Eric Clapton, enough said.  To some, he is a great musician, to others a survivor, and even to some in Britain, he is God, but he didn’t just reach this golden path to divine status right out of the womb.  His path was a long and tortuous one, for he had many terrible demons with which to deal.  Luckily for him, he had a passion burning inside him to play music and it always brought him back to the high road.  His life has resonated with many people throughout the world, because if he can move on throughout all of the pain he suffered to create beautiful music, then anyone can overcome hardships and achieve success.  The life of Eric Clapton has inspired generations with his 50 year tenure of being “Slowhand the God.”  His roller coaster career has inspired people through his music, the conquering of inner demons, and the public services he has committed to those less fortunate.  The combination of all of these aspects of his life is why he is held in the high regard he is today.

No one can think of Eric Clapton without thinking of the guitar.  He has been in the music business for 50 years and many of his songs will live on for generations after his death.  Helping to bring psychedelic, reggae, and most of all blues rock to the popular music scene he, and the many bands of which he was a part, introduced a whole new perspective into music.  He has never stopped moving forward, contributing to the bands the Yardbirds, Cream, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes, along with his long solo career.  He loves music and has worked hard to keep himself in the popular eye.  His passion for music can be heard through his songs, and it is something that can never be explained in plain writing.  On his devotion to this craft, Clapton has said, “I found my God in music and the arts… In some way, in some form, my God was always there, but now I have learned to talk to him,” (Clapton, 46).  This communication to God can be felt and believed through his music.  His favorite device to make contact with God is the blues.  There has always been a taste of the blues in his music and he has been part of the reason it is still enjoyed today, but he has also helped lesser genres come to the forefront of the music industry.  When he was a member of Cream, psychedelic rock was brought to the front line and he was able to keep up with the great Jimi Hendrix during that time.  Without his cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” reggae wouldn’t be as famous as it is today.  He was able to help Bob Marley achieve the fame he still has now, even after his death.  Even with the changes in music throughout the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, “Clapton” was able to keep himself a household name through the decades.

If people know about Clapton’s music, then they of course know the dark demons he has faced throughout his life.  If one listens his most famous songs, they can tell what experiences drove his lyrics.  In his most famous song, “Layla,” he describes his love for his best friend’s wife, Pattie Boyd.  He had very deep feelings for her but kept himself out of her proximity because she was married to his longtime friend, George Harrison.  He and Pattie eventually married which showed that people could achieve anything if they put their heart to it.  The most emotional song that Clapton wrote was of course, “Tears in Heaven.”  He wrote this song after an event from which many people thought Clapton could never recover.  Conor Clapton, his son, had fallen out of the window of a 53 story high apartment.  Conor was just four years old and Eric cherished him.  Eric went to pick him up at the apartment that day and arrived to a scene he could barely handle.  Even though Eric was destroyed, he came back 10 months later with a song that touched everyone’s hearts.  Heart strings were tugged when he sung “Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven?” He, of course, is talking to Conor and asking if whether or not he would know who he is and if he loves him, because he was so young when he died.  This song showed that death is not the end of things and that people can move past crises and tragic events that can stop them in their tracks.  Clapton went on to have many more successes. 

One of the most challenging things that Clapton faced was not something he wrote songs about.  He has faced serious addictions in his life, primarily to heroin and alcohol.  Although he endured one bout of heroin and recurring addiction to alcohol, Clapton has finally been able to not only stay in recovery, but also move on in his career.  Heroin, his first addiction, had slowly creeped into his life but eventually controlled every aspect of it.  “In that time that immediately followed I sank into new lows… that [his girlfriend] was giving me everything she was able to score… she too had now become a recluse,” (Clapton 140).  He not only had drug himself into addiction, but also cloistered his girlfriend in this lifestyle.  Luckily, after being confronted by her father, both Clapton and his girlfriend were able to find a rehab center to help them kick the addiction.  In the 70’s, when many people around him were immersed in heavy drinking, Clapton had sunk into the pit of alcoholism.  This ruined his relationship with his wife at the time, who was the one and only “Layla,” Pattie Boyd.  Clapton had tried many times to find recovery, but found himself continually falling back into addiction.  Eventually, his good friend at the time, Roger Forrester, had taken him to a rehab center where he felt he finally confronted his alcoholism, at least for a while.  He then slowly convinced himself that his addiction was not a big problem, allowing his alcoholism to creep back into his life.  Clapton was finally inspired to commit to sobriety when he learned he was going to be a father to a new son, Conor Clapton.  He began a 12 step program for his son and has been sober ever since, even remaining drug and alcohol free after Conor’s death.

After all of his addiction and pain, Clapton had decided to give back to the community for supporting him through all of his troubles.   He has used his reputation and wealth to help many people also kick addiction.  His philanthropy has created the Crossroads Center on Antigua in the Caribbean.  He chose to do this, because “It seemed like the perfect antidote to the toxicity of my love life, and I was excited by the idea of doing something to pay back for all the good times and spiritual healing I’d got in Antigua.”  The center has worked to eradicate the epidemic of addition that has spread throughout the islands in the area. It has been standing since 1998 and has been able to help both those from the western countries and the Caribbean locals in the area.  Not only has Clapton inspired those to overcome hardship by his own example, but he has also been able to contribute time and money to help people overcome their own problems.

Eric Clapton has been a large figure throughout his entire life.  He has become a household name, known primarily for his music, but also because of the public challenges he has faced.  The high and low points in his life have helped to make him famous, but his experiences and the music he created has helped many people find inspiration to improve their own lives and to overcome their own challenges. His 50 year journey has been inspiring to people of many generations, from the baby boomers to the millennials.  He has done this through his timeless music, the conquering of his inner demons, and his philanthropy to give others hope and recovery.  This is why, if one walk through the streets in London he or she can find a brick wall with words made of spray paint, saying “Clapton is God.”