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Clapton is God: The Eric Clapton Thread


SteveAJones

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Eric Clapton's four year-old son, Conor, fell to his death through an open window of the Galleria Condominiums at 117 East 57th Street. Lori del Santo's face darkens when she talks about what happened on the day of the tragedy in her friend's apartment on New York's 57th Street, where she was due to stay for a month. The pain is visible on her face and her voice drops to barely a whisper.

'The night before I put Conor to bed. He was pretending to be asleep but when I went to bed, he jumped in with me - he was so excited about the day he'd had with his Daddy. We began the next day with the same excitement. Conor was full of talk about the elephants he had seen with his Daddy at the circus the day before. Eric was coming to collect us and take us to Central Zoo. Conor was in his room still wearing his pajamas - he wouldn't go to sleep in any others. He was playing with his nanny and I heard him talking and shouting happily. I was having a bath and getting changed ready to go to the zoo. It was 11am and I shouted to him from the bathroom to hurry up and he shouted back happily back, "In a minute,"'

'That day the apartment block janitor was in the apartment cleaning. I told the nanny and the maid not to leave Conor alone for one second. I came out of the bathroom and heard the fax ring. I stopped to check it and after discovering that it was an estimate for some repair work, I started to compare it with others. I was there for 15 minutes, during which time I heard Conor suddenly start running as he decided to play hide and seek.'

'I heard the nanny and she was running right behind him. But as Conor run into the room where the janitor was cleaning, the janitor stopped her to tell here that he had slid open the window - a huge wall of glass. In the second she stopped to listen to what he was saying, Conor ran straight through the window. I heard a dreadful scream but it wasn't Conor. It was the nanny, I ran into the room, shouting more and more hysterically, "Where's Conor, where's Conor?" Then I saw the open window and I understood at once. I felt all my strength leave me and I collapsed on the floor.'

'Eric arrived five minutes later, not realizing Conor had fallen to the street below. He came into the bedroom and I screamed, "He's dead." His eyes went dark and he said, "Dead, he's dead. It's impossible." He found it hard to believe at first. Then his face turned to stone; it was like a film. We said absolutely nothing to each other. I just stopped functioning.'

'The glass was about 4ft by 6ft tall and as we were staying there temporarily, I never knew it was even possible to open it. It wasn't a window, but like a glass wall which was never, even meant to be opened. It was kept permanently locked, but the lock was broken and for some incomprehensible reason, janitor swung it open to let in some fresh air. It had a wooden ledge a foot off the ground. Our son must have thought the glass was still there when he jumped on to the low ledge a foot of the ground. At first first I wanted to kill the janitor. He had no common sense. He never even asked for forgiveness later.'

'I kept thinking of ifs... if I hadn't stopped to read the fax, I would have seen the window open and closed it. From that moment on I ceased to live. The concierge called the ambulance but obviously there was no hope. Eric went to see him at the mortuary, but I just couldn't.'

6299_124665228167.jpg

claptonconor.jpg

In Eric Clapton: The Autobiography, Clapton recalls the night prior to Conor's death, having taken him to the circus alone for their first father-son outing alone. Clapton writes that the joy of being able to care for his son alone made him decide that when in New York he wanted to spend more one-on-one time with Conor.

Clapton went on to say, "The following morning I was up early, ready to walk crosstown from my hotel to pick up (Conor's mother, model Lori del Santo) and Conor to take them to the Central Park Zoo... The phone rang and it was Lori. She was hysterical, screaming that Conor was dead. I thought to myself, 'This is ridiculous. How can he be dead?' and I asked her the silliest question, 'Are you sure?' And then she told me that he'd fallen out of the window. She was beside herself. Screaming. I said, 'I'll be right there.'"

After witnessing the emergency scene outside the luxury apartment building where Conor had fallen 49 floors, he spared Del Santo the horror of identifying the boy in the morgue: "I had to go and identify him on my own. Whatever physical damage he had suffered in the fall, by the time I saw him they had restored his body to some normality. As I looked at his beautiful face in repose, I remember thinking, 'This isn't my son. It looks a bit like him, but he's gone.'"

Clapton went on to say that Keith Richards made a concerted effort to be there for him while in mourning: "There were thousands of letters for me to read, written from all over the world. One of the first I opened was from Keith Richards; it just said, 'If there's anything I can do, just let me know.' I'll always be grateful for that."

In 1992, "Tears In Heaven," which was featured on the 1992 Rush film soundtrack, peaked at Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100. The next year, "Tears In Heaven" went on to win three Grammy awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year.

Clapton's 1998 album Pilgrim features a song about his final night with Conor, "Circus." When MTV originally released EC's "Unplugged" performance some FM radio stations simulcasted it. Clapton had played this song during the set for the original television broadcast but it wasn't released on the video or cd until a studio version showed up on "Pilgrim". It seems EC thought it was still too personal and he'd performed it solely for himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7lQlOslXwk&feature=related

Little man with his eyes on fire

And his smile so bright.

In his hands are the toys you gave

To fill his heart with delight.

And in the ring stands a circus clown

Holding up a knife.

What you see and what you will hear

Will last you for the rest of your life.

And it's sad, so sad,

There ain't no easy way round.

And it's sad, so sad,

All your friends gather round

'Cause the circus left town.

Little man with his heart so pure

And his love so fine.

Stick with me and I'll ride with you

Till the end of the line.

Hold my hand and I'll walk with you

Through the darkest night.

And when I smile I'll be thinking of you

And everything will be all right.

Chorus

Chorus

The circus left town, left town.

The circus left town, left town.

Edited by SteveAJones
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Sit down and listen to the entire body of work Led Zeppelin did from beginning to end, Page was a visionary. Page changed the goal posts and set the standard. Clapton is good at what he does, but let’s be honest; it’s not particularly difficult, or visionary for that matter. Even on Coverdale/Page, Jimmy had more exciting moments then Clapton has done in the last 30 years.

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I haven't been as big a fan of the post 70's stuff either, but I still appreciate him- the Crossroads DVD's are great (as is his biography) and he continues to turn me on to new acts. BTW, his place (very nice) in central Ohio is only about 5 miles from my place (I saw one of his classic Ford's in his driveway the day of one of the Columbus shows a couple years ago- turns out he drove that one to the gig!)- also saw him at a pumpkin patch with his family and enjoyed a chili dog from one table away (never approached him out of respect)- I was verklempt for weeks...

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Sit down and listen to the entire body of work Led Zeppelin did from beginning to end, Page was a visionary. Page changed the goal posts and set the standard. Clapton is good at what he does, but let's be honest; it's not particularly difficult, or visionary for that matter. Even on Coverdale/Page, Jimmy had more exciting moments then Clapton has done in the last 30 years.

Page was but he reached his artistic zenith in November 1975 and comparing his body of work to EC's since then doesn't reflect favorably on him.

People can prefer Page to Clapton or Clapton to Page, it doesn't matter. All I've taken exception to is this idea Clapton is not in the same league.

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I missed him when He came over here The tickets cost too much and I was not able to get enough money together(Recession)

Anyhow imo His work with cream was best.

I had actually snuck into the war memorial garage in the 80s and we thought we were in. It was sold out. Guards were on to us and we were hiding behind some bleachers. They had clubs. I jumped over them all and ran out to safety. A buddy I would never see again, was not so lucky as he took a billy club to the ribs. So Clapton I never saw live. I loved his performance at Live Aid. Layla. He is great, but is not Page. Not as good as Page. No way.

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The way I see it, Jimmy Page can do what Clapton does anytime he so chooses, Clapton on the other hand in my view was never capable, is not capable, nor will he ever be capable of doing what Page does. Page is God, Clapton is just a guy who plays boring guitar.

:slapface:

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Besides, this is a thread about Clapton, not to bash him.

Exactly!

It seems people see the name of someone they don't like and feel the need to pounce. Even more, if you don't agree with them, they get nasty and cut you down for your point of view. It's ok to disagree, but to be nasty about it really makes sites like these a lot less fun.

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Exactly!

It seems people see the name of someone they don't like and feel the need to pounce. Even more, if you don't agree with them, they get nasty and cut you down for your point of view. It's ok to disagree, but to be nasty about it really makes sites like these a lot less fun.

Concerning your comments on Cobain, I'd say this is a very clear cut case of the pot calling the kettle black.

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Concerning your comments on Cobain, I'd say this is a very clear cut case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Sorry I made you mad dude. Truce!

I may have been harsh about Cobain, but I never said people were wrong for liking him. That's the point I was trying to make above. People can like whoever they want. I expressed my opinion about Cobain. I never said everyone had to agree with it to be right.

I apologize for offending you. I don't feel like getting in a forum fight. Too many of those. I actually like your posts and point of views and don't want this to get stupid and drag out. I hope you accept my truce and we can continue to have fun talking about music.

Edited by BlackDog71
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6299_120649605273.jpg

Eric Clapton's four year-old son, Conor, fell to his death through an open window of the Galleria Condominiums at 117 East 57th Street. Lori del Santo's face darkens when she talks about what happened on the day of the tragedy in her friend's apartment on New York's 57th Street, where she was due to stay for a month. The pain is visible on her face and her voice drops to barely a whisper.

'The night before I put Conor to bed. He was pretending to be asleep but when I went to bed, he jumped in with me - he was so excited about the day he'd had with his Daddy. We began the next day with the same excitement. Conor was full of talk about the elephants he had seen with his Daddy at the circus the day before. Eric was coming to collect us and take us to Central Zoo. Conor was in his room still wearing his pajamas - he wouldn't go to sleep in any others. He was playing with his nanny and I heard him talking and shouting happily. I was having a bath and getting changed ready to go to the zoo. It was 11am and I shouted to him from the bathroom to hurry up and he shouted back happily back, "In a minute,"'

'That day the apartment block janitor was in the apartment cleaning. I told the nanny and the maid not to leave Conor alone for one second. I came out of the bathroom and heard the fax ring. I stopped to check it and after discovering that it was an estimate for some repair work, I started to compare it with others. I was there for 15 minutes, during which time I heard Conor suddenly start running as he decided to play hide and seek.'

'I heard the nanny and she was running right behind him. But as Conor run into the room where the janitor was cleaning, the janitor stopped her to tell here that he had slid open the window - a huge wall of glass. In the second she stopped to listen to what he was saying, Conor ran straight through the window. I heard a dreadful scream but it wasn't Conor. It was the nanny, I ran into the room, shouting more and more hysterically, "Where's Conor, where's Conor?" Then I saw the open window and I understood at once. I felt all my strength leave me and I collapsed on the floor.'

'Eric arrived five minutes later, not realizing Conor had fallen to the street below. He came into the bedroom and I screamed, "He's dead." His eyes went dark and he said, "Dead, he's dead. It's impossible." He found it hard to believe at first. Then his face turned to stone; it was like a film. We said absolutely nothing to each other. I just stopped functioning.'

'The glass was about 4ft by 6ft tall and as we were staying there temporarily, I never knew it was even possible to open it. It wasn't a window, but like a glass wall which was never, even meant to be opened. It was kept permanently locked, but the lock was broken and for some incomprehensible reason, janitor swung it open to let in some fresh air. It had a wooden ledge a foot off the ground. Our son must have thought the glass was still there when he jumped on to the low ledge a foot of the ground. At first first I wanted to kill the janitor. He had no common sense. He never even asked for forgiveness later.'

'I kept thinking of ifs... if I hadn't stopped to read the fax, I would have seen the window open and closed it. From that moment on I ceased to live. The concierge called the ambulance but obviously there was no hope. Eric went to see him at the mortuary, but I just couldn't.'

6299_124665228167.jpg

claptonconor.jpg

In Eric Clapton: The Autobiography, Clapton recalls the night prior to Conor's death, having taken him to the circus alone for their first father-son outing alone. Clapton writes that the joy of being able to care for his son alone made him decide that when in New York he wanted to spend more one-on-one time with Conor.

Clapton went on to say, "The following morning I was up early, ready to walk crosstown from my hotel to pick up (Conor's mother, model Lori del Santo) and Conor to take them to the Central Park Zoo... The phone rang and it was Lori. She was hysterical, screaming that Conor was dead. I thought to myself, 'This is ridiculous. How can he be dead?' and I asked her the silliest question, 'Are you sure?' And then she told me that he'd fallen out of the window. She was beside herself. Screaming. I said, 'I'll be right there.'"

After witnessing the emergency scene outside the luxury apartment building where Conor had fallen 49 floors, he spared Del Santo the horror of identifying the boy in the morgue: "I had to go and identify him on my own. Whatever physical damage he had suffered in the fall, by the time I saw him they had restored his body to some normality. As I looked at his beautiful face in repose, I remember thinking, 'This isn't my son. It looks a bit like him, but he's gone.'"

Clapton went on to say that Keith Richards made a concerted effort to be there for him while in mourning: "There were thousands of letters for me to read, written from all over the world. One of the first I opened was from Keith Richards; it just said, 'If there's anything I can do, just let me know.' I'll always be grateful for that."

In 1992, "Tears In Heaven," which was featured on the 1992 Rush film soundtrack, peaked at Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100. The next year, "Tears In Heaven" went on to win three Grammy awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year.

Clapton's 1998 album Pilgrim features a song about his final night with Conor, "Circus." When MTV originally released EC's "Unplugged" performance some FM radio stations simulcasted it. Clapton had played this song during the set for the original television broadcast but it wasn't released on the video or cd until a studio version showed up on "Pilgrim". It seems EC thought it was still too personal and he'd performed it solely for himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7lQlOslXwk&feature=related

Little man with his eyes on fire

And his smile so bright.

In his hands are the toys you gave

To fill his heart with delight.

And in the ring stands a circus clown

Holding up a knife.

What you see and what you will hear

Will last you for the rest of your life.

And it's sad, so sad,

There ain't no easy way round.

And it's sad, so sad,

All your friends gather round

'Cause the circus left town.

Little man with his heart so pure

And his love so fine.

Stick with me and I'll ride with you

Till the end of the line.

Hold my hand and I'll walk with you

Through the darkest night.

And when I smile I'll be thinking of you

And everything will be all right.

Chorus

Chorus

The circus left town, left town.

The circus left town, left town.

I can't...

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Sorry I made you mad dude. Truce!

I may have been harsh about Cobain, but I never said people were wrong for liking him. That's the point I was trying to make above. People can like whoever they want. I expressed my opinion about Cobain. I never said everyone had to agree with it to be right.

I apologize for offending you. I don't feel like getting in a forum fight. Too many of those. I actually like your posts and point of views and don't want this to get stupid and drag out. I hope you accept my truce and we can continue to have fun talking about music.

At times this forum is one big fight. There are some that are at it as business as usual. I have tried to back down. But if I think someone is telling me a tale, I am going to say somethiing. so my usual "enemies", for lack of a better term, are not involved this time.

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"Clapton Blues" Box Set Due 22 November

On 22 November, Warner Brothers / Reprise will release Clapton Blues, an Eric Clapton blues box set. The five vinyl LP collection will include the three albums From The Cradle, Riding With The King and Me and Mr. Johnson along with an exclusive lithograph of the cover image photo of Eric. This edition will be priced at $124.98 (US). Additionally, a limited edition version pressed on blue vinyl will be available only from EC's official website, ericclapton.com.

Edited by SteveAJones
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Blending something, that's for sure.......

Clapton couldn't play a jazz lick if his life depended on it. However, he gets points for going outside his 'comfort zone'.

Ragtime Layla doesn't work for me (yawn), some of the other stuff they did worked much better though.

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  • 1 month later...

I got my tickets for the final date of the Clapton/Winwood Japanese tour at the Budokan in Tokyo on Sat, December 10th 2011. :hurrah:

Have a great time, Steve! I saw them in Columbus where Eric has a home and he played for his "American family". It was by far the best concert that I have ever attended.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Japan's magazine publishers are thrilled God has returned...

63638-9.jpg

Young Guitar Rock Guitar Tribute: Eric Clapton Steve Winwood

201112BeatlegJapanFrontCover.jpg

Beatleg (December 2011)

201112PlayerJapanFrontCover.jpg

Player Young Mates Music (December 2011)

20111204DigSpecialEditionJapanFrontCover.jpg

Dig Special: Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood (December 4, 2011) (Front Cover)

20111204DigSpecialEditionJapanBackCover.jpg

Dig Special: Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood (December 4, 2011) (Back Cover)

Scans courtesy Steve A. Jones Archive

Edited by SteveAJones
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