Eric Clapton was born on March 30, 1945, in Ripley, Surrey, England. He was raised by his grandparents, though for the first part of his life. Then, at 9 years old, the woman he thought was his sister, was revealed to actually be his biological mother (via the Mail Online). This had a major impact on Clapton as, according to his website, he stopped applying himself in school. He got his first guitar at 13 years old but abandoned it after finding the cheaply made German instrument too hard to play.
However, Clapton rediscovered music several years later and became obsessed with playing guitar and listening to American blues musicians like Freddie King, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy. At 17, he joined his first band, the Roosters. That band didn't last long at all, but Clapton wasn't left on the bench for long, as he was recruited to play in the Yardbirds just a few months later. As a member of the Yardbirds, Clapton started to garner a lot of attention in the music scene and was given one of his famous nicknames, "Slowhand."
The Yardbirds started veering toward pop music, but Clapton wanted to continue on a path with blues music. According to Britannica, he joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers which also featured future Cream bassist Jack Bruce. Clapton's other famous nickname, "God," came from his time with the Bluesbreakers. Clapton took a respite from the Bluesbreakers, returned, then left again. In 1966 he teamed up with Bruce, and Ginger Baker to form Cream.
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