According to 100.7 WZLX-FM in Boston, Eric Clapton married Pattie Boyd-Harrison on this day in 1979 in Tuscon, Arizona. Pattie had been married to Clapton’s best friend, George Harrison, when Clapton lured her away from Harrison. She had been the inspiration for Clapton’s song ‘Layla’ about 9 years earlier. Somehow, Harrison remained best mates with Clapton. Maybe that’s because Harrison was (allegedly) cheating with other women himself. Would this catch up with Clapton?
Clapton was devastatingly lovesick over Pattie. He pined for her for years, pouring his unrequited love into his music. Maybe this even contributed to his heroin and alcohol abuse habit. But just a few short years after finally marrying his muse, Clapton hooked up with an Italian model and had a baby boy, Conor (this was a just one year after another mistress gave him a daughter). Not exactly how you’d think a guy would treat the one great love of his life, eh?
Anyone who has heard ‘Tears in Heaven’ knows it was written for Conor, who died a tragic death. Conor was buried on this day in 1991, 12 years after Clapton’s marriage to Pattie Boyd-Harrison. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but the eerie timing of these events just might be a message from a higher power.
