Eric Clapton’s life was forever changed on March 20, 1991, when his four-year-old son, Conor, died in a tragic accident after falling from a 53rd-floor apartment window in New York. A housekeeper had left the window unlatched, and in a heartbreaking moment, Conor ran past and fell. The day before, Clapton had spent a joyful day alone with his son at the circus and promised to be a more present father. He also planned to take Conor to the Bronx Zoo the next day — a promise that was never fulfilled. Devastated, Clapton withdrew from public life, returning his son’s body to England for burial before isolating himself in Antigua for nearly a year, using music to survive his grief. He later poured his pain into the song “Tears in Heaven,” written in Conor’s memory. Adding to the heartbreak, Clapton received a letter Conor had written just days before his death — his first, simply saying, “I love you” — which arrived after the funeral.
