Derek & the Dominoes

Derek and the Dominos
L–R:Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock, Eric Clapton
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Blues rock hard rock rock
Years active	1970–71
Labels	Polydor, Atco, RSO
Associated acts	Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, Blind Faith, George Harrison, The Allman Brothers Band
Past members	Eric Clapton Bobby Whitlock Carl Radle Jim Gordon Dave Mason Duane Allman

Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previously played together in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, during and after Clapton's brief tenure with Blind Faith. Dave Mason supplied additional lead guitar on early studio sessions and played at their first live gig. Another participant at their first session as a band was George Harrison, the recording for whose album All Things Must Pass marked the formation of Derek and the Dominos.

The band released only one studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, produced by Tom Dowd, which also featured notable contributions on slide guitar from Duane Allman. A double album, Layla went on to receive critical acclaim, but initially faltered in sales and in radio airplay. Although released in 1970 it was not until March 1972 that the album's single "Layla" (a tale of unrequited love inspired by Clapton's relationship with his friend Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd) made the top ten in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album is often considered to be the defining achievement of Clapton's career.

Derek and the Dominos came about through its four members' involvement in the American soul revue Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. The latter supported Blind Faith, Eric Clapton's short-lived supergroup with Stevie Winwood, on a US tour in the summer of 1969, during which Clapton became increasingly drawn towards Delaney & Bonnie's relative anonymity next to the fan worship afforded his own band. Together with his fellow future Dominos – Bobby Whitlock (vocals, keyboards), Carl Radle (bass) and Jim Gordon (drums) – Clapton toured Europe and the United States again between November 1969 and March 1970, this time as a member of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. In addition, the entire band backed him on his debut solo album, Eric Clapton, recorded over the same period. Many of the members began to leave Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, as a result of disagreements over money. Whitlock later recalled other difficulties with Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, citing the couple's frequent fights and describing Delaney as a demanding band leader in the manner of James Brown. Gordon, Radle and other Friends personnel, including drummer Jim Keltner, immediately joined Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with Leon Russell, but Whitlock remained with the Bramletts for a short time.