Who was ‘Derek’ from Derek and the Dominos?
Eric Clapton, of course, made a name for himself in the 1960s first as a member of the group The Yardbirds and then later on, for a short while, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.
In an age of guitar heroes, he was lavished with special attention and reverence for his playing, as he sped up licks he’d learned when listening to real-deal blues greats like Muddy Waters, Freddie King and BB King.
Becoming famous for bringing the music of Black America to his various white groups in London, it wasn’t long before Clapton was a household name and was being invited to join any number of new blues rock groups that were springing up in the ’60s under his influence. His fame and his name had even grown so much that by the end of the decade, he was supposedly considered by The Beatles as a replacement for George Harrison, after the quiet Beatle walked out on the band in ’69.
Though ultimately, Clapton didn’t jump into his friend Harrison’s grave so quickly and replace him in the band, he did jump into his bed instead and wooed away his wife, Pattie Boyd, a courtship that would inspire him to write songs with his new band like ‘Layla’, but it was his own personal stardom and the growing circus around his name that led him to start the new band at all.
When on tour as part of yet another group (can you keep up with all of these names?) in 1969, Blind Faith, Clapton was souring on stardom and losing his patience with the pressures of fame. The same couldn’t be said of the group supporting the tour, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whom Clapton grew to admire as the dates went on, especially appreciating their relative anonymity. As we’ve seen already, whether it’s with music, wives, or simply just in vibes, once he sees someone else getting on to a good thing, Clapton doesn’t waste any time trying to take it for himself.
For his next tour, he joined forces with Delaney and Bonnie, becoming one of the ‘friends’ from the extended bands’ name and enjoyed some time in the background. Not too much time, though, as in 1970 he released his eponymous solo debut album, with Delaney, Bonnie and their friends acting as his backing musicians.
Following a string of money troubles and professional tension between the friends, the group split, but Clapton stayed in touch with multi-instrumentalist Bobby Whitlock and began workshopping ideas for yet another new group. Though they pulled a five-piece band together and began to write some new material, plenty of it inspired by Patti Boyd, they didn’t get around to coming up with a name until the night of their first gig, on June 14th, 1970.
So, who was Derek?
Though various accounts of the story circulating over the years, the christening of the titular Derek from Derek and the Dominoes can quite likely be traced back to a gaffe on the night of the show.
The group had been listed on fliers as “Eric Clapton and Friends” and after a backstage discussion were set to be announced as “Eric & The Dynamos” (Clapton again clearly trying to hide away from that pesky fame that he hated so much), until pianist Tony Ashton misspoke and introduced them to the crowd, and their new name, as “Derek and the Dominoes”.
