“His manager told me not to bother coming and hung up. Eric didn’t call me either”: How session guitarist George Terry was fired from Eric Clapton’s band in the ‘70s
Guitarist and famed session musician George Terry has explained why he was let go from Eric Clapton’s band in the 1970s.
Terry was first hired by Clapton for the recording of the 461 Ocean Boulevard album in 1974. Clapton recorded three of his songs – Mainline Florida, Lay Down Sally, and Don’t Blame Me.
READ MORE: “Thank you for rescuing me from oblivion”: Eric Clapton pays emotional tribute to John Mayall
Terry then became a member of his studio and touring band, with the 1978 album Backless being the last one he worked on. But what really happened after the making of this record? According to Terry, he didn’t decide to leave.
Speaking to Guitar World in its new print edition, Terry recalls, “I didn’t leave the band. I was one track away from finishing a jazz band project in my home studio, when Roger Forrester [Clapton’s manager] called me to leave for a vacation in Spain that would end with us [Clapton’s band] playing a few shows to pay for the vacation.
“I told him I’d be able to leave in two days, but he insisted that I leave the next morning. I told him that a day or two of me not being there for the vacation shouldn’t matter, as long as I was there to play the shows,” he continues.
“After I said that, he told me not to bother coming at all and hung up. I thought he would call back after talking with Eric, but he didn’t. Eric didn’t call me either. That’s what I get for keeping my word and helping a jazz band have a recording they would have never gotten.”
George Terry has enjoyed an illustrious career away from his work with Eric Clapton, too. He’s also worked with the likes of ABBA, the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Freddie King, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers and Stephen Stills.
You can keep with George Terry’s work via his official YouTube channel.
The post “His manager told me not to bother coming and hung up. Eric didn’t call me either”: How session guitarist George Terry was fired from Eric Clapton’s band in the ‘70s appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
