Who is layla by eric clapton about

The threat was clear. Come with me or I go down another road. Pattie departed. Could things get any worse? In Britain, it failed to chart. In America, it limped into the top 20 album charts. Across the board the reviews were mixed. Clapton was devastated. In time, of course, the album would be rereleased and gain the recognition it deserved. Clapton became the first casualty. Having completed a tour of America with the Dominos, he withdrew into heroin addiction.

Duane Allman returned to his band. Less than a year later, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. Within a decade, Carl Radle would succumb to cancer — Jim Gordon to mental illness. Having played a crucial role in one of rock's greatest albums, only Bobby Whitlock would survive and prosper.

Asked about what happened to the group he said: "The band, we never really broke up. It just dissipated". What Whitlock doesn't say is that the end came one grey afternoon when a drug addled Clapton saw his old friend coming down the driveway of his home, but refused to answer the door. It's been said often enough that the great moments in rock and roll happen late at night when no-one is there, with no-one to record them.

But listening back 50 years on, the album we now call Layla tells another story. As the songs unfold, we are there late at night listening to one man's private pain unfurl, given form by a group of musicians creating a timeless piece of art. Eric Clapton always said he did not want to be a star but a part of a truly great band. With Derek and the Dominos he may have lost the girl, but he most certainly fulfilled his dream. At about the same time, one of Clapton's friends gave him a copy of "The Story of Leyla and Majnun" as written by Azerbaijani poet Nizami.

The book moved Clapton profoundly as it was the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful, unavailable woman and who went crazy because he couldn't marry her. Clapton saw the correlation with his own life. With the help of percussionist Jim Gordon, Clapton wrote a song based on his reaction to the story and called it "Layla.

When the album came out, Clapton played the music for Boyd, gave her a copy of the book, and declared his love for her. They had a brief affair but she broke it off and refused to leave her husband. It just sounds like a mess. It certainly sounds similar to the Coolidge-penned Time , released by Booker T. The piano coda was not on the version of Layla released as a single in the US in , which reached No.

When the full, seven-minute version came out the following year it made No. By which time Derek And The Dominos had been broken up by drug-fuelled paranoia, and Clapton was sinking into full-blown heroin addiction.

In fact the recording of the album had been characterised by conspicuous drug consumption. Want to rock like Eric Clapton? Check out the Best Electric Guitars right here! Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log In.