Episode #92 | 12.14.21

Derek and the Dominos: More Clapton, More Cocaine, Flipped Motorcycles, and a Murderous Drummer

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In this episode

In 1960s London, for young guitar enthusiasts, believing that “Clapton is God” was practically the 11th Commandment. In 1970 he lent his big, sticky tone to yet another band: Derek and the Dominos. The group’s white-hot blues burned bright for barely more than a year, but their impact was massive. Guided by drug, alcohol and heartbreak free-fall, Eric Clapton created one of rock’s most recognizable guitar riffs, while drummer Jim Gordon contributed God’s great piano coda. Except Gordon was guided by something far more sinister — something that started with incessant voices in his head, and ended with a hammer, a butcher knife, and a dead mother.