Eric Clapton and George Harrison had a friendship many would admire. Clapton met the Beatles members while he was in the Yardbirds — he was the supporting act for their Christmas Show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. Although Clapton and the Fab Four had a strong bond that lasted for years, the Beatle he felt closest to was George Harrison. So, the Hammersmith Odeon show marked the beginning of a long-lasting friendship between the two.
Clapton and Harrison teamed up and worked on several music projects throughout the years. On Cream’s fourth and final studio record ‘Goodbye,’ the two collaborated on the song ‘Badge.’ They wrote it together as Clapton couldn’t finish the song by himself on time. Eric also helped George with a Beatles song — during the recordings of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps,’ the Beatle invited Clapton to help him anonymously.
Sadly, George Harrison left this world on November 29, 2001, and Clapton lost a dear friend. Years later, he came up with his twentieth studio album ‘I Still Do,’ which features a song that has no information about who played the guitar parts. Titled ‘I Will Be There,’ the song led to rumors that it might be George Harrison. As Clapton also ‘anonymously’ helped Harrison on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps,’ this seemed like a credible story.
Following the release of ‘I Will Be There,’ fans noticed that the name ‘Angelo Mysterioso’ appeared as one of the contributors to the song. This sounded similar to ‘L’Angelo Misterioso,’ a pseudonym used by George Harrison. As a result, the media and fans started speculating about who this mysterious artist was. While Clapton refused to make an official statement, he later said it wasn’t his beloved friend.
“No, it’s not George,” Eric Clapton told Guitar World. “Well, the thing is, the person wishes to remain anonymous. So we came to that arrangement, and we both thought it was the best idea for one reason or another. And I can’t even tell you that much. I’m sworn to secrecy, and I hope he is, too. But I quite liked it.”
After some time, Ed Sheeran joined Eric Clapton on stage to perform ‘I Will Be There,’ leading to rumors that he might be the mysterious collaborator. In his album, ‘÷,’ Sheeran also credited Eric Clapton as ‘Angelo Mysterioso’ with a guitar solo. The musician later confirmed the collaboration. So, the rumors weren’t true this time.
