1970 - Eric Clapton
Recording with
Eric Clapton for what would become the double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, producer Tom Dowd took Clapton and his band to an Allman Brothers concert where Clapton, already a fan of the guitarist, first heard
Duane Allman play in person. After Clapton invited the whole band back to the studio that night, he and Allman formed an instant bond that provided the catalyst for the Layla album. Over ten days Allman contributed to all the tracks on the album except "I Looked Away," "Bell Bottom Blues," and "Keep on Growing".
From wiki wiki:
Duane Allman's arrival
Veteran producer
Tom Dowd was working on the
Allman Brothers second album,
Idlewild South, when the studio received a phone call that Clapton was bringing the Dominos to Miami to record. Upon hearing this, guitarist
Duane Allman indicated that he would love to drop by and watch, if Clapton approved.
Allman later called Dowd to let him know that his band was in town to perform a benefit concert on 26 August. When Clapton learned of this he insisted on going to see their show, saying, "You mean that guy who plays on the back of (
Wilson Pickett's) 'Hey Jude'? … I want to see
him play … let's go." Stage hands seated Clapton and company in front of the barricade separating the audience from the stage. When they sat down, Allman was playing a solo. As he turned around and opened his eyes and saw Clapton, he froze.
Dickey Betts, the Allmans' other lead guitarist, picked up where Allman left off, but when he followed Allman's eyes to Clapton, he had to turn his back to keep from freezing, himself.
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After the show, Allman asked Clapton if he could come by the studio to watch some recording sessions, but Eric invited him there directly, saying: "Bring your guitar; you got to play!" Jamming together overnight, the two bonded; Dowd reported that they "were trading licks, they were swapping guitars, they were talking shop and information and having a ball – no holds barred, just admiration for each other's technique and facility."
[8] Clapton wrote later in his autobiography that he and Allman were inseparable during the sessions in Florida; he talked about Allman as the "musical brother I'd never had but wished I did".
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