A Rock Story

So . . . today I’m going to take a departure from my usual moaning and complaining about people in general to tell one of my favourite rock’n’roll stories. I’m actually amazed that it hasn’t been made into a movie yet – it would have sex, drugs, and some of the best rock music ever.

Picture this: England, 1970. Beatles have officially broken up after a long and lingering illness. All four Beatles working on their solo albums, but none would be as acclaimed as All Things Must Pass by George. The album is stunning – tons of classic tunes both well-known and less so (My Sweet Lord, What is Life, Isn’t it a Pity, Let it Roll, title track, and the list goes on). Everyone in rock music guested took part in the sessions: John, Ringo, Badfinger, Gary Wright (Dream Weaver), the drummer from Yes, Phil Collins, Billy Preston (Nothing from Nothing), Peter Frampton, Ginger Baker from Cream. And, of course, George’s best friend Eric Clapton.

Clapton at the time was between bands, having left Blind Faith the previous year. He was also addicted to heroin, which didn’t help his situation. Looking to be part of a band where he wasn’t the only star, he put together Derek and the Dominos (apparently originally called Del and the Dynamos, and changed when a concert announcer got it wrong). The band consisted of Clapton, Duane Allman (of the Allman Brothers, themselves riding a crest of success) and members of a Delaney and Williams (a band Clapton had been playing with).

And they created what is one of the greatest albums of all time: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Though most of the songs (other than the title track) don’t get much radio airplay, there are tons of great tunes (pretty much all of them). They recorded Hendrix’s “Little Wing” because he died while recording was going on. They recorded “Key to the Highway” because they heard another artist (Manfred Mann) recording it in adjacent studio. These were some talented musicians, and their album bears their credo of “no chicks, no horns.” Good, simple rock music..

So we already have the kick-ass soundtrack and I haven’t even gotten to the story yet.

Layla was inspired by a woman who had captivated Clapton and occupied all of his thoughts. Unfortunately for him, she was a woman that he couldn’t have, even as a big rock star, because she was Patti Harrison, George Harrison’s wife. He wrote Layla for her, basing it on the Persian love story “The Tale of Layla and Majnun” where a man is driven mad by his love for a woman he cannot have. Other songs are less well-coded – in the song “Have You Ever Loved A Woman,” Clapton sings “Have you ever loved a woman so much it’s a shame and a sin/All the time you know she belongs to your very best friend.”

Unfortunately for George, Clapton eventually succeeded in winning Patti’s heart, and George had the misfortune on walking in on them when they were in bed together. Distraught, George took the natural step of then going and bedding Maureen Starkey, Ringo Starr’s wife. Wait – what?

Yup, that’s what happened. Clapton’s need to requite his love broke up the marriages of two of the Beatles. Clapton ended up with Patti for about 15 years until they broke up (she also inspired the less-inspiring “Wonderful Tonight”), George re-married, Ringo re-married, Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident a year after Derek & the Dominos’ only album (they recorded some other songs intending a second album, which never materialized). Most amazingly, the friendships between Clapton and Harrison and Starr were not affected. Which speaks to how the two cuckolded men regarded their wives’ virtue (well, that and the fact that they cheated on their wives incessantly).

It would make a great movie and a killer soundtrack. Desmond from Lost could play Clapton. And if you haven’t before, listen to the album. It rocks.