Clapton: The Autobiography
by Eric Clapton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eric ClaptonReader: Bill Nighy
Edition: Music CD
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Published: 2007-10-09
ISBN: 0739334336
Publisher: RH Audio
Book Reviews of Clapton: The Autobiography
Book Review: Clapton's Good Confession
Summary: 5 Stars
Yesterday I read Clapton's amazing autobiography in one sitting. Now I must admit, I took my teenage kids to a day-long music festival where the primary genre was "screamo". So while they were taking in the head-banging and mosh-pit action, I listened to Mark Knopfler on my Ipod and read Clapton's amazing confession of a life nearly wasted, except by God's grace. No, I am not 100% sure he has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. But if he was being as honest in the book as I believe, then I wouldn't bet against it.
Here is his confession that I think is so humble and so honest:
"...I was in complete despair," "...In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether ... and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that ... I had found a place to turn to, a place I'd always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do. If you are asking why I do all this, I will tell you ... because it works, as simple as that."
Clapton did not mention in the autobiography his born-again confession of Christ from the Blind Faith days. Some say he recanted it during his years of addiction. And yes, the memoir does demonstrate his unsophisticated theology, his agnosticisms and even his interest in non-Christian religious concepts.
But the bottom line is, the man's confession was humble and heartfelt. He attends church and buries his dead in Christian funerals. He was married in a Christian ceremony. No, that doesn't make him a believer. But his confession is surely a "good confession".
Here is the life of a boy born of an unwed mother, hurt by the shame of his bastard status in his working-class extended family. His pain and shame drove him to the guitar and that outlet lead to one of the greatest musical talents of the 20th (and now the 21st) century. His life personified the nightmare of the cultural disintegration of the 1960s and '70s. He lived it out in the self-centered "I am God" focus; that is the result of rejecting the true God in humility and embracing "me" as the one who I will glorify. Yet all the while, he wanted to do good and not bad. But the bad found him, and he embraced it in a long death-kiss. Still, God was merciful, eventually. God knows and cares for His own.
Clapton did not have to see the graffiti "Clapton is God" scrawled on the subway walls in London. He was already his own God, focused on everything that would make HIM happy, make Him feel better since his family humiliated and rejected him; make HIM get what he wanted. His obsession on the most pure music, the most beautiful women (even a friend's wife while they were still attempting to maintain a marriage), the best people to play with, the finest in "street fashion", was all about his need to have everything his way.
And no, God's not through with him yet. The introspection he presents through the amazing telling of his story is partial at best. But it is sincere. His "surrender" is real and his telling of his progress (after the disaster of addiction) rings true.
EC is a humble man in many ways. He is humble like most humble people; imperfect humility. He is realistic about his shortcomings and his gratitude for the blessings God has given him, including letting him live. He is humble in acknowledging God's purview to take his son, not rebelling against Him in the pain of such a monumental loss. Yet he is still the rich man loving his wealth, but in a humble way. Even so, he does give it away; he's an beautifully generous man. So why resent his upland fowling and his fly fishing? (those happen to be two of my personal peccadilloes, and it's not hard to eat all the trout, pheasant and grouse one can harvest in a season)
He is still Clapton, still the greatest guitarist alive. God took Hendrix and Allman early. He acknowledged their even greater talent, but if they had lived, would they have been as prolific or successful? We'll never know. Well, maybe we will know on that Day, if Jimi and Duane were saved (and maybe they were; only God knows for sure).
Regarding his writing, I think it's absolutely perfect. He's talking to the reader individually. It's almost a conversation, not a monologue. He makes some initial comments and then, as though the reader had made an insightful reply or query, he continues, as though responding in a friendly interview over a nice cup of coffee. The photos in the paperback book were interesting, and I'm glad they were there. There was not a good shot of Patty, although she was certainly in good form in the beach shot. But the photos were not the point; his life story as he told it was captivating.
I couldn't help but wonder how he might have truly changed the world if he had turned from the drugs and sex and simply stuck with the music and used it as a ministry to God. He is now 21 years sober and his music has become the standard upon which much of modern music is founded. His influence cannot be overstated; certainly on par with the Beatles.
What if he had turned to Christ after that Blind Faith concert when the Christian fans prayed with him to accept Jesus? What if he had followed "In the Presence of the Lord" with something more like "Shout to the Lord" instead of "Cocaine" and "Lay Down Sally"? Could he have helped turn us from becoming a society that aborts full term babies on demand? Might he have helped turn the world away from recreationalizing sex? Might he have helped keep marriage sacred and honored instead of trashed?
We'll never know, although it's something he may hear from Christ on that Day. Someone with as much influence as he has had on our world culture could have helped prevent much of the insanity we have bequeathed the current generation. Yesterday I watched as teenagers cavorted proudly with the self-mutilation of full-body tattoos trashing their formerly God-given beauty. Might Clapton the man of God (instead of simply "Clapton the God") influenced society in a way that would have spared so many from so much pain. Yes, he's doing his part for addicts. Praise God. But how many of those addicts were influenced by the life he lived as the addict who could still be the world's greatest guitarist?
One last comment. I saw Clapton play on his tour in Florida in '06. His performance was peerless. I've never seen a guitar man play with such accomplishment, power, passion or genius (and I saw Duane Allman from the 3rd row in a crowd of maybe 300 in 1970). He played the Derek and the Dominoes tunes better than the original, and I thought I was going to have to wait for heaven to hear them that way (and that was on the long chance that he'd actually make it there!) The old man can play (he's 8 years older than me, so that's OLD)! Today I'm buying his Robert Johnson and JJ Cale albums on the strength of the autobiography.
Hendrix, Allman, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin all should have lived. Music would have benefited from them living longer, I believe. But maybe, if they had lived, the world would be even more secularized, evil and degenerate than it is today. The fact is, Clapton was a passive player in the cultural revolution. He was an unlikely culture warrior. His virtuosity, his musical genius was his hallmark; the music made him famous, not his on-stage demeanor. The fact is he was a bit player in the culture wars, even though he was surrounded by the prime suspects. Most of his degeneracy was personal, destroying mostly his loved ones and himself.
But his disastrous life, until he finally kicked heroin, alcohol and whoredoggery, influenced the culture just the same. No, not as much as might have happened if Lennon, Morrison or Joplin had lived an additional 25 years. Certainly Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have done nothing to restore traditional family values in the last quarter century.
But EC has repented. He has turned away from the old life of insanity and turned to a life of God and family. He is a man of prayer. He clearly puts his sobriety as his number one necessity in life, and from my reading he credits his sobriety to God. And then his family is next, because without his sobriety his family would be in grave danger. And he's also seeking to help others by his rehab facility in Antigua. Then it's about his fishing, hunting and nice yacht.
That is the mark of the Christian life. God is number 1, others are number 2 and I'm number 3. That is Clapton's testimony, told in humility and self-effacement.
All in all, that is what salvation is about. Turning from the sin that separates one from God and turning to Him, seeking His face first, relying on His strength alone for life, and then, by His strength, serving others.
Of course, I may have misread the story. Certainly Clapton used a degree of restraint in his testimony. That was smart; coming out too overtly "Jesus Freak" could turn many hard cases away.
This is certainly the most surprisingly inspiring read I've found in many years. Highly recommended!
Summary of Clapton: The Autobiography
“I found a pattern in my behavior that had been repeating itself for years, decades even. Bad choices were my specialty, and if something honest and decent came along, I would shun it or run the other way.”With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well known for his reserve in a profession marked by self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles, for the first time, his remarkable personal and professional journeys.
Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents, Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine, believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and inspire devoted fans to scrawl “Clapton is God” on the walls of London’s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the world's first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar, but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history, including the classic “Layla.”
During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while working with the latter that he fell for George’s wife, Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean Boulevard, with its massive hit “I Shot the Sheriff.” He followed that with the platinum album Slowhand, which included “Wonderful Tonight,” the touching love song to Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1977. A short time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the eventual breakup of his marriage.
In the eighties he would battle and beat alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident. At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the achingly beautiful “Tears in Heaven.”
Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.
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