Bobby Whitlock, the co-founder and keyboardist-singer for blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos and who contributed to the albums of such musicians as George Harrison, fellow co-founder Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones, died early Sunday morning at the age of 77, per multiple media reports.
His death was confirmed to outlets by his manager Carol Kaye, who said in a statement, “With profound sadness, the family of Bobby Whitlock announces his passing at 1:20 a.m. on Aug. 10 after a brief illness. He passed in his home in Texas, surrounded by family.”
The Memphis-born musician began his career as a teenager in the ’60s, befriending acts associated with his hometown Stax Records, the influential label behind Southern soul music. He recorded alongside R&B duo Sam & Dave and Booker T. & the M.G.’s, becoming the first white artist to be singed by the label.
Afterward, Whitlock would go on to join husband-wife duo Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett in a touring band known as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included musicians like singer-guitarist Clapton, bassist Carl Radle, and drummer Jim Gordon — all of whom would join Whitlock in forming Derek and the Dominos.
Though Derek and the Dominos is perhaps best known for launching Clapton into solo music stardom, Whitlock was a key contributor to the group’s debut and sole studio album release Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). The group broke up a year later following the album’s disappointing release (though in recent years the project has been reappraised as among one of the greatest rock albums), death of guitarist Duane Allman and Clapton’s substance addiction, at which point Whitlock went on to launch a solo career.
As a session musician, Whitlock’s notable contributions on various recordings include: Harrison’s All Things Must Pass (1970), Dr. John’s The Sun, Moon & Herbs (1971), Doris Troy’s self-titled 1970 album and an uncredited contribution to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. double album (1972).
Whitlock released two solo albums, a self-titled release and Raw Velvet, both in 1972, followed by two LPs later in the ’70s before largely leaving the music industry by the end of the decade. In the ’90s, however, he returned to recording and collaborated often with wife and musical partner CoCo Carmel. Whitlock and Clapton also reunited in 2000 to perform “Bell Bottom Blues” together on Later With Jools Holland.
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Whitlock’s wife, CoCo Carmel, said, “How do you express in but a few words the grandness of one man who came from abject poverty in the south to heights unimagined in such a short time. My love Bobby looked at life as an adventure taking me by the hand leading me through a world of wonderment from music to poetry and painting. As he would always say: ‘Life is what you make it, so take it and make it beautiful.’ And he did.”
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