Rocking, Rolling, & Snorting
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Warm-up ActEric Clapton. According to Rolling Stone, the second greatest guitarist of all time, bested only by Jimi Hendrix. Unlike Hendrix however, Clapton survived the age of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll, though not for lack of trying. Like many of his fellow rockers, Clapton was into drugs in a big way, at one time spending the equivalent of $16,000 per week on heroin, alcohol, and cocaine (NPR).
Cocaine was then, and is today, an illegal substance. Cocaine can also have serious, sometimes fatal side effects, such as bowel gangrene, nasal sinus perforation, myocardial infarction (a.k.a., a heart attack), strokes, and risk of other contractible diseases like HIV, with even long term, low level use causing problems like weight loss and malnourishment (National Institutes of Health). Why would Eric Clapton, rock and roll legend, use the drug? How did it contribute to his fame? Main Line-upEric Clapton was far from the first to use cocaine, and far from the last. Cocaine, found in the leaves of the coca plant from South America, was first used by the Inca of Peru, who would chew the leaves to get a boost of energy (National Institutes of Health). Cocaine itself was isolated from the plants for the first time in 1860, and was used by famous and common alike, Sigmund Freud to Coca Cola. Other notables who used cocaine include Robert Downey Jr. of Iron Man fame, Elton John, Paul McCartney of The Beatles, Jim Morrison from The Doors, Stevie Nicks, and Elvis Presley (EROWID). Famous musicians and actors one and all. What is it about cocaine that makes it so widely used by these performance artists?
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Mechanism of Cocaine: A Few Notes
Effects on CreativityAs shown above, cocaine tends to make people full of energy, whether it is used for climbing up the Andes Mountains or psychoanalysis. It makes sense then, that cocaine would be the drug of choice for actors and musicians who frequently have to put on multi-hour performances. During 1967, arguably the height of Clapton’s career with Cream and drug use, Clapton had tours spanning multiple continents and a streak of one-a-day concerts in cites from LA to NYC that lasted nearly a month (Where's Eric!). It is likely that cocaine was used to help Clapton muster the energy to play for each of the occasions on his tour.
Also, as mentioned by Professor Toolson, Clapton at the time had a persona to maintain. At this time, he was only 22 years old, and needed to maintain the appearance of youth and virility that came with his position as a rock star. While it is unlikely that weight management was an intended effect of his cocaine use, this slimming effect would help boost his status as a rock and roll legend. References: "1967 Eric Clapton Tour and Set List Archive." Where's Eric!. WHERE'S ERIC! THE ERIC CLAPTON FAN CLUB MAGAZINE, 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. Clapton, Eric. "Cocaine - Eric Clapton." - Google Play Music. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. EROWID. "Erowid Character Vaults: Famous People and Their Drug Use." Erowid Character Vaults: Famous People and Their Drug Use. EROWID, 04 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. London, Edythe D., June M. Stapleton, Steven J. Grant, et al. "PET Studies of Cerebral Glucose Metabolism: Acute Effects of Cocaine and Long-Term Deficits in Brains of Drug Abusers." PsycEXTRA Dataset. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. National Institutes of Health. "Cocaine." DrugFacts. National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll: Clapton After 'Cocaine'" NPR. NPR, 18 Oct. 2017. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. |
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