Bobby Whitlock
Derek and the Dominos Founder Lifeless at 77
Printed August 10, 2025 9:31 AM PDT
Derek & the Dominos founder Bobby Whitlock has died, TMZ can affirm.
His “heartbroken” supervisor Carol Kaye tells us he handed Sunday morning at 1:20 AM “after a short sickness.” He took his final breath at house in Texas, surrounded by household.
His household is at present working to pinpoint a charity followers can ship donations to in his honor, Kaye says.
His spouse, Coco Carmel Whitlock, honored his rise from rags to riches in a press release to TMZ, asking … “How do you specific in however a couple of phrases the grandness of 1 man who got here from abject poverty within the south to heights unimagined in such a short while?”
She provides … “My love Bobby checked out life as an journey taking me by the hand main me by means of a world of wonderment from music to poetry and portray. I really feel his palms that have been so intensely expressive and heat on my face and the small of my again every time I shut my eyes, he’s there.”
She finishes off her tribute by sharing a quote Bobby lived by … “Life is what you make it, so take it and make it stunning.”
Whitlock is greatest identified for cofounding the blues rock band in 1970 with Eric Clapton and closely contributing to their album “Layla & Different Assorted Love Songs” — however he was leaving his mark on the music business lengthy earlier than then.
His All Music bio says he was a routine musician in recording classes on the iconic Memphis, Tennessee Stax Studios as a teen and even grew to become the primary white artist signed to Stax Data. The document label was probably the most fashionable soul music labels within the ’60s and helped form “Memphis Sound.”
Whitlock’s work with Derek and the Dominos additionally related him with Beatles legend George Harrison, with whom he collaborated on his solo venture “All Issues Should Move.” He is additionally uncredited on the Rolling Stones’ 1972 album, “Exile on Major Road.”
Close to the top of his life, the “Bell Backside Blues” co-writer picked up a ardour for portray — finishing 1,800 items since 2018.
His web site notes … “If anybody may paint how they really feel, it’s Bobby. He has managed to faucet into that inside one thing that expresses on canvas what he’s feeling.”
He was 77 when he died.
RIP
