Here is another song that may be part of my San Diego Fringe Festival show, “International Man of Mystery.” I wrote it last summer a few days before I left for Chicago to buy my marimba. I had been thinking for some time of writing a song based on Eric Clapton’s famous song Layla. The story of his relationship with Patti Boyd and the way that he eventually won her away from George Harrison has always fascinated me.
Having said that, Boyd and Clapton did not stay together, and Clapton even fathered a child with another woman while he was married to her…so I became interested in the REAL story. I read Patti Boyd’s autobiography Wonderful Tonight and learned that sure enough, Eric Clapton didn’t treat Boyd very well once he married her. It ruined “Layla” for me a little; I can’t listen to it now without feeling angry that he could write her a beautiful song but not be a loving husband. I also felt pissed off when I read in the book about how little Eric Clapton and the Beatles had to do to manage their careers. They didn’t have to be posting on twitter, Instagram, and facebook every two seconds and praying to God that somehow they’d make it through the algorithm and into people’s news feeds. It also doesn’t sound like they practiced their instruments much…
…but whatever…it probably doesn’t sound like I practice my instrument very much in this video. I’ll never be a god like Eric Clapton, but that may be a good thing. Let me know if you like this song and if you think I should include it in my show; it sat in the drawer for a long time, and I’m still not totally sure about it.