''Crossroads'' is a 1988 music collection box set of the work of Eric Clapton released by Polydor Records. The set includes his work with

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Blind Faith Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...

, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and

Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previous ...

, as well as his solo career. Several live or alternative studio recordings were previously unreleased.

Anthony DeCurtis Anthony DeCurtis (born June 25, 1951) is an American author and music critic, who has written for ''Rolling Stone,'' the ''New York Times'', '' Relix'' and many other publications. Career DeCurtis is a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', ...

contributed the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

to the album, and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

guitarist

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

painted the album's cover. Mitchell Kanner designed the package and, along with Michael Bays, art directed the package. ''Crossroads'' was mastered by

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

and compiled by Bill Levenson. The four-disc box set sold more than four million copies worldwide and was presented with six awards, including two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s awarded in 1989. With high commercial success and positive critical response, this is Clapton's most-purchased box set to date.

Critical reception

The critics for ''Billboard'' magazine noted mostly the production work, besides the compilations track listing stating: "Compiler Levenson has unearthed some superb rarities for the set, and Anthony DeCurtis contributes intelligent annotation. Classy package and bounty of unheard material will attract Slowhand's legion of fans". ''Rolling Stone'' journalist David Fricke really liked the boxed set and awarded the release an extremely rare five-star rating in April 1988. In his review for the American music website ''AllMusic'', critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine presented the album with five out of five possible stars, rating the release as an ''AllMusic'' top album and notes:

Awards

Track listings

CD release

Vinyl release

Personnel

From Polydor's 1988 4 Compaq Disc Edition liner notes (835 261-2) ''Disc One'' *

Keith Relf William Keith Relf (22 March 194312 May 1976) was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for rock band the Yardbirds. He then formed the band Renaissance with his sister Jane Relf, The Yardbirds ex-drummer J ...

- vocals (1-8), harmonica (1-7) * Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals (14,16,17,19-22) *

Chris Dreja Christopher Walenty Dreja (born 11 November 1945 in Surbiton, Surrey) is an English musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and bassist for rock band the Yardbirds for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. E ...

- guitar (1-9) * Paul Samwell-Smith - bass (1-9) *

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featu ...

- drums (1-9) *

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, a ...

- harpsichord (8) *Denny Piercey - bongos (8) * John Mayall - vocals (10,13,15), harmonica (10), piano (11,14), organ (12,13,15) *

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...

- bass (12-14) *

Hughie Flint Hughie Flint (born 15 March 1940, Manchester, Lancashire) is an English drummer, known for his stint in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, for his group McGuinness Flint in the early 1970s and for his subsequent association with The Blues Ba ...

- drums (12-15) *

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

- bass (15-23), vocals (16-18,20-22), piano (16,17) *

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...

- drums (16-23), vocals (16,17) ''Disc Two'' *Eric Clapton - vocals (1,3,4,9-17), guitar (1-7,9-17), lead guitar (8) *Jack Bruce - bass (1-4), vocals (2) *Ginger Baker - drums (1-7), percussion (1), tympani (2) *

Felix Pappalardi Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at ...

- viola (1,2), mellotron (1,4), piano (4) * George Harrison - guitar (4,13), vocals (13) * Steve Winwood - vocals (5-7), piano (5,7), bass (5), guitar (6) * Rick Grech - bass (6,7) * Delaney Bramlett - vocals (8-11), guitar (8-11) *

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

- vocals (8-11) *

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

- guitar (8,13), vocals (13) *

Bobby Whitlock Robert Stanley Whitlock (born March 18, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos, with Eric Clapton, in 1970–71. Whitlock's musical career began with Memp ...

- keyboards (8,9), organ (10,11,14), guitar (12), vocals (12-14), piano (13,14,16,17) *

Carl Radle Carl Dean Radle (June 18, 1942 – May 30, 1980) was an American bassist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s. He was posthumously inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame i ...

- bass (8-14,16,17) * Jim Gordon - drums (8-14,16,17), piano (14) * Jim Price - trumpet (8-11) *

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Ni ...

- sax (8-11) *Tex Johnson - percussion (8) *

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on ''Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and the ...

- vocals (8-11) * Leon Russell - piano (9-11) *

Sonny Curtis Sonny Curtis (born May 9, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for his collaborations with Buddy Holly, he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Holly's death. Curtis's best known compositions include " Wa ...

- vocals (9-11) *

Jerry Allison Jerry Ivan Allison (August 31, 1939 – August 22, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and " Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly. His only solo chart en ...

- vocals (9-11) * Stephen Stills - guitar (11), vocals (11) *

Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

- guitar (14,15) ''Disc Three'' *Eric Clapton - vocals (1-4,6-16), guitar, dobro (6) *Carl Radle - bass *Jim Gordon - drums (1-5) *Bobby Whitlock - piano (2-5) * George Terry - guitar (6,8-16), vocals (6) *Dick Sims - organ (6-11,13-16), piano (12) *

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

- piano (6,8), ARP synthesizer (6) * Jamie Oldaker - drums (6-16) * Yvonne Elliman - vocals (6,7,9,13-16) *Tom Bernfeld - vocals (6) *Dave Mason - guitar (7) *

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

- vocals (9,14-16), tambourine (9) * Peter Tosh - vocals (14), guitar (14) ''Disc Four'' *Eric Clapton - vocals, guitar, dobro (2) *George Terry - guitar (1-8) *

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...

- guitar (1,2) *Dick Sims - keyboards (1-8) *Carl Radle - bass (1-8) *Jamie Oldaker - drums (1-8,12,13) *Yvonne Elliman - vocals (1,3-6) *Marcy Levi - vocals (1,3-8,12,13) *Sergio Pastora Rodriguez - percussion (1-3) *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

- vocals (2) * Robbie Robertson - guitar (2) *

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

- guitar (2) *

Albert Lee Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also mai ...

- guitar (9-11), keyboards (11), vocals (11) *

Chris Stainton Christopher Robert "Chris" Stainton (born 22 March 1944) is an English session musician, keyboard player, bassist and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s. In addition to his collaboration with Cocker, St ...

- keyboards (9,10,12,14), synthesizer and Hammond organ (13) *Dave Markee - bass (9,10) *

Henry Spinetti Enrico Antonio Giorgio Spinetti (born 31 March 1951) is a Welsh session drummer whose playing has featured on many prominent rock and pop albums. Career Spinetti was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales. His first band, aged about ...

- drums (9,10) *

Gary Brooker Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...

- keyboards (10) * Ry Cooder - guitar (11) * Donald "Duck" Dunn - bass (11-14) * Roger Hawkins - drums (11) *

John Sambataro Johnne "John" Sambataro (born August 27, 1953, in South Florida) is an American rock musician. In 1975, he began working as a session vocalist and musician at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, where he worked with Andy Gibb, Barry Gibb, St ...

- vocals (11) *Chuck Kirkpatrick - vocals (11) * Peter Robinson - synthesizer (12,13) * Phil Collins - percussion (12,15,16), Simmons and snare drums (13), drums (14-16), vocals (15,16) * Ray Cooper - percussion (12,13) *

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

- vocals (12,13) *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

- keyboards (15,16), vocals (15,16) * Nathan East - bass (15-17), vocals (17) *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

- sax (15) * Jon Faddis - trumpet (15) *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

- trumpet (15) * Dave Bargeron - trombone (15) *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). E ...

- vocals (16) *

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and ca ...

- vocals (16) *

Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tr ...

- keyboards (17) * Andy Newmark - drums (17)

Commercial success

''Crossroads'' is Clapton's commercially most successful multi-disc boxed set, charting in both 1988 and 1989, selling a total of more than three million copies worldwide. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the 1988 box set was most successful. It peaked at number eight on ''Billboard'' magazines Top Pop Compact Disks chart in May 1988 and entered the magazines Top 200 albums chart at position 80. At that point, Clapton was the second artist ever to chart in the Top 100 field with a box set containing six discs, following

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. In its first week on chart, ''Crossroads'' was both the best- and fastest-selling box set, ever to be released, selling more than 240,000 copies in the first few weeks after its release in the United States. At that point, more than 120,000 copies which were sold were on CD formats, which was still quite rare at the time. In 1988, the release topped the Top Pop Compact Disks chart and reached number 34 on the ''Billboard'' 200 top albums chart, where ''Crossroads'' stayed a total of 26 weeks on chart. In 2005, the compilation album was certified with a triple Platinum award by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), commemorating the sale of more than three million copies in the United States alone, making it Clapton's best-selling box set in the country. In 1988, the Clapton record was the 26th most-purchased Pop music CD in the United States. In Europe, the box set was a medium success, reaching the Top 20 in only two countries. In the

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, the box set reached number 17 and stayed a total of nine weeks in the charts. ''Crossroads'' also reached number 25 on the worldwide albums chart in 1988.

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Eric Clapton 1988 compilation albums Albums produced by Tom Dowd Eric Clapton compilation albums Polydor Records compilation albums Pop rock compilation albums Psychedelic rock compilation albums Rock compilation albums