Clapton to Pen Memoir

Rock legend Eric Clapton, now sixty, is set to write his autobiography for Doubleday, due for publication in spring of 2007.

The as-yet-untitled book, which will also be issued in audio format by Random House, will be written in collaboration with Christopher Simon Sykes, a close friend of Clapton's since 1967. The book will also coincide with a North American tour and a Warner Brothers release of a complete retrospective box set of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's recordings.

The announcement finds Clapton following in the footsteps of two other high-profile rock autobiographies: Sting's Broken Music: A Memoir (2003) and Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One (2004). Both were strong sellers.

Meanwhile, Clapton will join his original Cream bandmates -- bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker -- for three nights at New York's Madison Square Garden from October 24th through the 26th. The performances come on the heels of their triumphant four-night stand in London last May. Those shows were released on a two-CD live album and DVD earlier this month.

Clapton released a new studio album, Back Home, featuring guests John Mayer, Steve Winwood and Robert Randolph, in August. The set debuted at Number Thirteen.

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Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

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