10 Artists Who Left Amazing Bands To Create Something Better

By Mark Ginocchio /

2. Eric Clapton

€œSlowhand€ was dubbed €œGod€ back when he was a guitarist for pioneering British blues group John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. He was also the guitarist for the significant €œBritish Invasion€ band, The Yardbirds. However, Clapton€™s career was shot into the stratosphere alongside Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker as part of the rock/blues hybrid supergroup, Cream. Cream revolutionised rock music, mixing a gritty €œmetal€ sound with technical proficiency that inspired generations of musicians. Some of their greatest songs, Sunshine of Your Love, White Room, and Crossroads, are staples of classic rock radio today, and the band€™s reunion in the mid-2000s was considered a seminal event in rock music history. Clapton left Cream and joined the supergroup, Blind Faith, as well as later the husband/wife (and friends) band, Delaney & Bonnie. Clapton became the bonafide frontman when he started Derek and the Dominos, as the self-penned Layla is considered one of the greatest rock songs of all-time. Continuing to record under his own name, he achieved Platinum-certification in the U.S. for albums such as Slowhand, Behind the Sun and From the Cradle, and in the U.K. for August and Journeyman. His 1992 Unplugged live album is arguably one of the greatest live records in rock history, featuring the emotionally-charged U.S. No. 1 hit, Tears in Heaven, which was written after the death of Clapton€™s four-year-old son.