Clapton Is a Dad Again

Three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Eric Clapton, 59, became a father for the fifth time Tuesday when his wife Melia McEnery, 29, gave birth to a baby girl in London.

The child is the couple's third: They have daughters Julie Rose, 3, and Ella Mae, 2. Clapton also has a nineteen-year-old daughter, Ruth, and his only son, Conor, died in 1991 after falling from a window in New York City. Clapton's Grammy-winning song "Tears in Heaven" was penned in Conor's memory.

Clapton recently gave permission for "Tears" to be rerecorded as an all-star charity single to benefit Save the Children Fund's tsunami relief efforts. Elton John, Rod Stewart, Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne, Phil Collins and opera tenor Andrea Bocelli are set to contribute vocals. Sharon Osbourne is coordinating the effort.

Clapton is currently planning a four-night reunion of Cream, the legendary Sixties rock trio for which he played guitar, at London's Royal Albert Hall in May. He is also nominated for two awards at the February 13th Grammys.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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