Posted on 03/15/2026 10:04:53 AM PDT by Yardstick
Bobby Whitlock, the musician who co-founded Derek and the Dominos with Eric Clapton, has died, according to his manager. He was 77.
Whitlock died Sunday morning of cancer, manager Carol Kaye confirmed to CBS News. He was surrounded by his family in Texas, Kaye said.
The singer-songwriter was a keyboard player and vocalist for Derek and the Domino, the rock band best known for its 1971 album, "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs."
[snip]
In a statement posted to social media, Clapton said, "Our dear friend Bobby Whitlock, has passed away at 77, our sincere condolences to Bobby's wife CoCo and his family on this sad day.... RIP Bobby xxx."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
“Bobby Whitlock, Derek and the Dominos founder, dies at 77”
Personally, I like the Mafia-run joints FAR MORE than the chain restaurants.
I was in a band that opened for Glen Campbell for 12 nights in Reno. We’d play our set, go listen to his, each band did four 45 minute shows a night. He was so fluid, and played with such imagination, not mechanical, always musical. During the day he was high as a kite, playing Craps with $500 chips, losing and grinning. That tour and similar ones, Don Williams, Johnny Paycheck, Hugh Jarret, Larry Mahan, Ricky Nelson, etc. revealed I needed to get out of the music “business”, play music for enjoyment and work at a normal business to keep my marriage together. Hard to be on the road, keep a wife happy and raise a child. Ricky Nelson died in a plane crash in ‘85, which wasn’t uncommon either.
“Key to the highway”- best recording ever!!!
“The name “Derek” for Eric Clapton’s band, Derek and the Dominos, originated in 1970 as a way for him to avoid the spotlight and let the music succeed on its own merit, rather than on his fame. It was reportedly coined from a nickname (”Del” or “Derek”) used by his friend Tony Ashton or through a concert announcer mispronouncing a temporary name.”
Wikipedia
Remember the tragic story of another band member?
A Derek and the Dominos band member who suffered from severe mental problems and went to prison was the group’s drummer, Jim Gordon.
Gordon was a diagnosed schizophrenic who experienced intense, commanding voices in his head, often including that of his mother, telling him to destroy his instruments and to harm himself or others.
On June 3, 1983, during a psychotic episode, Jim Gordon attacked his 72-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, with a hammer and then fatally stabbed her.
He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 16 years-to-life in prison in 1984. Due to his mental illness, he spent his incarceration at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, a psychiatric prison.
Death: He was denied parole multiple times, remaining incarcerated until his death on March 13, 2023, at the age of 77.
Jim Gordon was a highly respected session drummer, co-writing the iconic “Layla” piano coda with Rita Coolidge. His schizophrenia was not properly diagnosed until after the murder, as his high-functioning career previously obscured the severity of his illness.
—Wikipedia.
Agree. Fifty-six years ago. A masterpiece. I was 16 yr old. Never forget it.
I knew Whitlock late 70s a bit
We had a thread on it last summer
We did notice
Freepers are fairly good on classic rock given we’re mostly geriatric here now
Copilot says yes but I think Google AI is right that it’s not her.
Apparently this Carol Kaye is the founder of an artist promotion and management company called Kayos Productions:
https://www.kayosproductions.com
Apparently she founded it in 2007 and before that was the director of East Coast operations at MGM. None of this seems to line up with what we know about Carol Kaye the Wrecking Crew bass player.
An interesting factoid about bass player Carol Kaye is that she grew up Baptist but converted to Judaism in the early ‘60s. This is according to her wiki page. Judging from the names of her husbands it doesn’t seem to have been a conversion due to marriage, but it’s hard to say for sure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Kaye
She said she had trouble with husbands and after three she gave up and just concentrated on her music.
Damn, was it that long ago? I saw his concert in Fort Worth, and Jimmy was his warm up. There were several hundred wearing masks, and the reviewer from the Dallas Morning News noted that he was surprised that Eric made no political remarks, to include his views on Covid.
I sent him an email, "Dude, we were there for the music, and Eric knew that." I was surprised he replied, lol. He said, "yeah, you're probably right."
I also saw him in 2019, when he was in Dallas for his Crossroads Guitar Festival. It's where I saw the Tedeschi-Trucks Band and Buddy Guy for the first time. Up until then, my musical tastes were stuck in 1981, when I left Germany. I came home with over 400 albums, mixed my own tapes with them. My stereo system is still in the garage, no place to put it.
For one album, “Eric” became “Derek”...
I saw “Derek” on his Dominoes tour at Cincy’s Riverfront Coliseum where I also saw the Who, McCartney/Wings...and so many more.
The opening act for Derek/Dominoes was a relatively new group with a hot guitarist named Carlos “Santana”...who was quite incredible in his own right.
After their set, the Dominoes came out and, when they had finished setting-up, Eric/Derek strolled onto the stage.
His guitar assistant came out with his guitar, Clapton strapped it on and did a quick tuning.
He stopped for 2-3 seconds...then LOUDLY went into the opening riffs of “Layla”.
The crowd went crazy!
Layla, One of my favorite albums.
Also, among many others— Whitlock wrote the iconic “second tune” outro of “Layla” (piano introduction and complete to the end of the song. Great famous melody, backing the very young Duane Allman’s crying slide Les Paul guitar.
Fairly certain Whitlock wrote and played the piano portions. Not Gordon— who was an excellent drummer on many projects until he went completely detached.
I saw Derek a couple times as The Derek Trucks Band, and saw Susan warm up solo for John Prine. Probably around 20 years ago? And have seen TTB 5-6 times.
I have TTB tickets for April 28. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is the warm up. The venue is 1/2 mile from GA 400, interestingly.
Actually....I think it was his girlfriend, Rita Coolidge, who wrote the piece, and Bobby stole it, and Rita never got the credit.
Could be. Rita got ripped off alot, even by Kristofferson. Hard to understand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.