Two major figures of 1960s and 1970s rock, George Harrison and Eric Clapton forged a strong friendship and creative partnership that outlasted drug and alcohol abuse and even Clapton’s notorious affair with Harrison’s then-wife Patti Boyd. They composed songs together, guested on each other’s albums, and helped each other in dark times.
1970 would prove a pivotal year for both, as they would release albums that would define their careers and establish them as towering artistic figures. Authors Kenneth Womack and Jason Kruppa look at that crucial year — as well as the time preceding it – in their book All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs. What emerges is a portrait of two musicians whose backgrounds bear striking differences yet possess one key similarity: an undying desire to establish themselves as independent, original, and confident artists.
Womack and Kruppa begin the story comparing George Harrison and Eric Clapton’s childhoods, which were dissimilar; while Harrison’s family lived on modest means, they largely supported their son’s musical ambitions and remained close. Clapton’s childhood, on the other hand, became enwrapped in turmoil due to being raised by his grandparents and believing for years that his biological mother was his sister. Abandonment issues would plague Clapton for much of his life. Music would prove his escape, however, and by the time he met Harrison during the Beatle years, he had established himself as a respected guitarist.
As the authors point out, both artists struggled in their respective bands. Clapton resisted the pop leanings of the Yardbirds and joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, only to grow restless and form the power trio Cream and later the supergroup Blind Faith. Meanwhile, Harrison still found massive success with the Beatles, but was increasingly frustrated with John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s failure to take his work seriously. While he increasingly worked on his own projects, produced various Apple artists, and continued studying with Ravi Shankar, he expressed reluctance to completely break with the Beatles.
By 1970, Clapton had departed Cream and the Beatles disbanded, leaving the two friends at a crossroads. Here the book takes flight as Womack and Kruppa detail the making of the two albums that would define the two musicians’ careers. Both would battle bouts with insecurity but found their footing creatively, albeit through different means.
The authors contrast their work ethics: Harrison painstakingly crafted All Things Must Pass, while Clapton, Duane Allman, and the rest of Derek and the Dominoes recorded Layla in an impressive two weeks. Harrison remained largely sober during the sessions, while Clapton devolved into heroin and other drugs. Upon the albums’ releases, All Things Must Pass received instant acclaim and commercial success while Layla met with decidedly mixed reviews and more modest sales. Today, of course, it is considered a classic.
Wisely Kenneth Womack and Jason Kruppa largely avoid the more scandalous aspects of Harrison and Clapton’s biographies, particularly when it comes to Patti Boyd. While they do mention Clapton’s affair with Boyd, the Harrison/Boyd divorce, and Clapton and Boyd’s subsequent marriage, they describe the triangle only in relation to how the situation affected the music.
Some of the material on Layla (particularly the title track) addresses his ongoing desire for her, thus their doomed romance pertains. It is refreshing, however, that the book does not linger over the more salacious details. They also provide a fascinating examination of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” production style, explaining what makes it unique and how attitudes toward it have changed over time.
All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs will encourage readers to reconsider the two musicians’ legacies, particularly when it comes to their two masterpieces. Womack and Kruppa, two accomplished musicologists and historians, invite fans to think of George Harrison and Eric Clapton not just as legends, but as emerging artists marking their own paths in music, experiencing the thrills and anxiety accompanying the process.
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