The Bobby Whitlock - Derek And The Dominos Thread*

whos the girl on the Inside of the Layla Album

Continuing on...
So I asked Bobby why was the entire band "sacked" ?
If drug and alcohol abuse could get worse it did...after the Dominos Eric traded heroin for Alcohol and cocaine , the Tulsa guys were abusing pretty badly . Eric wanted to get clean , and the only way to do that was to let everybody go .
a note on The Dominos last recordings:
Jim Gordon wanted to be more than just a drummer ..he wanted desperatly to write. The tag on "Layla" came from a song (I am sure you know) that was written by Rita Coolidge (Time) . Jim and Rita had come to Bobby with it and Bobby didn't like it ..Jim really wanted Bobby to help finish writing it .
Bobby passed on it. Jim was determined to get that piano on "Layla" and finally succeded. Layla is and was really Eric Claptons song.
(I have to say that when Eric writes a song it really comes from his Soul , I love his songs from those early days .)
Bobby walked out on the last sessions because of Jim Gordon's insistance on recording his songs. Jim was clearly having internal problems that were now beginning to show outwardly ..and the drugs were a big part of the problem.
After a very heated argument Eric walked out and told Jim Gordon that he would never work with him again .
Needless to say Bobby was sick , this great band fell apart . They never got to enjoy the success of the record , a year and a half later it started getting airplay. Bobby only started to play the songs recently , the songs that he and Eric wrote and "Thorn Tree in the Garden" ( Bobby's song) .
People love to hear them , and even though Bobby has 5 solo records and has continued on ...people want to hear that Domino stuff.
So many people have asked Bobby to do "Layla" ...he has always resisted because it's Eric's song . He finally came up with the new version on our "Lovers" cd ( Named after the song on the same album). It's different , but so is Bobby . Bobby and Eric never had a falling out ...and respect each others lives , Eric has heard the new "Layla " and we received approval to have it on the CD.
More to come .
Thank you all .
CC

*Jerry Lee Lewis just cut Bobby's song "Slip Away"

 

Thank you

Thank you
CC and BW

 

"Thorn Tree in the Garden" is my favorite song from the entire LAYLA album, period. IMHO, it captures the entire spirit of the album in three heartbreakingly quiet, desperate, aching, yearning minutes...... It always brings back memories of a girl that I was HUMONGOUSLY in love with in high school. Those words not only spoke to me, but spoke for me. After high school, I couldn't listen to that song for many years without getting simultaneously sad and angry for not getting the guts to ever pursue her. Marriage to a wonderful lady, happily, took away that pain.

Thanks for starting this thread, because I always wondered who that beautiful woman was. That's so tragic what happened to her; I never knew that until this thread. There were a lot of times when I first got this album I would just stare at the picture of that lady. Those eyes and how her hair hung over her shoulder, how tan she was.... she looks like SHE could've been the inspiration for "The Girl from Ipanema."

Glad to see Coco and Bobby here. I like your user name.

 

Thank you

What a Beautiful Story ...all around . Kay Poorboy certainly is a beautiful woman . It is so nice to be able to reveal something new .
And I know when I read this ..well here comes Bobby . Hang on.
he says "Thank you , I am flattered ..it means a lot to me..Thats Huge"..
Straight from his mouth. to you .
This has been a lot of fun.
CC

 

This thread has been a REAL treat for fans. It's lovely (and/or bittersweet) to get the straight stories first-hand.
If the Whitlock's & Co are in the mood, are there any anecdote's about the D&B tour or Eric Clapton's first album sessions they wish to share. (Friend "Eddie" comes to mind on the bacK cover group shot.) Anything to flesh out music?
Just a thought..Thanks!

 

The Layla album will be to me always the high water mark for Clapton. Perhaps he played better guitar on the Bluesbreakers album or sang better later but as a collection of songs and performances nothing can beat Layla.

And a large part of that was Bobby's keyboards and vocals. And Jim and Carl's perfect rhythm section duties. And then of course there was that Allman guy.

It remains one of the finest albums ever released.

Bobby Sutliff

 

D&B were a great band ...until egos got in the way of them becoming a supergroup. Delaney was the key writer in those days ...he actually did write those songs although it is something that is never talked about . "Let it Rain" was Eric's song under a different title ("She Rides") .
He also knew how important it was for him to have Eric's name on those songs ...it would lift him into stardom.
When Superstar was being written , Bobby tells that he and Bonnie were down the hall in another room "gettin' high" and Delaney wouldn't let them into the room with Leon . You can really hear Leon Russell's input on "Superstar" if you are familiar with Leon's writing (Like Lennon/McCartney) . Superstar was written with Bonnie in mind (to have the hit with it ) ...unfortunatly the Carpenters got hold of it and Bonnie never had the hit with it as promised . It must have hurt ...because Bonnie never did receive the acclaim that she deserved as a great singer ...man she had it all.
Eddie James Olmos is on the back of the cover...he was a "friend" he was good lookin'...if you were a "Friend" you could be in the photo.
Bobby still has that leather coat that appears in that shoot . The photo was taken at A&M Studios in Hollywood . Bobby says he was always good at standing in the front . Being short and good lookin' has its plus' .
Bobby wrote "Where there's a Will there's a Way" ..Delaney actually had no input on that song and to this day Bobby doesn't know how that happened . Bobby had written the song about he and his first wife , who never had anything to say ( didn't have anything to say to each other ) . He said they were just kids...and it didn't work out !
The song was written at John Garfield Jr.'s house on his piano in the Hollywood hills ( a house that Rita Coolidge later bought ). The guest house of that same property is where Rita and Jim wrote the song called "Time" ( which became the Layla Piano ending ).

 

Thanks!

I always liked how that was the last song on the album, and how it gently segued from the end of "Layla," with its twittering guitars sounding almost peaceful, into the quiet harmonics of "Thorn Tree" introducing the heartbreaking hopelessness of love in vain. "And maybe someday soon.... someway....."

I don't usually wax this poetically, but this song does it to me every time.

 

Just to let you know ...
"Thorn Tree in the Garden"
Was written about Bobby's puppy that was put down. He was living in the Plantation with all those people , Chuck Blackwell , Francine , Indian Ed Davis (part time ) Jimmy Carstein , Billy Doyle ( who had one leg ) , Kay Poorboy ...there was a lot of people going in and out of that house . People coming and going Taj Mahal, Leon Russell , Gary Lewis..

Bobby was told by someone at the house that he would have to get rid of his dog and cat ...so he gave his cat to Delaney's mom and when he got back home his dog was gone , he asked what had happened to it , and was told that the puppy had been "taken care of" (put down).
Bobby went and cried ...and instead of going and beating that guy up ...he sat and wrote "Thorn Tree in the Garden".
He played it to the person ...and said "Everytime you hear this song , you will remember what you did to my little dog". At that time he was unaware that it would be on one of the greatest R&R records ever made.

 

Thanks and welcome CC & Friends. D & D will always be part of my life. One of my all-time favorites. Thanks for all the info.

 

Derek & The Dominos was such a great great band . Thank you for welcoming us .

 

I believe CC was responding to the question posed in this thread http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=60410

Thanks CoCo

 

Let me join in the chorus here that "Thorn Tree in the Garden" is my favorite song on the album and is one of my all-time faves anywhere!

The way Bobby's voice cracks near the end is emotion personified!
.

 

What a great thread!! I used to have Bobby's first album on Dunhill Records but it disappeared many years ago.

I see Universal Japan has released the "Bobby Whitlock" and "Raw Velvet" albums on CD.

 

If you get a chance please check out this classic thread started by our friend Norm (teaser5):

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=35498

 

Response to an earlier thread

Prompted by that ...and also that I was asked to do this about a year ago and never could get around on it . Finally have , and am really enjoying all of your posts and comments.
Thank you all again .
CC

 

What a sad story. I know I would not have reacted the way Bobby did.

Welcome to the forum and a HUGE "thank you" for sharing all of these great stories. As others have said, Layla has been one of my favorite albums since I first heard it in and bought it in about 1972. Hearing the stories behind the album is even better.

By the way, which pressing of the album/CD does Bobby prefer? (Just kidding. But, someone is going to ask sooner or later.)

 

Bobby's favorite record is Derek & The Dominos Live
"It was "straight from the hip".. no overdubs .
Eric Clapton at his finest.
"When we went into Olympic studios ( when they made an attempt to cut the second studio album ) , Eric was distressed by knowing that Layla was the epitome of his career , he didn't know what he was going to do to top that"

 

What great reading this thread is!

 

Again, thank you for the stories. The Layla album has always been one of my favorites, and while it is often praised as being one of the best “guitar” albums (which it is), I think the reason it stands up so well even today is due to the strong songwriting which Bobby was such an integral part of. “Thorn Tree in the Garden” is a beautiful song, so full of emotion yet deceptively simple. I probably speak for many when I say that the Layla album has many times seemed like a perfect reflection of the emotions that many of us have experienced through our lives, and is truly something magical.

 

D & D definitely one of my 'desert island disks' (my wife's too). Great memories together of listening to that album...

Thorn Tree in the Garden is a great tune, got to listen all the way through for the complete feeling.

 

I guess you just don't know how great something is when you are in the middle of it . We try to enjoy every moment ...you never know if someone will someday tell you they were greatly affected by some little insignificant song.
You all have greatly affected us. We really wish to thank you for being so supportive and have so many wonderful things to say . You will never know how in these last few hours how we needed it.