Eric Clapton3

6duC...5Zeg

31 Jan 2024

Influences

Clapton cites Muddy Waters, Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Hubert Sumlin as guitar-playing influences. In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton refers to Muddy Waters as "the father figure I never really had". Until his death in 1983, Waters was a part of Clapton's life. "When I got to know Muddy, unfortunately, my drinking career was in full sway."[146] In 2000, Clapton collaborated with B.B. King on their album Riding with the King. The music video for the title track shows Clapton as the chauffeur, with one of his idols in the back seat.[147]
Clapton has said that blues musician Robert Johnson is his single most important influence. In 2004, Clapton released Sessions for Robert Johnson, containing covers of Johnson's songs using electric and acoustic guitars.[148] In an essay for the 1990 boxed set of Johnson's recordings, Clapton wrote:

Robert Johnson to me is the most important blues musician who ever lived. He was true, absolutely, to his own vision, and as deep as I have gotten into the music over the last 30 years, I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice, really ...

Clapton also singled out Buddy Holly as an influence. The Chirping Crickets was the first album Clapton ever bought; he later saw Holly on Sunday Night at the London Palladium.[150] In his autobiography, Clapton recounts the first time he saw Holly and his Fender, saying, "I thought I'd died and gone to heaven ... it was like seeing an instrument from outer space and I said to myself: 'That's the future – that's what I want.'"[150] In the 2017 documentary film, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, Clapton cites Bismillah Khan as an influence, adding that "I wanted my guitar to sound like his reed instrument."[151] In the same documentary he also cited harmonica player Little Walter as an influence: "The sound he made with the harmonica playing through an amplifier. It was thick and fat and very melodic."[151]

Legacy

Clapton's handprints (far right) with other members of the Yardbirds at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time.[2][152][153][154] Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream.[7] He ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"[3] and fourth in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.[4]
In 2011, The Guardian attributed the creation of the cult of the guitar hero to Clapton, ranking it number seven on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history;

Nothing is more central to rock mythology than the cult of the lead guitarist. And no one did more to create that cult than Eric Clapton. He had already been a member of the Yardbirds before joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, the clearing house for guitarists, in April 1965. His two stints with Mayall saw his reputation grow to the extent that a famous graffito captured the popular appraisal of him among rock fans: "Clapton is God".[155]

Elias Leight of Rolling Stone writes that Clapton "influenced recording techniques as well as guitar-playing technique".[151] During recording sessions with John Mayall's group, Clapton was frustrated by technicians "that just came up to your amp with the microphone and just stuck it two inches away from the front of the amplifier. It seemed to me that if you wanted to get the atmosphere we were getting in the clubs, you needed it to sound like you were in the audience 10 feet away, not three inches". Clapton then moved the microphones, with Pink Floyd's Roger Waters stating, "That changed everything. Before Eric, guitar playing in England had been Hank Marvin of the Shadows, very simple, not much technique. Suddenly we heard something completely different. The records sounded unlike anything we had heard before."[151]
In 2012, Clapton was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his artwork – the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life that he most admires to mark his 80th birthday.[156] Indelibly linked to the Royal Albert Hall in London, a venue he has played at more than any other in his 50-year plus career, Clapton was inducted into the Royal Albert Hall's Walk of Fame in 2018, making him one of the first eleven recipients of a star on the walk, thus joining Muhammad Ali, Winston Churchill, the Suffragettes, and Albert Einstein, among others who were viewed as "key players" in the building's history.[157]
Robert Christgau, in a dissenting appraisal of Clapton's legacy, writes:

A promiscuous sideman whose monklike aura has never diminished his extravagant appetites, Clapton likes to get paid, and he's amassed a discography that for an artist of his caliber is remarkably undistinguished. In his self-protective self-deprecation he often attributes this to his own laziness or his need for a catalyst, but it's also guitar hero's disease: like many other guys whose hand-ear coordination is off the curve, he's a casual tunesmith and a corny lyricist, and his band concepts are chronically hit-or-miss.[158]

Guitars

Clapton with "Blackie" in 1978. He recorded hits such as "Cocaine", "I Shot the Sheriff", "Wonderful Tonight", "Further On Up the Road" and "Lay Down Sally" on Blackie.
Like Hank Marvin, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of electric guitar.[159] With the Yardbirds, Clapton played a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-cutaway Gretsch 6120, and a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335. He became exclusively a Gibson player for a period beginning in mid-1965, when he purchased a used sunburst Gibson Les Paul guitar from a guitar store in London. Clapton commented on the slim profile of the neck, which would indicate it was a 1960 model.[160]
Early during his stint in Cream, Clapton's first Les Paul Standard was stolen. He continued to play Les Pauls exclusively with Cream (one bought from Andy Summers was almost identical to the stolen guitar)[161] until 1967, when he acquired his most famous guitar in this period, a 1964 Gibson SG, dubbed "the Fool".[162] Clapton used both the Les Paul and the SG to create his self-described "woman tone".[163] He explained in a 1967 interview, "I am playing more smoothly now. I'm developing what I call my 'woman tone.' It's a sweet sound, something like the solo on 'I Feel Free'."[163] Writer Michael Dregni describes it as "thick yet piercing, overdriven yet smooth, distorted yet creamy".[164] The tone is achieved by a combination of tone control settings on the guitars and Clapton's Marshall JTM45 amplifier.[165] Vintage Guitar magazine identifies "the opening riff and solo of 'Sunshine of Your Love' are arguably the best illustrations of full-blown woman tone".[163] Clapton's "Fool" acquired its name from its distinctive psychedelic paint job, created by the visual art collective also known as the Fool (just before Cream's first US appearance in 1967, Clapton's SG, Bruce's Fender VI, and Baker's drum head were all repainted in psychedelic designs).
Clapton playing an Eric Clapton Stratocaster at the Hard Rock Calling concert in Hyde Park, London, in 2008
In 1968, Clapton bought a Gibson Firebird and started using the 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335 again.[162] The aforementioned 1964 ES-335 had a storied career. Clapton used it at the last Cream show in November 1968 as well as with Blind Faith, played it sparingly for slide pieces in the 1970s, used it on "Hard Times" from Journeyman, the Hyde Park live concert of 1996, and the From the Cradle sessions and tour of 1994–95. It was sold for US$847,500 at a 2004 auction.[166] Gibson produced a limited run of 250 "Crossroads 335" replicas. The 335 was only the second electric guitar Clapton bought.[167]
Your Love". He retained it until 2000, when he sold it at an auction for US$150,000.[162] At the 1969 Blind Faith concert in Hyde Park, London Clapton played a Fender Custom Telecaster, which was fitted with "Brownie"'s neck.
Clapton's Lead II Fender, the first ever piece of memorabilia donated to the Hard Rock Cafe, London, in 1979
In late 1969 Clapton made the switch to the Fender Stratocaster. "I had a lot of influences when I took up the Strat. First there was Buddy Holly, and Buddy Guy. Hank Marvin was the first well known person over here in England who was using one, but that wasn't really my kind of music. Steve Winwood had so much credibility, and when he started playing one, I thought, oh, if he can do it, I can do it".[168] The first—used during the recording of Eric Clapton—was "Brownie", which in 1973 became the backup to the most famous of all Clapton's guitars, "Blackie". In November 1970 Eric bought six Fender Stratocasters from the Sho-bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee while on tour with the Dominos. He gave one each to George Harrison, Steve Winwood, and Pete Townshend. His very first Stratocaster, Brownie, was purchased in May 7, 1967 [169] and made its debut in 1970 on his first solo album, in concert with Derek and the Dominos as well on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. [170] [171]
Clapton assembled the best components of the remaining three to create "Blackie", which was his favourite stage guitar until its retirement in 1985. It was first played live 13 January 1973 at the Rainbow Concert.[172] Clapton called the 1956/57 Strat a "mongrel".[173] On 24 June 2004, Clapton sold "Blackie" at Christie's Auction House, New York, for US$959,500 to raise funds for his Crossroads Centre for drug and alcohol addictions.[174] "Brownie" is now on display at the Experience Music Project.[175] The Fender Custom Shop has since produced a limited run of 275 'Blackie' replicas, correct in every detail right down to the 'Duck Brothers' flight case, and artificially aged using Fender's 'Relic' process to simulate years of hard wear. One was presented to Clapton upon the model's release and was used for three numbers during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 17 May 2006.[176] In 1979, Clapton gave his signed Fender Lead II guitar to the Hard Rock Cafe in London to designate his favourite bar stool. Pete Townshend also donated his own Gibson Les Paul guitar, with a note attached: "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete".[177]
Signature guitars in Clapton's honour are made by Fender and C.F. Martin & Company. In 1988, Fender introduced his signature Eric Clapton Stratocaster.[178] Several signature-model 000-sized acoustic guitars made by Martin. The first, of these, introduced in 1995, was a limited edition 000-42EC Eric Clapton signature model with a production run of 461. For the single "Change the World" (1996) and the album Pilgrim (1998) he used a Martin 000-28 EC Eric Clapton signature model, which he subsequently gave to guitarist Paul Wassif.[179] His 1939 000-42 Martin that he played on the Unplugged album sold for US$791,500 at auction.[166] Clapton uses Ernie Ball Slinky and Super Slinky strings, gauge .10 to.46.[180] His guitar technician for over thirty years was Lee Dickson.[181]

Other media appearances

Clapton's handprints in Hollywood, California
Clapton appeared in the movie version of Tommy, the first full-length rock opera, written by the Who. In the movie version, Clapton appeared as the Preacher, performing Sonny Boy Williamson's song, "Eyesight to the Blind". He appeared in Blues Brothers 2000 as one of the Louisiana Gator Boys. In addition to being in the band, he had a small speaking role. Clapton has appeared in an advertisement for the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. In March 2007 Clapton appeared in an advertisement[182] for RealNetwork's Rhapsody online music service. In 2010, Clapton started appearing as a spokesman for T-Mobile, advertising their MyTouch Fender cell phone. Clapton also appeared in the 2011 BBC documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals, which was described as "The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica."[183]
When asked to describe God by their minister, the characters Eric Forman and Steven Hyde both drew an image of Clapton in the episode "Holy Crap!" of season two of That '70s Show.[184]
Clapton appeared on the BBC's Top Gear in 2013, during Series 19 Episode 4 and was involved in testing the new Kia Cee'd. He was called upon to test the Cee'd's auxiliary input, which he tested by plugging in one of his guitars and playing several bars of his most famous hits. He was introduced by Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson as a "local guitarist".[185]
In 2017, a documentary film titled Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars was directed by Lili Fini Zanuck.[186] Clapton wrote the film score for Zanuck's 1991 film Rush and the two remained friends.[186] In an interview for BBC News, Zanuck said that Clapton only agreed to participate if she directed it:

I think this got made because Eric was in the right mood. He's an incredibly private man and despite his immense success, he's never cared if he got any publicity at all, he just loves his music ... I think it might be something to do with his age, as he turned 70 a couple of years ago. He said to me, "I didn't want it to be done after I was dead and for it to be wrong." Maybe he thought his time had come to lay it all out on the table.[186]

Personal life

Relationships and children

Clapton's partner from the late 1960s to 1974 was Alice Ormsby-Gore, a British aristocrat; they were often wrongly reported as engaged.[187][188] He briefly dated funk singer Betty Davis.[189][190] He married Pattie Boyd on 27 March 1979, in Tucson, Arizona,[191] but their marriage was marred by his infidelities and domestic violence. During a 1999 interview with The Sunday Times, Clapton admitted to raping and abusing her while they were married and he was a "full-blown" alcoholic who felt entitled to sex.[192] In 1984, while recording Behind the Sun, Clapton began a relationship with Yvonne Kelly, the manager of AIR Studios Montserrat. Although both were married to other partners at the time, they had a daughter named Ruth Kelly Clapton in January 1985. Ruth's existence was kept from the public until the media realised she was his child in 1991.[193][194]
Clapton and Boyd tried unsuccessfully to have children, even trying in vitro fertilisation in 1984, but were faced instead with miscarriages.[195] He had an affair with Italian model Lory Del Santo, who gave birth to their son, Conor, on 21 August 1986. Clapton and Boyd later divorced in 1989 after she was "utterly devastated" by his confession to impregnating Del Santo during this affair. Conor died on 20 March 1991 at the age of four after falling out of an open bedroom window on the 53rd floor of a Manhattan apartment building.[196]
In 1998, Clapton, then 53, met 22-year-old administrative assistant Melia McEnery in Columbus, Ohio, at a party given for him after a performance. He quietly dated her for a year, and went public with the relationship in 1999. They married on 1 January 2002 at St Mary Magdalene church in Clapton's birthplace, Ripley. They have three daughters, Julie Rose (born 13 June 2001), Ella May (born 14 January 2003), and Sophie Belle (born 1 February 2005).[197]

Political opinions

"Keep Britain White"

On 5 August 1976, Clapton provoked an uproar when he spoke out against increasing immigration during a concert in Birmingham.[198] Visibly intoxicated on stage, Clapton voiced his support for the right-wing British politician Enoch Powell.[199][200][201] He addressed the audience as follows:

Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands. So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. I don't want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch's our man. I think Enoch's right, I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism. It's much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans don't belong here, we don't want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don't want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck's sake? Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white![202]

"Keep Britain White" was, at the time, a slogan of the far-right National Front (NF).[203][204] This incident, along with some controversial remarks made around the same time by David Bowie,[205] were the main catalysts for the creation of Rock Against Racism, with a concert on 30 April 1978.[206]

Clapton's response

In an interview from October 1976 with Sounds magazine, Clapton said that he did not "know much about politics" and said of his immigration speech that "I just don't know what came over me that night. It must have been something that happened in the day but it came out in this garbled thing."[207] In a 2004 interview with Uncut, Clapton referred to Enoch Powell as "outrageously brave".[208] He said that the UK was "inviting people in as cheap labour and then putting them in ghettos".[209] In 2004, Clapton told an interviewer for Scotland on Sunday, "There's no way I could be a racist. It would make no sense."[210] In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton said he was "deliberately oblivious" to racial conflict.[211] In a December 2007 interview with Melvyn Bragg on The South Bank Show, Clapton said he was not a racist but still believed Powell's comments were relevant.[205]
After watching unedited footage of the 1976 outburst, which is included in Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars—a documentary which also covers his daily alcohol and drug abuse prior to his sobriety—in 2018 Clapton stated he was "disgusted" with himself for his "chauvinistic" and "fascistic" comments on stage. He added: "I sabotaged everything I got involved with. I was so ashamed of who I was, a kind of semi-racist, which didn't make sense. Half of my friends were black, I dated a black woman, and I championed black music."[212]

Opposition to fox-hunting ban

Clapton supports the Countryside Alliance, which promotes field sports and issues relating to the British countryside. He has played in concerts to raise funds for the organisation and publicly opposed the Labour Party's ban on fox hunting with the 2004 Hunting Act. A spokesperson for Clapton said, "Eric supports the Countryside Alliance. He does not hunt himself, but does enjoy rural pursuits such as fishing and shooting. He supports the Alliance's pursuit to scrap the ban on the basis that he disagrees with the state's interference with people's private pursuits."[213]

COVID-19

In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Clapton and Van Morrison collaborated on an anti-mask, anti-lockdown single entitled "Stand and Deliver", the profits from which were donated to Morrison's Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund.[214] Morrison's stance was criticised by Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann.[215] In July 2021, Clapton wrote that he would "not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present", in response to Boris Johnson mandating that concert attendees be vaccinated.[216] Clapton had by then taken both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and said he had had severe reactions to both injections.[217] Whether the symptoms he reported were actually vaccine-related was called into question by an NBC News editorial, given that Clapton previously reported suffering the same symptoms as early as 2013 due to nerve damage.[218]
In August 2021, Clapton released the single "This Has Gotta Stop" and an accompanying music video. It was described as a protest song against COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccinations, and contains lyrical and visual statements against what Clapton sees as the erosion of civil liberties as the result of lockdown policies.[219][220][221]
Clapton tested positive for COVID-19 in May 2022 causing him to cancel some concerts in his tour schedule.[222]

Israel-Palestine Conflict

In November 2023, during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Clapton released "Voice of a Child", a song featuring images of destruction in the Gaza Strip.[223]

Assets and philanthropy

Wealth and assets

In 2009, Surrey Life Magazine ranked Clapton as number 17 in their list of richest Surrey residents, estimating his fortune at £120 million in assets. This was a combination of income, property, a £9 million yacht, Va Bene (previously owned by Bernie Ecclestone), his back music catalogue, his touring income, and his holding company Marshbrook Ltd, which had earned him £110 million since 1989.[224] In 2003, he purchased a 50% share of gentleman's outfitters Cordings Piccadilly.[225] At the time, owner Noll Uloth was trying to save the shop from closure and contacted Clapton, his "best client"; within five minutes, Clapton replied with "I can't let this happen".[225]

Car collection

Ferrari SP12 EC built for Clapton under Ferrari's Special Projects programme[226]
Since the 1970s, Clapton has considered himself a "car enthusiast" and has often stated his passion for the Ferrari brand.[227] Clapton currently owns or has owned a range of Ferraris, and when asked about his Ferrari collection in 1989, he said he liked the touring cars the company produces for road use and commented "if I had more space and if I had been wise I would have a huge collection by now and I would be a multi-multi-millionaire".[228] In 2010, he explained that for him "Ferrari has always been the number one car" to own and drive, and that he always supported Ferrari on the road and in Formula One motor racing.[229]
In 2012, Ferrari honoured Clapton with the one-off special project car, the Ferrari SP12 EC. In July 2013 Clapton displayed it at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England in the Michelin Supercar Run.[230] In 2014, Clapton explained that Ferrari is still his favourite car brand.[231] Among the other vehicles Clapton owns or has owned are a vintage Mini Cooper Radford that was a gift from George Harrison.[232]

Charitable work

Auction of Clapton's guitars and amps in aid of the Crossroads Centre, a substance abuse rehabilitation facility
In 1993, Clapton was appointed a director of Clouds House, a UK treatment centre for drug and alcohol dependence, and served on their board until 1997.[233] Clapton also served on the board of directors for The Chemical Dependency Centre from 1994 until 1999.[234] Both charities subsequently merged to become Action on Addiction in 2007.
In 1998, he established the Crossroads Centre in Antigua to help others overcome their addictions to drugs and alcohol and is active in its management oversight and fundraising to the present day.[235][236] Clapton has organised the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 1999, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2019 to raise funds for this centre.[237] In 1999, Clapton auctioned off some of his guitar collection to raise more than US$5 million for continuing support of the Crossroads Centre.[174] A second guitar auction, including the "Cream" of Clapton's collection – as well as guitars donated by famous friends – was held on 24 June 2004.[174] His Lowden acoustic guitar sold for US$41,825. The revenue garnered by this auction at Christie's was US$7,438,624.[166]
In 2011, he auctioned off over 150 items at a New York auction with proceeds going to his Crossroads Centre. Items included his guitar from the Cream reunion tour in 2005, speaker cabinets used in the early 1970s from his days with Derek and the Dominos, and some guitars from Jeff Beck, J. J. Cale, and Joe Bonamassa.[238] In March 2011 he raised more than £1.3 million when he auctioned off 138 lots, made up of 75 guitars and 55 amps from his personal collection, including a 1984 Gibson hollow body guitar, a Gianni Versace suit from his 1990 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and a replica of the famous Fender Stratocaster known as "Blackie", which fetched more than $30,000. All proceeds again went to Crossroads.[239]
Clapton has performed at the Secret Policeman's Ball, a benefit show co-founded by Monty Python member John Cleese on behalf of Amnesty International. He made his first appearance at the 1981 show held in London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and he subsequently became an activist.[240] Clapton has collaborated with The Prince's Trust, the leading UK youth charity, which provides training, personal development, business start up support, mentoring, and advice. He has performed at the charity's rock concert numerous times since the 1980s, most recently in 2010.[241] In 2008, he donated a song to Aid Still Required's CD to assist with the restoration of Southeast Asia after the devastation inflicted by the 2004 tsunami.[242]

Awards and honours

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Eric Clapton
YearAward / Recognition1983Presented the Silver Clef Award from Princess Michael of Kent for outstanding contribution to British music.[245]
1985Presented the BAFTA for Best Original Television Music for Score of Edge of Darkness with Michael Kamen.[246]
1992Presented the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.[93]
1993"Tears in Heaven" won three Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Male Pop Vocal Performance. Clapton also won Album of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance for Unplugged and Best Rock Song for "Layla".[247]
1995Made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music, as part of the 1995 New Year Honours list.[248]
2000Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the third time, this time as a solo artist. He was earlier inducted as a member of the bands Cream and the Yardbirds.[249]
2004Promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), receiving the award from the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace as part of the 2004 New Year Honours list.[250][251]
2006Awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of Cream.[252]
2015An asteroid, 4305 Clapton, is named after him.
2017Made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France[253]

Clapton's music in film and TV

"Change the World"

Duration: 24 seconds.
0:24
"Change the World" (studio version) from the Phenomenon soundtrack.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Clapton's music has appeared in dozens of movies and television shows as far back as 1973's Mean Streets, which included the Derek and the Dominos song "I Looked Away" and a performance of "Steppin' Out" by Cream. Other appearances in media include in the Miami Vice series ("Wonderful Tonight", "Knock on Wood", "She's Waiting", and "Layla"), Back to the Future ("Heaven Is One Step Away"), The Color of Money ("It's in the Way That You Use It"), Lethal Weapon 2 ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door"), Goodfellas ("Layla" and "Sunshine of Your Love"),[254] Freaks and Geeks episode "I'm With the Band" ("Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room" and "Crossroads"), Friends episodes "The One with the Proposal, Part 2" ("Wonderful Tonight") and "The One Where Rachel Has A Baby" ("River of Tears"), School Of Rock ("Sunshine Of Your Love)", Men in Black III ("Strange Brew"), Captain Phillips ("Wonderful Tonight"), August: Osage County ("Lay Down Sally"), Good Girls Revolt episode "The Year-Ender" ("White Room)", Rick and Morty episode "The Vat of Acid Episode" ("It's in the Way That You Use It") and Joker ("White Room").[255]
Both Opel and Vauxhall used the guitar riff from "Layla" in their advertising campaigns throughout 1987–95. In addition to his music appearing in media, Clapton has contributed to several movies by writing or co-writing the musical scores or contributing original songs. These movies include Lethal Weapon (co-written with Michael Kamen),[256] Communion, Rush, Phenomenon ("Change the World"), and Lethal Weapon 3 (co-wrote and co-performed "It's Probably Me" with Sting and "Runaway Train" with Elton John).[257]