Derek & the Dominos

Cream 解散后，Eric Clapton在1970年5月組建了名為Derek and the Dominoes的樂隊(duì)。在這支被后世譽(yù)為擁有“最豪華陣容”的樂隊(duì)里，除了Clapton和他在原Bramlett樂隊(duì)的三個(gè)朋友鍵盤手obby Whitlock，貝司手Carl Radle，鼓手Jim Gordon，更吸引了另一名頂級吉他手Duane Allman的加入。尤其是Clapton和Allman的碰撞，迸發(fā)出了樂隊(duì)成員全部的激情和潛能，由此誕生了世上最為悲壯的情歌……
也許是輝煌耗去了樂隊(duì)太多的能量。次年同期，Derek and the Dominoes宣告解散。其后，除了Whitlock外，所有成員都不得善終：5個(gè)月后Allman就在一次摩托車事故中喪生；Radle在1980年死于腎衰竭（據(jù)分析可能和吸毒過度有關(guān)）；ordon精神失常，在1983年殺害了他的母親；而Clapton則身陷情迷和毒癮兩大囹圄，若不是好友 Pete Townshend關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻的援手，很可能Layla就會成為Clapton真正的絕命曲。
Derek & the Dominos was a group formed by guitarist/singer Eric Clapton (born Eric Patrick Clapp, March 30, 1945, Ripley, Surrey, England) with other former members of Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, in the spring of 1970. The rest of the lineup was Bobby Whitlock (b. 1948, Memphis, TN) (keyboards, vocals), Carl Radle (b. 1942, Oklahoma City, OK — d. May 30, 1980) (bass), and Jim Gordon (b. 1945, Los Angeles) (drums). The group debuted at the Lyceum Ballroom in London on June 14 and undertook a summer tour of England. From late August to early October, they recorded the celebrated double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (November 1970) with guitarist Duane Allman sitting in. They then returned to touring in England and the U.S., playing their final date on December 6.
The Layla album was successful in the U.S., where Bell Bottom Blues and the title song charted as singles in abbreviated versions, but it did not chart in the U.K. The Dominos reconvened to record a second album in May 1971, but split up without completing it. Clapton then retired from the music business, nursing a heroin addiction.
In his absence, and in the wake of Allmans death in a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971, the Dominos and Layla gained in stature. Re-released as a single at its full, seven-minute length in connection with the compilation album History of Eric Clapton (Atco 803) (March 1972), Layla hit the Top Ten in the U.S. and the U.K. in the summer of 1972. (It would return to the U.K. Top Ten in 1982.) A live album, Derek and the Dominos in Concert (January 1973), taken from the 1970 U.S. tour, was also a strong seller.
Time has only added to the renown of the group, which is now rated among Eric Claptons most outstanding achievements. The 1988 Eric Clapton box set retrospective Crossroads featured material from the abortive second album sessions. The Layla Sessions was a 1990 box set expanding that album across three CDs/cassettes. Live at the Fillmore (1994) offered an expanded version of the In Concert album.