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Noteworthy Then

3/30/1945 Eric Clapton born

 

The world gained an astonishingly great guitarist on March 30, 1945 when Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Surrey. His mother, Patricia Clapton, was just 16 at the time of his birth and his father, a 25 year-old soldier from Canada, was away in WWII action and opted return to Quebec instead of to his wife and son. Eric and his mother lived with her mother and stepfather until Patricia married another Canadian soldier and moved to Germany, leaving Eric with his grandparents in the UK.

His schooling took a backseat to music when Eric was in his mid teens. At 17, he joined a band known as the Roosters, a group that played mostly R&B material. He hooked up with the Yardbirds in the fall of 1963, spent a few months as a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1965 and the following year formed Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Baker would make the move to Blind Faith with Eric in 1969. The group that included Traffic's Steve Winwood and Ric Grech from Family would break-up after just one studio album and tour. Clapton's follow-up to that was the also short-lived Derek and the Dominos. His prolific solo career began with his self-titled 1970 debut album.
Eric was the first three time inductee to the Rock Hall Of Fame... as a member of the Yardbirds, Cream and as a solo artist.

 

Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on March 30 include...

 

1647 Jethro Tull, inventor of the seed drill and namesake of the band fronted by Ian Anderson born.

1942 Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge is born.

1948 James 'Jim Dandy' Mangrum of Black Oak Arkansas born.

1950 Procol Harum guitarist Dave Ball is born.

1950 Tubes co-lead singer Re Styles is  born.

1966 Nearly 100 get arested as riot breaks out during a Rolling Stones concert in Paris.

1967 The album cover photo for the Beatles Sgt. Pepper is taken.

1970 Led Zeppelin stops Pittsburgh concert because police are harassing fans.

1974 The Ramones do their first concert.

1976 The Sex Pistols debut at the 100 Club in London.

1980 John Belushi joins the Grateful Dead on US Blues at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ.

1984 John Wetton joined Asia, replacing Greg Lake.

1994 Pink Floyd's Division Bell Tour opens.

1987 Bryan Adams releases Into The Fire.

2000 Mick Jagger attends the dedication of an arts center named in his honor at Dartford Grammer School.

2004 Aerosmith releases Honkin' on Bobo.

2004 Guns N Roses cancels Rock in Rio festival appearance when guitarist quits.

2007 Charges filed against a man for attempting to break into Paul McCartney's home.

2010 Eddie Vedder performs Quadrophenia with the Who at Royal Albert Hall.

2018 Nils Lofgren was out some guitars and other gear when his tour's equipment trailer was busted into on this day in Dallas in 2018.