Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton 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 fourth 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.

Eric Clapton has released twenty studio albums, twenty-six singles, seventeen compilations, ten live albums and six soundtrack albums as a solo-artist and several collaborations on records between different artists.

Before his career as a solo-artist, Clapton worked as a guitarist in several bands, including The Yardbirds 1963–65, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers 1965–66, Cream 1966–68, Blind Faith 1968–69 and Derek and the Dominos 1970–71.

In the mid 1960s, Clapton departed from 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 formed Cream, a power trio with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations. Two of his most popular recordings were "Layla", recorded by Derek and the Dominos, and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads", recorded by Cream.

Clapton released in 1970 his debut album Eric Clapton, which charted at number 17 in the US charts and at number 14 in the British charts. Four years later he released his second album 461 Ocean Boulevard, which received two gold certifications in the US and UK and peaked at number 1 in the US charts. His 1977 album, Slowhand, received three times Platinum in the United States.

His most commercial recognized period was from 1989 through 2000, where his albums received at least five certifications and peaked in several countries in the top 10. Eric Clapton's best-selling album to date is the live album Unplugged, one of many albums in the "MTV Unplugged" series on MTV, in which musicians playing their songs on acoustic instruments. This album has sold more than ten million times in the United States alone. It's also one of the best-selling live album in the United States.