Resurgence and stardom[edit] The 1990s brought a series of 32 - TopicsExpress

Resurgence and stardom[edit] The 1990s brought a series of 32 concerts to the Royal Albert Hall, such as the 24 Nights series of concerts that took place around January through February 1990, and February to March 1991. On 27 August 1990, fellow blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and three members of their road crew were killed in a helicopter crash between concerts. Then, on 20 March 1991, Claptons four-year-old son, Conor, died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of his mothers friends New York City apartment at 117 East 57th Street. Conors funeral took place on 28 March at St Mary Magdelenes Church in Claptons home village in Ripley, Surrey.[51] Claptons grief was expressed in the song Tears in Heaven, which was co-written by Will Jennings. At the 35th Grammy Awards, Clapton received six Grammy Awards for the single Tears in Heaven and his Unplugged album.[52] The album reached number one on the Billboard 200, and has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over 10 million copies in the United States.[53] On 9 September 1992, Clapton performed Tears in Heaven at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, and won the award for Best Male Video.[54][55] In October 1992 Clapton was among the dozens of artists performing at Bob Dylans 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. Recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the live two-disk CD/DVD captured a show full of celebrities performing classic Dylan songs, before ending with a few performances from Dylan himself. Despite the presence of 10 other guitarists on stage, including George Harrison, Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, Steve Cropper, Tom Petty, and Dylan, Clapton played the lead on a nearly 7-minute version of Dylans Knockin on Heavens Door as part of the finale. While Unplugged featured Clapton playing acoustic guitar, his 1994 album From the Cradle contained new versions of old blues standards, highlighted by his electric guitar playing.[56] Claptons 1996 recording of the Wayne Kirkpatrick/Gordon Kennedy/Tommy Sims tune Change the World (featured in the soundtrack of the movie Phenomenon) won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1997, the same year he recorded Retail Therapy (an album of electronic music with Simon Climie under the pseudonym TDF). The following year, Clapton released the album Pilgrim, the first record featuring new material for almost a decade.[48] Clapton finished the twentieth century with collaborations with Carlos Santana and B. B. King. In 1996 Clapton had a relationship with singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow. They remain friends, and Clapton appeared as a guest on Crows Central Park Concert. The duo performed a Cream hit single, White Room. Later, Clapton and Crow performed an alternate version of Tulsa Time with other guitar legends at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in June 2007. In 1998 Clapton, then 53, met 22-year-old administrative assistant Melia McEnery in Columbus, Ohio, at a party given for him after a performance. He quietly dated her for a year, and went public with the relationship in 1999. They married on 1 January 2002 at St Mary Magdalene church in Claptons birthplace, Ripley. As of 2005 they have three daughters, Julie Rose (13 June 2001), Ella May (14 January 2003), and Sophie Belle (1 February 2005). At the 41st Grammy Awards on 24 February 1999, Clapton received his third Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for his song My Fathers Eyes.[57] In October 1999, the compilation album, Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton, was released, which contained a new song, Blue Eyes Blue, that also appears in soundtrack for the film, Runaway Bride.[+)