The Bobby Whitlock - Derek And The Dominos Thread*

CC, thank you so much for posting these amazing stories. I appreciate reading your thoughts and memories, so many of which are so personal.

"Thorn Tree" is the perfect song to end the album. I can't imagine anything else coming after "Layla." What a beautiful piece of music! When I hear it, I can see the guys sitting in a circle, playing that sad, gentle song. I don't know if that's how it was actually recorded, but that's how it looks in my mind's eye.

Amazing reading tonight...thank you all.

Chris

 

I Am Yours...

I love the whole Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs album, and "Thorn Tree in the Garden" has always been near and dear to my heart. But the song that always slays me, that takes me away every time is: "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?" With that killer band just cooking along, when Eric takes off on that blazong solo it is just amazing... goose pimples every time... and given the sad story of Carl and Kay revealed here, even more intense now...

Thanks for sharing CC and Bobby...

 

I just read this entire thread and I simply cannot believe it. LAOALS is one of my 5 or 6 favorite albums, I must play it 20 or 30 times a year. Yet after reading this it will be a whole new album to me.

CC, All I can say is thank you, but it isn't nearly enough.

 

Thanks CC & Bobby,
Your responses are most gracious!

"Thorn Tree" was became a poignant theme song in my life, for reasons similar to Derek's. Why does dog owning got to be so sad?

 

I suppose this thread begs us to ask about Dominoes as the "All Things Must Pass" house band. The tracks rock, but I get the impression that such a rootsy band would've had some adapting to do in such a Spector/orchestral sound. Was this a problem? Did you have fun?

 

The Layla album was recorded in the way each song came . "Keep on Growing" was a jam that the band used to play to warm up. When it came time to record it , there were no lyrics. Bobby thought it was too great to just throw away. So he ran out into the lobby of the studio and in about twenty minutes wrote the lyrics to the song. The idea was to do a Sam and Dave vocal thing. It didn't work out at first , but it started to come together the way you hear it on the record.
Eric picked Thorn Tree , he had heard it and asked Bobby if he would like to finish the record with it. The guys did sit in a circle with a Mic placed strategically in the center to get that perfect stereo sound .... it was Bobby , then to his left Eric (playing that orange guitar, then Jim Gordon (standing playing a bell ) ,straight across from Bobby sat Duane , then Carl next to him (standing )...
Duane figured out his harmonic parts ..then in one take Thorn Tree was recorded.
Tom Down always referred to the recording "The Quintessential Stereo Recording".

 

All things Must Pass

Great question...BW just hit the hay , so will answer tomorrow .

 

You are TOTALLY spoiling us CC... thanks so much...

 

You are very very welcome ...I feel a lot lighter.
CC

 

Well I can tell you that Bobby and Eric were the O'Hara Smith Singers . Bobby went to England after D&B to live at Hurtwood (Eric's home) . Bobby and Eric were doing some sessions together ..and there was one session in particular that they did not get paid ..I guess they thought that Eric didn't need the money .
George called Eric one day and asked if he would like to help him on his new record..Bobby was sitting there and Eric asked Bobby if he wouldn't mind playing on George's new record . Bobby said said " you mean George Harrison??" ...well hell yeah .
So initially it was Eric and Bobby .
Bobby tells a story of all the folks who were dropping in on those sessions , most notably John and Yoko who were dressed in army fatigues , then there were the Hari Krishnas who were passing out peanut butter cookies and throwing rose petals.
Bobby played piano for the first time ever on those sessions , and also un-credited on pump organ .
Tommorrow I will continue on with this because Bobby is not in the room and I would hate to start telling something wrong .
Goodnight all ..thanks for a wonderful day .

 

Coco,

Thanks for sharing all of this info with us. The story of the true meaning of 'Thorn Tree In The Garden' made me tear up. Like most people, I had always assumed that Bobby wrote it about a love gone wrong. Now, when I listen and hear his voice on the verge of tears, I'll think about what he went through at the time. I honestly don't know how he was able to maintain his composure in that situation.

Slight subject change here but I was wondering if Bobby could answer something I've always wondered about. We know that Derek and The Dominos played four shows at the Fillmore East in October, 1970. The original live album and the early 90's remixed double CD "At The Fillmore" both feature material taken from the late shows. I've always assumed that the early shows were not professionally recorded. Does Bobby recall the recording situation there and what might have happened?

Thanks again for joining in and sharing with us. I am also going to place an order for the new CD.

 

Yep, really enjoying.

I'd love to get copies of those early Bobby solo albums.

I've got Layla as my alltime fave album and All Things Must Pass a close second. Such beautiful music on both. I often try to make out which ATMP songs the Domino's are playing on. I guess it would be hard to be 100% certain with Phil Spector's production techniques.

And as for the second Domino's album, I absolutely love the songs that have surfaced. 'Got To Get Better In A Little While' sounds so good on the 'Crossroads' boxset but sadly lacks Bobby's input and therefore no keyboards or the wonderful chorus vocals. The only place to hear that chorus is on the live album. Such a good song. And the bands version of 'Evil' is stunning as well.

And lastly, the Layla album, it's not so much the guitar playing that's the real highlight for me. It's the vocals of Eric and Bobby. Eric taking one verse and then Bobby the other, I heard the description of 'Sam and Dave' style used by one person. Just great. Superb stuff. I cannot praise that album enough I would assume that all of the usable outtakes from that album surfaced on the 20th Anniversary boxset that appeared in 1990???

 

Wow this has to be one of the best threads ive read here in ages!!
Thanks so much Coco and Bobby!!

Im listening to the Layla album now at work! Original mix of course!

Jon

 

Thanks CC for the prelim on the O'Hara Smith singers! While you're snoozing (and I'm no longer on a work break) I'll expand the question a bit, please. There are so many names passing through ATMP; Dave Mason, Klaus, Ringo, Leon, the Horns, just to name some. Did your D&B rhythm section stay intact, or were the sessions a big mix and match of personnel as needed (or a rock orchestra as it sometimes sounds)? I understand that Layla was played at low volumes but sounds very large, ..what about ATMP? We've heard some of George's acoustic demos..Were there pre-rehearsals with band to flesh out arrangements or did Phil/George have a set idea? I realize the last several posts have thrown a lot at you, ...we've got time (hours, days, months) so feel free to take yours to keep it fresh! We'll be here. (Collect it up and drop a book!)

PS. At the risk of gushing... I speak for many here, and thousands not on this website, in saying LAOALS has touched us on so many levels. First off, a fabulous rootsy rock album, which would've been terrific in itself. Secondly, the your/Eric's songs touch such an emotional place (which I perchance found myself in); an agony and ecstasy easily in or even beyond the lofty league of Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks". Thirdly, in the early 70's I found myself in a Dominoes/Allmans cover band. Though mimicry, not creation, it was a one of my fondest high memories to crank up the B3, SVT, Marshalls and Fenders and hear the grunt and power of these songs from the inside out (i.e., "Any Day", "Tell The Truth", "WDLGTBSS"). The songs stand up and breathe, there's room to improvise. What a feeling, what a sound. You did yourself proud!

 

Good Morning ...
There are many great questions here , but before they all start getting some answers , I would like to thank you all . THis has been enlightening and a joy .
Bobby never really got over that puppy incident, to this day he has a difficult time getting close to our dogs. Although they win him over , but he won't let me know about it . (I see it )
It wasn't the first time his beloved pet was taken, his own father threw his dog and broke its neck and killed it when he was a boy...some things are just too damn painful . Bobby's dad was a Southern Baptist preacher ...who lived a double life. He treated everybody but his own family with love and kindness.
No one ever believed that wonderful Preacher Whitlock was beating his wife and children.
His own family were so much trash. Bobby managed to get himself out of that life . His mother is at this moment writing about her life ...it is an extraordinary story of her childhood and marrying at the age of 14 . I hope that we all get to read it soon. A part of it was published in Jan Reid's Book .
Derek & the Dominos became that place where anything goes ...all of that pent up emotion , pain , Love . Every one of those guys was really going through something and it all poured out in those sessions.
What a beautiful legacy . Someone recently commented to Bobby that no record company was interested in him ...and that in the 40 years of his life he had made no name for himself. (corporate dude)...
I am glad to have found you all ..to not only disprove that rediculous statement , but see the look on Bobby's face when he hears all of your comments . Each one makes him feel better. He's got the same energy that he has always had ..once dubbed "Strawberry Alarm Clock". Music is Bobby's Life . Layla will always live on because of the nature of what was behind it . It is all Heart , Soul ...
Life's hardships has given the opportunity to learn and grow . That record is as much Bobby's as Eric's.
Peace.

 

Gee, that record was a huge hit from the minute it came out in my town. Everybody had a copy, you heard it all the time at parties. I only listened to college radio at the time because we had a great station nearby, but there you heard the long version of "Layla" on the radio at least a couple times a week, plus "Bell Bottom Blues" and others. Was it really such a (commercial) stiff elsewhere?

 

Layla did zilch in the UK until the title track was released as a single in 1972. I'd love to know how many it's sold over the years but chartwise the album has never registered over here.

 

Thanks so much, Bobby and Coco, it's really great of you to share this with us.

 

First Memory

My first memory of hearing and buying Layla will stick with me. In 1972 I was stationed at a remote USAF base in Korea. In the little village outside the base were various clubs and shops catering to the military. In one of these clubs I heard this song playing and went up to the guy spinning the records in the club. He showed me a cover of an album. It was a bootleg/knock-off of the album with all the print in blue. It was Layla.

A copy of weeks later I got to go to Tokyo for some R&R (rest & relaxation but as it turns out rock & roll also). Anyways at the base exchange I came across two albums one was Layla and the other I had never seen or heard called Exile on Main Street. There were six copies each and I bought them all. I brought these back to the base in Korea with me and gave copies to my buds. What sweet listening, back to back, over and over, until these two albums were ingrained in my mind and are to this day. Oh yes, and Thorn Tree In The Garden was the best song of all for me.

 

Coco, many thanks to you and Bobby for these great stories, and for the picture of you two. You look stunning but I can't get over how great Bobby looks. He wears his life well.

I must admit that I'm not very familiar with Bobby's work outside of D&TD but I'll make a point to seek it out. I've always thought that there was something different about the Layla album (compared to other Clapton projects of the same era) and now I know what it is - it's Bobby Whitlock.

 

I remember seeing photos of this crash on some myspace page that was somehow Dominos related (cant find the link anymore). It was a blue Ferrari right?

 

Mike,
I recall a book years ago written by Marc Roberty that deatiled many recordings and setlists from Eric. IIRC, only those late shows were recorded. It's also been said the band weren't told they were to be recorded. Thank goodness they did tape those sets. Those live performances are some of my favorite ever live recordings.

 

CoCo, Some of your your post are almost too sad to read, but are so revealing at the same time. My heart goes out to all of them but especially to Bobby (I never lost a young pet but even losing old ones hurt me so badly that we no longer have pets ).

As to the a&&hole corporate dude, he is worthless suit, pay him no mind (I would have flattened him. )

 

Something Missing

It is so interesting to have you pop up on the forum at this time. Just last week I was talking with a friend about Bobby's solo work and was looking for a CD of that first album. I haven't owned vinyl in years so it has been awhile for me to hear it but I remember loving it. Anyways, so far, I have only seen it in a back-order status on a site from Universal Japan. Is there any availability in the US on CD for Bobby's early solo work?