“RIP Bobby”: Eric Clapton pays tribute to Bobby Whitlock, the Memphis musician who sang and played keyboards in Derek and the Dominos and recorded with George Harrison

Bobby Whitlock plays the organ during a jam session with Gregg Allman the night before the Capricorn Records Summer BBQ. Circa August 1975. ((Photo by Herb Kossover/Getty Images).

Bobby Whitlock, the Memphis musician who came of age alongside soul legends and went on to play with Eric Clapton and George Harrrison, has died at the age of 77.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Whitlock was signed to Stax Records in the ‘60s, where he befriended the likes of Booker T, Steve Cropper and Albert King. His first recording is believed to be the handclaps he provided on Sam & Dave’s I Thank You, in 1967, when Whitlock was still a teenager.