But soon after recording Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton<\/a> in 1966, he found himself standing mouth agape as he watched Buddy Guy<\/a> perform in London with a bassist and drummer.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \u201cWhat it said to me was, ‘This was possible,\u2019\u201d Clapton explained. \u201cIf you were a good enough guitar player, you could do it as a trio. It seemed to be so free, you could go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n He promptly quit Mayall and secretly formed his own power-trio, Cream<\/a>, with bass<\/a> guitarist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. Their group was nearly revealed too soon<\/a> when the three were picked at random to contribute to a compilation album featuring London’s hottest players. When they did come out, Cream became rock’s most groundbreaking power trio, much as Clapton had hoped.<\/p>\n But behind the scenes, he anguished over the band’s interpersonal tensions as well as Bruce and Baker’s jazz leanings.<\/p>\n \u201cEric thought he was going to have this little blues trio and be like Buddy Guy,” Bruce later said of his and Baker’s jazz-rooted tendencies<\/a>. \u201cWe had different ideas.”<\/p>\n The band was ultimately run into the ground by their greedy management, who only ever saw the band as a quick cash grab. They even approached Rory Gallagher to step into Clapton’s vacated position<\/a> when the trio inevitably disintegrated in 1968 after just two years .<\/p>\n Blind Faith<\/a> became Clapton’s next project. Featuring Traffic keyboardist and singer Steve Winwood, bassist Ric Grech and Baker on drums, the quartet never jelled. After the group was supported on a gig by the American group Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, Clapton saw their brand of southern-fried blues as more to his liking. He befriended frontman Delaney Bramlett<\/a>, and with his pal Beatle George Harrison in tow, joined the group for a handful of gigs before launching his 1970 self-titled solo album, recorded with the support of the band.<\/p>\n That inevitably led to the creation of his next group, Derek and the Dominos, a quartet designed to give Clapton a degree of anonymity. Formed with members of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, the project was very close to Clapton’s heart. As he revealed shortly before the release of their 1970 album, Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, he expected Derek and the Dominos to outlive its predecessors. <\/a>In the end, they made it no further than one album.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n There were highs and lows to their time together. Clapton’s guitar tandem with Duane Allman<\/a>, who guested on the record, has gone down in rock as one of the greatest the genre has ever seen. But Clapton was pained by the knowledge their guitar fusion was temporary.<\/p>\n![\"Eric](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ao7tToSrQDjbG5URQMuzXQ.jpg\")
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