His association with Delaney & Bonnie bandmate Clapton led to Whitlock's participation in sessions for George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass, in London, and the formation of Derek and the Dominos that year.

In an article for Mojo magazine in May 2011, music journalist Phil Sutcliffe described Whitlock as having been born in Memphis and learning to play the Hammond organ "peering over Booker T's shoulder at Stax studios".

[1] While still a teenager, Whitlock befriended acts associated with Stax Records, including Albert King, Sam & Dave, the Staples Singers and Booker T. & the M.G.

[4] Between 1965 and 1968, Whitlock performed regularly in the Memphis area, playing organ with local soul band the Short Cuts before forming the Counts.

[11] In his autobiography, Whitlock states that their arrival in London changed the dynamics within the band, as the Bramletts now considered themselves "big stars" and the ones solely responsible for the new-found success.

[19] Once in London, Whitlock participated in a session for a solo album by the American soul singer Doris Troy, on the Beatles' Apple record label.

[7] The album, Doris Troy (1970), was co-produced by George Harrison,[20] who, having championed Delaney & Bonnie in the British press, accepted Clapton's invitation to join the tour.

[25] After arguments with the Bramletts over money, the other Friends quit the band and joined Leon Russell on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.

[32] Although individual contributions remain hard to ascertain, due to the large cast of musicians on the Phil Spector-produced recording, Harrison biographer Simon Leng identifies Whitlock as one of two "core keyboard players" on All Things Must Pass.

[33] Having traditionally favored Hammond organ as his keyboard instrument,[34] Whitlock played piano for the first time on a studio recording during the session for Harrison's "Beware of Darkness".

[35][36][nb 3] In June 1970, early in the All Things Must Pass sessions, Clapton, Whitlock, Radle and Gordon formed the blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos.

[42] Unhappy with Spector's treatment of their sound,[11][42] the band went to Criteria Studios in Miami to work with producer Tom Dowd,[43][44] on what became a double album – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970).

[48] "Keep on Growing" and "Thorn Tree in the Garden" featured Whitlock on lead vocals, while on other tracks he and Clapton shared the singing in a style reminiscent of Sam & Dave.

[53] Whitlock played acoustic or electric rhythm guitar on much of the album,[55] which also included musical contributions from all the Dominos (often recorded separately),[53] the Bramletts, Harrison, Keys, Price and Keltner.

[3] By this point, Layla's title track had become a hit song, following its release as a single to promote the History of Eric Clapton compilation (1972), leading to a critical reappraisal of Derek and the Dominos and belated commercial success.

A rare music release during this period was "Put Angels Around You", a duet with Scottish singer Maggie Bell, issued as a single in 1983 on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records.

[72] Music critic Bruce Eder praised the album, writing: "The classic pieces [from Layla] hold up magnificently ... [H]ere, acoustic guitar and piano are more than sufficient accompaniment and, indeed, coupled with Whitlock's powerful singing and range, make a strong case for these being the definitive versions.

[9] The couple worked with musicians such as David Grissom, Stephen Bruton and Brannen Temple, and special guest Willie Nelson, on the album Lovers (2008)[74] and Metamorphosis (2010), another live recording.

[77] Whitlock's solo album My Time (2009) featured musical contributions from Cropper, Keltner, Horn, Tim Drummond and Buddy Miller.

[76] In 2013, in connection with the release of the latter album, Whitlock and Carmel gave an interview for Tracy Thibodeaux's Pods o' Pop in which he spoke in depth about the formation of Derek and the Dominos, composing with Clapton, and playing on Harrison's All Things Must Pass.