose Love,” but really, has he ever topped his first single, “It Don’t Come Easy”?

Queen guitarist Brian May has paid tribute to Pavarotti who he shared the stage with at the 10th anniversary Pavarotti and Friends charity concert in 2003 in Pavarotti’s hometown of Modena, Italy. Pavarotti, 71, died on September 6th after finally losing a long battle with cancer.

“I resisted talking about my moment of singing with Luciano when I wrote my small tribute… because I didn’t want to use the occasion to do any self-advertisement. All I wanted to do was offer respects and love.” Wrote Brian on his official web site

“I see that the video of ‘Too Much Love’ [from the Pavarotti and Friends concert] has been hugely watched, yesterday and today … and that makes me feel… all the strange things that go with sadness and loss. Mixed in, there are feelings of pride and joy that this moment should have happened. Strongest of all, perhaps, is that feeling, when someone passes on, of incomprehension, and disbelief. Why? What are we meant to be learning? Why are we still here? Maybe it’s all a dream. Well, Luciano Pavarotti spun dreams for the world. A great man. A great loss. But his heavenly voice will be with us for a very long time.”

Brian had previously performed “Too Much Love Will Kill You” for Pavarotti in the very first Pavarotti and Friends concert held in 1992. Having returned to perform again just over ten years later, Pavarotti specially requested to perform the song as a duet with Brian.

Check out the video:

Other Brian May Related News:

Rik Abel writes this blog:
Rock guitar god Brian May , CBE, ARCS, FRAS, OMGWTFBBQ, has teamed up with eccentric xylophone-bothering cosmologist/celebrity astronomer Patrick Moore (and some other bloke…) to write Bang! The Complete History of the Universe…..