10 Things We Learned From 'Eric Clapton : Life in 12 Bars' Doc
Eric Clapton
Lili Fini Zanuck's documentary Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars follows the guitarist as he pursues a single-minded mission to raise the profile of the blues in popular culture. During the Sixties  he moved through bands at a reckless pace in search for the right combination of blues aficionados â he joined  scored major hits and then left and/or dissolved the Yardbirds  John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers  Cream  Blind Faith and Derek the Dominos in less than a decade. Collaborators were just a means to an end;  Clapton 's commitment to the form was total.
Related Toronto 2017:  Clapton   Gaga Music Docs Have Strong Premieres at Fest 'A Life in 12 Bars' closes the book on Slowhand's career  while 'Gaga: Five Feet Two' documents the singer catching a second wind
Life in 12 Bars also grounds  Clapton 's drive in an early childhood trauma: His mother left him to be raised by his grandparents  a rejection that would haunt his subsequent romantic difficulties and decades-long struggles with substance addiction. The documentary is relatively low on talking heads  preferring voiceover narration from  Clapton  or old video footage: Cream wreaking havoc during a live performance in the U.S.; home-movie footage of the musician and his friends goofing around during the recording sessions for what would become Derek and the Dominos' one hit album;  Clapton  struggling to maintain equilibrium during a drunken show in the 1970s; and then playing songs from  his  triumphant  Grammy-winning MTV Unplugged album in the 1990s.
It's  Clapton 's steadfast interest in the blues  however  that serves as the film's through-line. "When it came to blues  there was no one like him " says Mayall. And the doc  which makes its broadcast premiere on Showtime on February 10th  makes a strong case for why that music has kept him going through highs  lows  good times and some seriously bad times. Here are 10 more takeaways from the movie.
 Clapton  was raised by his grandparents and "was a bit of a loner at times " says his grandma. But he found solace in the BBC children's show Uncle Mac. "Uncle Mac was on the radio Saturday morning  and he would play a variety of music for kids "  Clapton  remembers. "And then every now and then  he'd play some different music: [the blues]. You didn't hear that anywhere else. And I thought  this is for me â¦ it took all the pain away."
But it brought some pain to those around him when he bought a guitar and practiced at home at all hours. "I used to suffer agony at night "  Clapton 's grandmother remembers. "Three in the morning  he'd be up playing Big Bill Broonzy."
In 1964   Clapton  played a Christmas event with the Yardbirds. The Beatles were also on the bill  and seeing them had a profound effect on  Clapton . "When the Beatles came on  [the fans] would just start screaming so you couldn't hear anything " he explains. "We would watch from the wings and I could see how pointless these guys thought it was already. George was clearly an innovator. But the sad part was that no one listened."
He thought he was safe in his band â which turned out not to be the case. "I thought the Yardbirds had a real understanding about what it was all about  and it wasn't about being famous or getting on TV or having a hit " he says. But then came "For Your Love " a hit for the group in 1965. "It was pop!"  Clapton  exclaims. "All the material that we were doing was blues music that hadn't even filtered through to the mainstream yet. We were pioneering something. I noticed they were deliberately growing Beatles' haircuts. I thought  we sold out. I've sold out  I gotta get out of here." He left the group high and dry with a major hit to promote and no lead guitarist to play it.
3.  Clapton 's influences extend outside of guitarists.
Though he's known for six-string wizardry   Clapton  looked to other instruments for inspiration. "I listened to [the Indian musician] Bismillah Khan a lot " he says. "I wanted my guitar to sound like his reed instrument. One of the biggest influences on what I wanted to achieve with the guitar was Little Walter  the sound he made with the harmonica playing through an amplifier. It was thick and fat and very melodic."
When  Clapton  went into the studio to record as a member of John Mayall's group  he was frustrated by technicians "that just came up to your amp with the microphone and just stuck it two inches away from the front of the amplifier " he says. "It seemed to me that if you wanted to get the atmosphere we were getting in the clubs  you needed it to sound like you were in the audience 10 feet away  not three inches."
 Clapton  moved the mics â and aspiring musicians took notice. "That changed everything " Roger Waters says. "Before Eric  guitar playing in England had been Hank Marvin of the Shadows  very simple  not much technique. Suddenly we heard something completely different. The records sounded unlike anything we had heard before."
Clapton and his new band went to Miami to record Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs  working in the legendary Criterion Studios with the Atlantic engineer Tom Dowd. But despite a talented group and sunny weather  "two weeks into the session  we got stuck "  Clapton  says. "We hit a brick wall."
Dowd took the outfit to see the Allman Brothers  and the performance had a galvanizing effect. "I was completely blown away by this band "  Clapton  remembers.  He  also struck up a friendship with Allman  who joined  Clapton  and co. in the studio. " He  was the catalyst we needed "  Clapton  adds.
 Related Eric Clapton  on Addiction  Cream's Brilliance  the Future of the Guitar The guitar icon looks back on  his  turbulent history  as chronicled in new doc 'Life in 12 Bars ' and ahead to what's next
9.  Clapton 's drug and alcohol addictions worsened after the death of  his  grandfather.
Lili Fini Zanuck's documentary  [TGT] : Life in 12 Bars follows the guitarist as he pursues a single-minded mission to raise the profile of the blues in popular culture. During the Sixties  he moved through bands at a reckless pace in search for the right combination of blues aficionados â he joined  scored major hits and then left and/or dissolved the Yardbirds  John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers  Cream  Blind Faith and Derek the Dominos in less than a decade. Collaborators were just a means to an end;  Clapton 's commitment to the form was total.
Related Toronto 2017:  Clapton   Gaga Music Docs Have Strong Premieres at Fest 'A Life in 12 Bars' closes the book on Slowhand's career  while 'Gaga: Five Feet Two' documents the singer catching a second wind
Life in 12 Bars also grounds  Clapton 's drive in an early childhood trauma: His mother left him to be raised by his grandparents  a rejection that would haunt his subsequent romantic difficulties and decades-long struggles with substance addiction. The documentary is relatively low on talking heads  preferring voiceover narration from  Clapton  or old video footage: Cream wreaking havoc during a live performance in the U.S.; home-movie footage of the musician and his friends goofing around during the recording sessions for what would become Derek and the Dominos' one hit album;  Clapton  struggling to maintain equilibrium during a drunken show in the 1970s; and then playing songs from  his  triumphant  Grammy-winning MTV Unplugged album in the 1990s.
It's  Clapton 's steadfast interest in the blues  however  that serves as the film's through-line. "When it came to blues  there was no one like him " says Mayall. And the doc  which makes its broadcast premiere on Showtime on February 10th  makes a strong case for why that music has kept him going through highs  lows  good times and some seriously bad times. Here are 10 more takeaways from the movie.
 Clapton  was raised by his grandparents and "was a bit of a loner at times " says his grandma. But he found solace in the BBC children's show Uncle Mac. "Uncle Mac was on the radio Saturday morning  and he would play a variety of music for kids "  Clapton  remembers. "And then every now and then  he'd play some different music: [the blues]. You didn't hear that anywhere else. And I thought  this is for me â¦ it took all the pain away."
But it brought some pain to those around him when he bought a guitar and practiced at home at all hours. "I used to suffer agony at night "  Clapton 's grandmother remembers. "Three in the morning  he'd be up playing Big Bill Broonzy."
In 1964   Clapton  played a Christmas event with the Yardbirds. The Beatles were also on the bill  and seeing them had a profound effect on  Clapton . "When the Beatles came on  [the fans] would just start screaming so you couldn't hear anything " he explains. "We would watch from the wings and I could see how pointless these guys thought it was already. George was clearly an innovator. But the sad part was that no one listened."
He thought he was safe in his band â which turned out not to be the case. "I thought the Yardbirds had a real understanding about what it was all about  and it wasn't about being famous or getting on TV or having a hit " he says. But then came "For Your Love " a hit for the group in 1965. "It was pop!"  Clapton  exclaims. "All the material that we were doing was blues music that hadn't even filtered through to the mainstream yet. We were pioneering something. I noticed they were deliberately growing Beatles' haircuts. I thought  we sold out. I've sold out  I gotta get out of here." He left the group high and dry with a major hit to promote and no lead guitarist to play it.
3.  Clapton 's influences extend outside of guitarists.
Though he's known for six-string wizardry   Clapton  looked to other instruments for inspiration. "I listened to [the Indian musician] Bismillah Khan a lot " he says. "I wanted my guitar to sound like his reed instrument. One of the biggest influences on what I wanted to achieve with the guitar was Little Walter  the sound he made with the harmonica playing through an amplifier. It was thick and fat and very melodic."
When  Clapton  went into the studio to record as a member of John Mayall's group  he was frustrated by technicians "that just came up to your amp with the microphone and just stuck it two inches away from the front of the amplifier " he says. "It seemed to me that if you wanted to get the atmosphere we were getting in the clubs  you needed it to sound like you were in the audience 10 feet away  not three inches."
 Clapton  moved the mics â and aspiring musicians took notice. "That changed everything " Roger Waters says. "Before Eric  guitar playing in England had been Hank Marvin of the Shadows  very simple  not much technique. Suddenly we heard something completely different. The records sounded unlike anything we had heard before."
Clapton and his new band went to Miami to record Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs  working in the legendary Criterion Studios with the Atlantic engineer Tom Dowd. But despite a talented group and sunny weather  "two weeks into the session  we got stuck "  Clapton  says. "We hit a brick wall."
Dowd took the outfit to see the Allman Brothers  and the performance had a galvanizing effect. "I was completely blown away by this band "  Clapton  remembers.  He  also struck up a friendship with Allman  who joined  Clapton  and co. in the studio. " He  was the catalyst we needed "  Clapton  adds.
 Related  [TGT]   on Addiction  Cream's Brilliance  the Future of the Guitar The guitar icon looks back on  his  turbulent history  as chronicled in new doc 'Life in 12 Bars ' and ahead to what's next
9.  Clapton 's drug and alcohol addictions worsened after the death of  his  grandfather.