Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by singer-guitarist Eric Clapton, keyboardist-singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon.

The band's only full-length release, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, was produced by Tom Dowd, which also featured extensive contributions on lead and slide guitar from Duane Allman.

A double album, Layla did not immediately enjoy strong sales or receive widespread radio airplay, but went on to earn critical acclaim.

Delaney & Bonnie and Friends supported Blind Faith, Eric Clapton's short-lived supergroup with Stevie Winwood, on a US tour in the summer of 1969.

While on that tour, Clapton was drawn to Delaney & Bonnie's relative anonymity, which he found more appealing than the excessive fan worship lavished on his own band.

[4][5] Together with his fellow future Dominos – Bobby Whitlock (vocals, keyboards), Carl Radle (bass) and Jim Gordon (drums)[3] – Clapton toured Europe and the United States again between November 1969 and March 1970, this time as a member of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends.

[10][11] Gordon, Radle and other Friends personnel, including drummer Jim Keltner, immediately joined Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with Leon Russell, but Whitlock remained with Delaney and Bonnie for a short time.

[13] Whitlock subsequently lived in Hurtwood Edge, Clapton's house in Surrey, where the two musicians jammed and began to write the bulk of the Dominos' catalogue on acoustic guitars.

[22] In a 1990 interview, Clapton said, "We made our bones, really, on that album with George", since the four musicians had "no game plan" other than living at Hurtwood Edge, "getting stoned, and playing and semi-writing songs".

Among the friendships formed before the group officially came into existence, Shapiro continues, "the empathy ... outcropped most noticeably in Bobby Whitlock, in whom Eric found an accomplished and sympathetic songwriting partner and back-up vocalist.

"[26] Towards the end of the sessions for the basic tracks on All Things Must Pass,[27] Dave Mason – another former guitarist with Delaney & Bonnie[28] – joined the Dominos at Clapton's home.

[30] The event was a charity concert in aid of the Dr Spock Civil Liberties Legal Defence Fund, held at London's Lyceum Theatre.

[8] The group had been billed as "Eric Clapton and Friends", but a discussion ensued backstage just before their appearance, with Harrison[31] and pianist Tony Ashton among those involved, in an effort to find a proper band name.

[8] Writing in 2013, Clapton and Whitlock biographer Marc Roberty quoted Jeff Dexter, the compere at the Lyceum show, who recalled that "Derek and the Dominos" had already been decided on before they went on stage.

[35] In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton wrote that his main recollection of the Lyceum show was consulting New Orleans–born musician Dr. John, a self-styled practitioner of voodoo,[36] and receiving a package made of straw that would serve as a means of winning Boyd's affection.

[37] In return for the Dominos' assistance on All Things Must Pass, Clapton and Harrison had agreed that the latter's co-producer, Phil Spector, would produce a single for the new group.

[27] After this London session, Mason departed from the lineup; he later told Melody Maker that he was impatient to see the band start working full-time whereas Clapton was committed to helping Harrison complete All Things Must Pass.

[44] In addition, while continuing to rehearse at Hurtwood Edge,[22] all four band members participated in London sessions for Dr. John's album The Sun, Moon & Herbs (1971).

[50] In his autobiography, Clapton wrote that he was both inspired and "tormented" by his feelings for Boyd, which he channelled into his music, beginning with a UK tour by Derek and the Dominos.

[51] For three weeks from 1 August,[22][52] the group performed in clubs and other small venues in Britain,[53] where Clapton chose to play anonymously, still weary from the fame that he felt had plagued Cream and Blind Faith.

Shapiro writes that the band had "made great strides" since the Lyceum concert;[22] their set list included "Tell the Truth",[55] covers of Billy Myles' "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" and Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing", and songs such as "Bottle of Red Wine" and "Don't Know Why",[8] both from the Eric Clapton album.

[14][15] After Clapton and Whitlock's initial experimentation with heroin while recording All Things Must Pass,[21] the band's time in Miami was marked by all four members' excessive use of hard drugs.

[59][60] After Clapton invited the whole band back to Criteria that night,[61] he and Allman formed an instant bond that provided the catalyst for the Layla album.

[65] In the United States, Atco Records released the original version of "Tell the Truth" backed with "Roll It Over" in September, but soon withdrew the single.

[63] Allman's slide guitar playing elevated the album's blues covers,[15] which included "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (by Jimmy Cox), "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (the Billy Myles song, originally recorded by Freddie King) and "Key to the Highway" (Big Bill Broonzy).

[49] During the Layla sessions, Gordon had been writing and playing songs for an intended solo album when, by chance, Clapton first heard the piano piece.

Allman performed two shows with the group near the end of the US tour: at Curtis Hixon Hall, in Tampa, Florida, on 1 December, and at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York, the following night.

Both albums were released in 1972 and included contributions from all the Dominos (recorded in early 1971), along with Harrison, the Bramletts, Keltner, and the former Delaney & Bonnie horn section.

[74] Official line-up Occasional members Pre-album single Recorded during the sessions for George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass; produced by Phil Spector but pulled by Clapton, stating it didn't reflect their sound.