Eric Clapton is acknowledged to be rock's greatest virtuoso, the unrivalled master of the electric guitar. Clapton transfigured three of the 1960s' most iconic bands, the Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith, walking away from each when it failed to measure up to his exacting standards. He was the only outsider ever to be an honorary member of both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and the studio musician of choice for solo superstars from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin. Finally going solo himself in the 1970s, he sold an estimated 129 million records. No life has been more rock 'n' roll than Clapton's, with his epic consumption of drugs and alcohol, an insatiable appetite for expensive cars and clothes, and a notoriously turbulent love life.
