Bobby Whitlock has passed away at the age of 77, as his manager Carol Kaye shared with Variety after he fought cancer.
Growing up in Memphis, Robert Stanley Whitlock was always drawn to music, especially keyboards and the organ, and by his teenage years, he was already hanging out with musicians from Stax Records like Booker T. & the M.G.’s and the Staples Singers. It’s funny how sometimes you just find your way into the right crowd by being curious and showing respect, and that’s exactly what happened to him—eventually, he was even clapping hands on Sam & Dave’s “I Thank You,” which got him his first real recording credit. After that, he became the first white artist to sign with Stax, jamming with local soul bands like Short Cuts and the Counts, and learning from people like Steve Cropper, who really believed in him.
Whitlock was supposed to make a pop album with Donald “Duck” Dunn and Don Nix, but he left Memphis instead and joined Delaney & Bonnie, playing keys and singing on their albums Home and Accept No Substitute in 1969. While touring, he met musicians like Bobby Keys and Jim Price, and also Carl Radle and Jim Gordon, who would later play with him in Derek & the Dominos. There’s a cool story about when Delaney & Bonnie opened for Blind Faith and Whitlock met Clapton for the first time—Clapton once said, “the most energetic sideman I had ever seen,” talking about Whitlock.
Fans think it’s wild how one meeting can change everything.
After Delaney & Bonnie released On Tour with Eric Clapton in 1970, Whitlock wanted to try something new, so he teamed up again with Clapton, Radle, and Gordon. They did a quick session, then Whitlock got invited to play on Clapton’s first solo album, Eric Clapton, and also to help out in the studio with George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. Whitlock played so many instruments—organ, piano, harmonium, tubular bells, and did backing vocals—on most of the songs, including “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life,” which both became huge hits.
