18 Candid Photographs of George Harrison and Eric Clapton Together

Eric Clapton first met The Beatles in December 1964, a time when he was still with The Yardbirds. After his group acted as one of the support acts for the Fab Four’s Christmas Show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, his connection proved to be so strong that he straddled both The Beatles’ professional and personal lives. Clapton didn’t just collaborate with the band as a whole, but he also played with each of the four members independently on their solo endeavors.

“It’s easier nowadays than it was in the past,” Harrison said in an interview with Goldmine magazine in 1992. “Because in the 1960s we were all very much tied up with being Beatles or Cream, and stuff. Well, actually we worked with Eric back in, I’d say, 1964, when he was in the Yardbirds, but I didn’t really get to know him until a show at a little club in London where the Lovin’ Spoonful were playing. It was John [Lennon] and I who went to see the Spoonful, and after the show we would go and hang out with John Sebastian and the gang, and get into trouble or whatever. And I just saw this guy there who looked very familiar. There was something about him, and he seemed real lonely, just sitting up on the road boxes backstage at this club. And I said, ‘Hey, you want to come with us, come and hang out?’”

There was always a member of the band with which he connected more permanently, however, and he became best friends with George Harrison long after working with one another. What’s more, they even ended up sharing an ex-wife, Pattie Boyd. Clapton confessed his love for Boyd to Harrison in 1970. Clapton wrote the song “Layla” to express his feelings for Boyd. He also wrote a letter to Boyd asking about her feelings for him, but she thought it was from a fan. Boyd married Clapton in 1979, but they divorced in 1989.

Even after all the drama and heartbreak, Harrison and Clapton remained friends and continued to play music together right up until the very end. Theirs was a friendship that was tenderly enjoyed by both members. Harrison invited Clapton to play on the Beatles classic to distract himself from the band and to explore the guitar world. He also contributed to Clapton’s projects, and they often performed together in live settings.

They remained close friends until Harrison’s death in 2001. Clapton said that he thought of Harrison as an older brother and respected his judgment and values.