YOU ARE THE ONE YOU ARE WITH (A Moment in Time With Eric Clapton)

by Corky Laing

It was one of those blustery winter nights in Montreal in the mid 60s, when I received an urgent distress call from Felix Pappalardi in New York City. He was terribly anxious about Jack Bruce’s medical condition. Apparently after the Cream performance that evening at the Maurice Richard Arena, Jack had purposely swallowed an abundance of pain pills. He had just finished reading The Rolling Stone Magazine’s nasty review of Cream’s release of Disraeli Gears and sank into a depressed state. So while Jack was recovering in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Felix wanted me to, among other things, hang out with Eric Clapton who was alone at the Windsor Hotel. Eric was just sitting around and could use some company. It was during that fall, while Felix was producing our local band Energy, that he got a last minute call from Atlantic Records to produce Cream’s album within a 10-day window. Energy was put on hold while Felix produced Disraeli Gears.

So I gathered up a few female friends with the appropriate concert kit and headed over with the babes to babysit Eric that night. It was one of those nights I will never forget because Eric was yet to be a guitar god and our conversation ran the gamut from drugs to sex, including an in-depth conversation late into the night about rock bands and their music. Apart from being a perfect gentleman, at that time in his career he was very accessible, open and receptive. During his musical exchanges he was able to capture the essence of the best musicians and distill it into his own identity.

Cream in the act of rising to the top, circa 1966.The week before Clapton came to Montreal, he was hanging with “The Crackers” who became “The Band”, from the Ronnie Hawkins school of rock. He was totally taken by the members' camaraderie. They were five very musical players that became ‘one’ when they performed. In contrast, Cream was a whole different animal. For Cream it was about improvisation, with a bit of competition, which resulted in sounds and nuances that were esoteric and experimental. The personalities involved reflected much more of an explosive and introverted posture. This is when I realized this man is much more than a musical sponge. He is very capable of sharing another musician’s soul while exchanging musical ideas. Eric generously shared his musical convictions but ultimately became his own man even though he dreamed of being in a band like The Band.

I was born under the sign of Aquarius. I became who I am within a framework of trying out different things. I walked out of that hotel room into the chilly morning air thinking about the differences between the solo artist and the band dynamic. I was feeling in some very profound way that I was the one I was with whether in a band or as a solo. It was an exhilarating experience.