Eric Clapton Releases Song for John Wetton
In the wake of the death of prog rock legend John Wetton, Eric Clapton has released a piece of music he's calling "For John W." You can listen to it below.
He uploaded the track to his Facebook page. It's one-minute-and-38-seconds long, and features Clapton taking a simple phrase on his acoustic guitar and building from there. Clapton did something similar when Jack Bruce, his former bandmate in Cream, passed away in October 2014.
Wetton died from cancer on Tuesday at the age of 67, after a career that saw him rise to fame in the early '70s as the singer and bassist in King Crimson and become a star a decade later as the frontman of Asia. In between, he served as a session and/or touring musician for such high-profile acts as Uriah Heep, Roxy Music and Wishbone Ash.
A few weeks prior to his death, Wetton announced that he was pulling out of Asia's slot opening up for Journey in March and April to begin a new round of chemotherapy. His spot in the band was taken by Billy Sherwood, the multi-instrumentalist who, coincidentally, was recruited to fill in for Yes' founding bassist Chris Squire as he underwent leukemia treatment and died shortly thereafter.
Although Clapton has repeatedly noted his desire to quit touring, he has two nights scheduled at both New York's Madison Square Garden and the Forum in Los Angeles for March.
Listen to Eric Clapton's "For John W"
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