Eric Clapton’s Assistant Says Eric Wasn’t Obsessed With George Harrison’s Wife But ‘Mono-Focused’

Eric Clapton and George Harrison’s former assistant, Chris O’Dell, recently talked to The Washington Post about working with Clapton. He addressed the issues of Clapton and stated that his obsession with various things, including Pattie Boyd, made him the great musician he is today.

Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Pattie Boyd were involved in one of the most dramatic love triangles in rock history during the 1970s. While Boyd and Harrison were married, Clapton started hanging out with the couple, eventually falling in love with Boyd. Even though Harrison was cheating on Boyd with various women, including his bandmate Ringo Starr’s wife, Boyd did not fall in love with Clapton while she was married.

This both hurt and inspired Clapton in many ways. He wrote the song, ‘Layla,’ which is about a man falling in love with an unavailable woman. However, he also didn’t consider giving up and even went to Dr. John, who was known to have voodoo powers and cast a spell on Boyd. It must have worked, as Boyd agreed to spend a night with Clapton only to be caught by Harrison.

During his recent interview, Clapton’s manager stated that Clapton is as successful as he is today because he was obsessed with her. According to O’Dell, Clapton was obsessed with everything else like he was obsessed with Harrison’s wife. If he had a goal or a desire, he would stay focused until he got it.

Here is what Clapton’s former manager stated about his obsession:

“There’s an obsessive part, the same thing that made him really sit down and learn to play the guitar the way he did. He went after Pattie maybe the same way. Maybe obsessed is the wrong word, but you’re mono-focused. You have only one thing in your mind, and that’s all you can really concentrate on.”

These obsessions have introduced a lot of dangerous habits to Clapton’s life. After being caught by Harrison, Boyd went home with her husband instead of staying with Clapton. This led to Eric’s heroin addiction, which he struggled with for several years and spent around $16,000 a week to get the substance.