Slowhand brings his band to the Baltics

  • 2013-05-15
  • By TBT Staff

KAUNAS - Celebrating 50 years as a professional musician, Eric Clapton announced a limited number of 2013 European concerts including shows in Kaunas and Riga, on June 4-5. After signing with the Yardbirds in 1963, Clapton began a career as a professional musician that has seen numerous bands, an abundance of albums, countless worldwide sold-out shows, an impressive array of accolades, unwavering critical acclaim and his consistent display of legendary guitar work. These concerts will mark his return to the stage after spending 2012 in the studio working on a new album to be released in early 2013.

Eric Patrick Clapton, (born March 30, 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and fourth in Gibson’s “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.”

In the mid-1960s, Clapton left the Yardbirds to play blues with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. In his one-year stay with Mayall, Clapton gained the nickname “Slowhand.” Immediately after leaving Mayall, Clapton joined Cream, a power trio with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and “arty, blues-based psychedelic pop.” For most of the 1970s, Clapton’s output bore the influence of the mellow style of J.J. Cale and the reggae of Bob Marley. His version of Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” helped reggae reach a mass market. Two of his most popular recordings were “Layla,” recorded by Derek and the Dominos, another band he formed, and Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” recorded by Cream.

In 1987, with the help of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Clapton finally quit drinking and has remained sober ever since. Being sober for the first time in his adult life allowed Clapton to achieve the kind of personal happiness he had never known before.
Following the death of his son Conor in 1991, Clapton’s grief was expressed in the song “Tears in Heaven,” which featured in his Unplugged album.

In 1998, Clapton, a recovered alcoholic and drug addict, founded the Crossroads Center on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.
A recipient of 17 Grammy Awards, and the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, in 2004 Clapton was awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music.

However, perhaps the most impressive achievement of Clapton’s recent life is that he has finally moved past his days of drug addiction, alcoholism and womanizing, and settled into a happy and stable family life. “I am very happy,” he said in a recent interview. “I think I’ve found a way to live as a result of all these near disasters, which keeps me remembering how fortunate I am and how lucky I am and how much of a responsibility I have to stay the way I am right now.”
Ranked the fourth greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, Clapton continues to record music and tour relentlessly while also performing extensive charity work.

Clapton has assembled an impressive band for the 2013 dates, which will consist of long-time touring partners: Doyle Bramhall II (guitar), Steve Jordan (drums), Chris Stainton (piano and keyboards), and Willie Weeks (bass), along with newcomers Paul Carrack (organ and keyboards) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar). Michelle John and Sharon White will join the touring band again as backing vocalists.

Everyone has his or her favorite guitar hero, but when it comes to blues-rock, you have to give it up for Eric Clapton.

Eric Clapton
June 4 - Zalgiris Arena, Kaunas
June 5 – Arena Riga
For more information and tickets please go to: www.ticketpro.lt or www.ticketpro.lv