Derek And The Dominos

Derek And The Dominos biography

Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends. Duane Allman was also invited by Clapton to sessions to add slide guitar to a number of tracks.

The band released only one studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. The album featured slide guitar from guitarist Duane Allman, who contributed powerful slide guitar work on most of the cuts on the album. His most memorable contribution was to the album's title track, "Layla". The album went on to receive critical acclaim, but initially faltered in sales and in radio airplay. Although released in 1970 it was not until March 1972 that the album's single "Layla" (a tale of unrequited love inspired by Clapton's relationship with his friend George Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd Harrison) would make the top ten in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album, which has received praise from both critics and fans alike, is often considered to be the defining achievement of Clapton's career.

Beginnings

The seeds of Derek and the Dominos can be found in the band members' involvement with Delaney, Bonnie & Friends of which they were all members, including Duane Allman who had played with the act before Clapton. The members' departures from the group were caused by the constant infighting between Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Whitlock explains: Gordon and Radle left D&B to play on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with Leon Russell, but Whitlock remained on with the Bramletts for a short time.

Whitlock was looking for a gig, and Steve Cropper suggested he visit Clapton in England; Whitlock would subsequently live in Clapton's house and during that period the two would jam, hang out and write the bulk of the Dominos' catalogue.

Soon after, they called the rest of their former Delaney and Bonnie musicians, Dave Mason, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon and together the quintet became the backing band for George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass. Gordon was not the first choice as drummer; rather, it was Jim Keltner who, like Radle, was from Tulsa and had also been involved with Russell and Cocker.

The origin of the name "Derek and the Dominos" has had attached to it a variety of stories over the years. According to Jeff Dexter (compere on the Delaney & Bonnie and Friends Tour and a close friend of Clapton's), a name had yet to be chosen by the night of the group's 14 June 1970 official debut at London's Lyceum Theatre, where they had been billed simply as "Eric Clapton and Friends" (for what would prove Mason's lone appearance). According to Dexter, he'd asked Eric whether they couldn't give the band a proper name "instead of his (Dexter's) going out front and introducing yet another round of And Friends?" To this Clapton and George Harrison quickly agreed, resulting in a mad rush by everyone to remember and name past favourites. In the course of this process were included Two-Tone Special, and Fats Domino, and the whole thing was brought to a conclusion with Dexter's cry of "that's it: Derek and the Dominoes it's classic!" (Clapton having been previously nicknamed at the start of the "Delaney & Bonnie and Friends" tour Derek by Tony Ashton). While the rest of the band-all of them Americans-felt convinced they would be mistaken for a doo-wop act, the two Brits were instantly for it, and were introduced to the packed Lyceum audience to polite, if respectful applause accorded unknowns. After a few moments, however, the audience caught wise to the diversion and the hall erupted in pandemonium. In Dexter's telling he'd introduced Ashton to Clapton just before boarding the tour bus heading for Bristol, and a nervous Ashton, instead of saying "pleased to meet you, Eric," called him Derek instead, causing everyone to fall about laughing and resulting in Clapton's being called "Derek" for the remainder of the tour.

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