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Birth Name: Eric P. Clapton
Place of Birth: Surrey South Western, Surrey, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 30 March, 1945
Ethnicity: English, as well as Scottish and Irish
Eric Clapton is an English blues and rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is considered one of the most influential guitarists of all time. He has been a member of rock band The Yardbirds, with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page ; blues rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers; power trio Cream; rock band Delaney & Bonnie, along with Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett, as well as Gregg Allman , Rita Coolidge , and George Harrison ; supergroup The Dirty Mac, with John Lennon , Mitch Mitchell, and Keith Richards ; rock band Plastic Ono Band, with Harrison, Lennon, Keith Moon , Ringo Starr , and Yoko Ono ; supergroup Blind Faith, with Steve Winwood ; and blues rock band Derek and the Dominos.
He is the son of Patricia Molly Clapton, a then-16-year-old English woman, and Edward Walter Fryer, a 25-year-old soldier from Montréal, Québec. Edward shipped off to war prior to Eric’s birth and then returned to Canada. Eric grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband, Jack Clapp, who was stepfather to Patricia Clapton and her brother Adrian. Eric believed that they were his parents and that his mother was actually his older sister. The similarity in surnames gave rise to the erroneous belief that Eric’s birth surname is Clapp (Reginald Cecil Clapton was the name of Rose’s first husband, Eric Clapton’s maternal grandfather). Eric’s mother later married another Canadian soldier and moved to Germany, leaving young Eric with his grandparents in Surrey.
Eric has had five children. The death of his son Conor inspired Eric’s song Tears in Heaven . Eric is married to Melia McEnery.
Eric’s paternal grandfather was Edward Arthur Fryer (the son of Edward Arthur Fryer and Sarah Mooney). Edward was born in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Sarah was born in Québec, the daughter of Thomas Mooney and Claudia Gray, who were the children of Irish parents.
Eric’s paternal grandmother was Jessie Jane Chugg (the daughter of James Boyle Chugg and Jane Fraser). Jessie was Scottish, from Govan, Lanarkshire. James was born in Glasgow, the son of Richard Chugg, who was English, from West Down, Devon, England; and of Martha King Rankin, who was from Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. Eric’s great-grandmother Jane was born in Ayr, Ayrshire.
Eric’s maternal grandfather was Reginald Cecil Clapton (the son of Oliver Augustus George Clapton and Marie M. Haire). Reginald was born in Madras, India, to English parents. Augustus was born in Winchcomb, Gloucestershire, the son of James Clapton and Melina Wilkins.
Eric’s maternal grandmother was Rose Amelia Mitchell (the daughter of John Mitchell and Edith Miriam Lawrence). Rose was born in Woodcote, Surrey, England. John was born in Benson, Oxfordshire, the son of Timothy Mitchell and Ann Gregory. Eric’s great-grandmother Edith was born in Reading, Berkshire, the daughter of Richard Lawrence and Susan Clements.
Sources: Genealogy of Eric Clapton – http://www.wikitree.com
Genealogies of Eric Clapton (focusing on his mother’s side) – http://gw.geneanet.org http://www.geni.com