My pick for Racer of the Week is Tony Betts, from Wickford, Essex, United Kingdom. Tony was recommended to me by our friend and former Racer of the Week, Lee Cohen. Thanks, Lee! Tony's '34 Ford Supercharged Outlaw Fuel Altered is on the graphic for his feature, but there are many outstanding hot rods in his life. He drove Funny Cars in the 1980s, ran Fuel Altereds all throughout his career in Drag Racing, notably the Venom Fiat Fuel Altered which unfortunately experienced one of the most devastating crashes at the European Finals at Santa Pod in 2009 that Tony walked away from, but it led to a new era in his Drag Racing life.
Tony drove Richard Hartman's Nostalgia Funny Car at the 2015 California Hot Rod Reunion, and his name as a driver is world-known and respected by all. The '34 features a blown Chrysler Hemi and although it has the look and stance of a street rod, it's drag racing only, however the chassis is all-tube on top and has a stock pan underneath. The '55 Chevy that Tony has is his street rod, and the '34 is quite a sight to behold when it makes appearances in the UK. Tony has been in Drag Racing for decades, and his current ride is sensible as well as competitive. We look forward to seeing what he comes up with next. Tony Betts, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
Tonight will be the last segment on the first Supergroup, Cream, and it centers on the most enigmatic and complicated personality in the band, the great Eric Clapton. Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England in 1945 to a 16-year-old mom and an absentee Dad. He was raised by his grandparents, believing that the girl he grew up with was his sister. He withdrew in his teens when he learned the truth, and he began seriously playing guitar when he was 15 years old. He was enthralled by American Blues music, and he patterned his style on that of the great Robert Johnson, whose 29 recordings from the 1930s have yet to be bettered.
Eric got real good, real fast. By the time he was 18 in 1963, he joined the Yardbirds, an electric Blues Band that stretched the limits of the genre. His style was a lot like Buddy Guy, Freddie and BB King, but with his own tone. During his time with the Birds, he was given the nickname "Slowhand", which had a reference to every time he broke a string, he'd replace it onstage and the crowd would do a slow hand clap while he was fixing his instrument. The Yardbirds went commerical with their recording of "For Your Love", which was written by Graham Gouldman, who later formed 10cc and Clapton was not pleased, being a blues purist. He left the band the day "For Your Love" was released and joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. While with that band, he became the greatest electric guitar player in England. "Clapton Is God" was painted on walls throughout London. There is no doubt that he was playing like the devil himself, but he was still not happy or settled into his role.
This is the main feature about Eric Clapton that has run through his life. He was never satisfied or happy with his life, and his personal life was never completely fulfilled. So after a gig in 1966, Ginger Baker made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Let's put a supergroup together. Clapton's only rider on that gig was that Baker's nemesis, Jack Bruce, would be the bass player. It was a formula for success and failure at the same time, but Baker agreed and Cream began their rocky climb to the top of the rock world.
Cream was arguably the best live musical act in the world. Each member was known as the very best you could get at their respective positions, and the icing on the cake was Clapton's unbelievably fluid and precise yet bluesy style. He was like no other. In his early 20s and with a head full of far-reaching ideas, he covered musical territory with Cream that had never been done before.
Yet behind the scenes, there was constant trouble and friction going on in that band, with the trouble being drugs and the friction being the Baker-Bruce war. Clapton grew weary of trying to reconcile the fights between the other two, and he became withdrawn and reclusive in the last year of the band's existence. This is when I saw them live. Another factor in Clapton's life was that after collaborating and playing on George Harrison's Wonderwall Music album, he found himself hopelessly in love with George's wife, Patti Boyd. Harrison and Clapton remained friends, but Clapton was heart-renderingly in love with that woman. I can't figure that out, but I wasn't involved, thank God, so I can only say what happened. He developed a nasty drug problem and by the time Cream's last album "Goodbye" came out, there was no more band.
Eric Clapton quickly put a new supergroup together called Blind Faith, but after one record and a shaky tour, it disbanded and Clapton went home and stayed there for the next few years, trying to sort out his life. He did go on the road for a while with Delaney and Bonnie, and recruited most of their band to record his solo album in 1971, but he pretty much stayed out of the limelight until Pete Townsend dragged him out of the haze and had him play a comeback concert in 1973, and star in his movie, Tommy as the high priest. He also showed up sick for George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh but he got through it and went straight home afterwards.
Even though Cream was a fantastic band, the late 60s and early 70s were purgatory for Eric Clapton. He has since conquered his demons and went on to make some of the best music ever over the last 45 years, and we're all very happy for him. It's strange that I thought the best music he ever made was when he was totally miserable in his personal life...he invented "Woman Tone" with his custom-painted Gibson SG run into a Marshall amp stack, but what he wanted was peace in his life, which was a long, hard way from getting there when he was in Cream.
I want to thank Danny White for his input and advice in doing these segments. Next week I'm going to start the story of what is probably the greatest American band of all time, Steely Dan.
Y'all be sure to tune in tomorrow evening at 7 PM Eastern on Racers Reunion Radio for Racing Through History. It's Thee Goat Rodeo you don't want to miss! Thanks, I'll see y'all next week.