Bobby Whitlock, co-founder of Derek & the Dominos and veteran musician, has passed away.
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Carol Kaye, Whitlock’s manager, confirmed to Variety that he died on Sunday morning following a battle with an unspecified cancer. He was 77.
“How do you express in but a few words the grandness of one man who came from abject poverty in the south to heights unimagined in such a short time?” Whitlock’s wife, Coco Carmel Whitlock, told TMZ in a statement.
“My love, Bobby looked at life as an adventure, taking me by the hand, leading me through a world of wonderment from music to poetry and painting,” she added. “I feel his hands that were so intensely expressive and warm on my face and the small of my back whenever I close my eyes, he is there.”
She ended her statement with a poignant quote from the late musician: “Life is what you make it, so take it and make it beautiful.”
Whitlock contributed to Derek & the Dominoes’ only album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1971), co-writing “Bell Bottom Blues,” “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?” and “Tell the Truth.”
He has also written songs for high-profile artists such as Lady Gaga, Ray Charles, Tom Jones, George Jones, Cher, Sheryl Crow, and many others, per his official website.
Whitlock was born on March 18, 1948, in Memphis, Tennessee. As a teenager, he signed with Stax Records and performed with Booker T. & the MG’s and Sam & Dave in the 1960s.
In 1968, Whitlock joined Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, alongside Eric Clapton, Carl Radle, Duane Allman, and Jim Gordon. Together, they recorded the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs before disbanding during work on a second album.
Why Bobby Whitlock Never Cared for the Famous Ending of “Layla”
Whitlock was not a fan of the coda in “Layla,” arguably the most iconic song by Derek & The Dominos. “The song was complete without the coda,” he explained in an interview with Where’s Eric in 2011. “The original single didn’t have it on it, and the few times that we did it [live], we didn’t do it then either. Plus, there’s the added fact that it is stolen goods.”
“Jim Gordon got the piano melody from a song that he and his then-girlfriend Rita Coolidge wrote together called ‘Time.’ Jim took the melody to the song and added it as the piano part. So he ripped it off from his girlfriend and didn’t give her writer’s credit for it,” continued.
“In my opinion, the piano part taints the integrity of this beautiful heart-on-the-line, soul-exposed-for-the-world-to-see song that Eric Clapton wrote entirely by himself,” Whitlock added.
Clapton also shared a tribute on Facebook following his former bandmate’s passing: “Our dear friend Bobby Whitlock has passed away at 77. Our sincere condolences to Bobby’s wife, CoCo, and his family on this sad day…. RIP Bobby xxx.”
Whitlock Claimed He Co-Wrote a Rolling Stones Track But Went Uncredited
The musician also contributed to George Harrison’s iconic album All Things Must Pass. He played on the title track as well as the hits “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life.” Additionally, Whitlock alleged that he co-wrote the Rolling Stones’ song “I Just Want to See His Face” with Mick Jagger. However, he was not credited as a songwriter.
After his time with Derek & The Dominoes, he released solo albums, including Raw Velvet, his self-titled album, and Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way: The ABC-Dunhill Recordings (2013).
Whitlock was inducted into Memphis’ Beale Street Walk of Fame in 2024.
Whitlock is survived by his wife and three children: Ashley Faye Brown, Beau Elijah Whitlock, and Tim Whitlock Kelly.