Eric Clapton

Arguably one of the most significant rock-n-roll artists of the 20th century, Eric Clapton was a member of four influential bands - the blues-driven Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, the soul-drenched Derek and the Dominos, and the psychedelic Cream - before embarking on a four-decades long solo career that produced such hits as "I Shot the Sheriff," "Wonderful Tonight," "After Midnight," "Tears in Heaven" and "My Father's Eyes." His formidable guitar skills, rooted deeply in the blues, first drew attention in the early 1960s, spawning the infamous "Clapton is God" graffiti that earmarked him as a legend. Clapton shrank from the spotlight, forming the power trio Cream, which favored improvisation over pop songs. The oversized talents of each member proved too great for one band, but he soon returned to a group format with Derek and the Dominos, which produced one of his greatest works, the epic "Layla," inspired by his unrequited passion for Patti Boyd, wife of his friend and Beatle George Harrison. Heartbreak turned to drug addiction that temporarily halted Clapton's career until he resurfaced in the mid-1970s with a run of acclaimed solo albums that carried into the '90s and beyond. Clapton's greatest triumph came at a terrible cost: his multi-Grammy-winning song "Tears in Heaven" was inspired by the loss of his young son, Conor, in 1991 who fell to his death from a high-rise apartment. Clapton recovered by returning to the healing power of the blues, on which he had built one of the most acclaimed musical careers in rock-n-roll.