Fargodome hosts guitar master Clapton
It’s not too often a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer makes a stop in Fargo.
That will all change in March, when Eric Clapton takes the stage at the Fargodome.
Clapton, known for his guitar playing and productive career, was hailed as a guitar prodigy long before he went solo. Clapton started his career playing lead guitar with ’60s British Invasion group The Yardbirds, whose 1964 album Five Live Yardbirds spawned the Top 20 hit “I’m a Man.”
In 1965 Clapton left the group to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, a British blues-rock band that launched a number of careers, including Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and John McVie and ex-Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. Their 1966 album The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton is regarded by many as one of the best British blues albums every recorded.
By this time Clapton was known throughout England for his guitar playing, but it wasn’t until after leaving the Bluesbreakers in 1966 when Clapton’s career started to really take off.
Clapton founded hard rock power trio Cream with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, and in late 1966 they released their first album, Fresh Cream. Cream released two more studio albums, Disraeli Gears and their final album Goodbye, in next two years.
Although the group was together for only a short time, Cream had a tremendous impact on music at the time. The group brought their heavy guitars and loud music to the mainstream, and the group recorded such memorable hits as “Crossroads,” “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love.”
In May 1969 Clapton and Baker joined Traffic’s Steve Winwood and bassist Rick Grech to form Blind Faith, an extremely short-lived super group that had disbanded within a few months. Their only album, Blind Faith, contained no hits, but it did feature the Clapton-penned “Presence of the Lord.”
At this time Clapton back away from hard rock and started playing with Delaney & Bonnie. In 1970 he released Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs with his group Derek and the Dominos, with members of Delaney & Bonnie and slide guitarist Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band. The album held two charting singles, the sad “Bell Bottom Blues” and the well-known “Layla.” Both are frequently played in Clapton’s live shows.
In July 1970 Clapton finally went solo with his self-titled debut album. His sophomore album, 1974’s 461 Ocean Boulevard, reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, launched by a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.”
Clapton was officially a superstar after the success of 461 Ocean Boulevard. After releasing a string of albums in the mid-’70s, he climbed up the charts once again with 1978’s Slowhand, peaking at No. 2. The album contains some of Clapton’s most memorable hits, including “Cocaine,” “Lay Down Sally” and “Wonderful Tonight.”
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Clapton continued touring and occasionally recording. In 1992, following the death of his son, he wrote the song “Tears in Heaven.” The same year, his Unplugged album sold more than seven million copies and won three Grammys, including awards for Album of the Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song for his acoustic version of “Layla.”
Most recently, Clapton released The Road to Escondido, a duet album recorded with blues-rocker J.J. Cale, whose music had a major influence on Clapton’s solo career. Two of Cale’s original tunes, “Cocaine” and “After Midnight,” have become charting singles for Clapton.
In May 2005 Cream reunited for only the second time since 1968, and performed seven shows – four in London’s Royal Albert Hall and three at the Madison Square Garden. The only other time Cream had played together in the past 37 years was in 1993 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Clapton is currently in the middle of a world tour. Since May 2006 Clapton has toured around the globe, including venues in England, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan, Thailand, China and Singapore. In September he kicked off the U.S. leg of the tour with a show at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis.
Joining Clapton in Fargo is blues artist Robert Cray, whose 1986 Grammy-winning album Strong Persuader spawned the hit “Smoking Gun.”
Eric Clapton will be performing at the Fargodome on March 30. Tickets are $59.50 and $75 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.