Bobby Whitlock, Derek and the Dominos founder, has passed away aged 77

Bobby Whitlock, iconic singer-keyboardist and co-founder of 70s blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos alongside Eric Clapton, has died aged 77. His manager, Carol Kaye, confirmed the news to Variety.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 18, 1948, Whitlock was signed to Stax Records at an early age and played with artists like Booker T. and the MG’s and Sam & Dave. He later became an integral member of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, meeting Clapton while his band opened Clapton’s supergroup Blind Faith.

Following the release of Delaney & Bonnie’s live album On Tour with Eric Clapton in 1970, Whitlock was invited to reunite with Clapton on his debut solo album, and to accompany George Harrison in the studio for All Things Must Pass.

Accompanied by Carl Radle and Jim Gordon, Clapton and Whitlock started Derek and the Dominos as a blues-rock group, releasing their 1971 double LP Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, widely considered to be one of rock’s greatest albums.

Speaking to Best Classic Bands in 2015, Whitlock commented on the supergroup’s early breakup by calling it “lightning in a bottle.”

“We did one club tour, we did one photo session, then we did a tour of a bit larger venues,” he continued. “Then we did one studio album in Miami. We did one American tour. Then we did one failed attempt at a second album.

“Everybody was doing entirely too much drugs and alcohol,” he admitted at the time, while also recognising that Drek and the Dominoes were “the very best band on the planet… We were better than anybody.”

Following the band’s breakup, Whitlock went on to release a string of studio albums in the 70s, including a self-titled record in 1972, which included all the members of the recently split group.

He also made an uncredited appearance on the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, and has claimed to have been cheated out of a co-writing credit for the song ‘I Just Want to See His Face’.

He also appeared as a guest musician on self-titled albums by Clapton and Doris Troy, Dr. John’s The Sun, Moon & Herbs and Stephen Stills & Manassas’ Down the Road.

In 2024, Whitlock was awarded a Brass Music Note on Memphis’ own Beale Street Walk of Fame for his work.