Bobby Whitlock, Derek and the Dominos Cofounder, Dead at 77: From Stax Teen to Layla Legend
Kai Montgomery here, and yes, I have to tell you about another music-world farewell because apparently mortality is not on voicemail. Let’s get this done: Bobby Whitlock, the keyboardist, cofounder of Derek and the Dominos, and co-writer of “Bell Bottom Blues,” died early Sunday morning at 1:20 AM after a brief illness at his Texas home, according to his manager Carol Kaye.
Don’t clutch your vintage vinyl just yet—this one is verified. Carol Kaye told TMZ that family surrounded Whitlock when he passed and that they are working to identify a charity for donations in his honor. His wife, Coco Carmel Whitlock, released a heartfelt statement celebrating his unlikely rise from “abject poverty in the south to heights unimagined,” and describing him as a man who treated life as “an adventure.” She closed with one of his guiding mottos: “Life is what you make it, so take it and make it beautiful.”
Whitlock was 77. If you recognize his name, it’s because he was central to one of rock’s most storied late‑60s and early‑70s chapters. A teen session player at Memphis’s famed Stax Studios, he was reportedly the first white artist signed to Stax Records, a heavyweight soul label that helped define the so-called Memphis Sound in the 1960s. That background wasn’t a footnote; it was the foundation for a career that threaded through some of the era’s biggest projects.
In 1970 he and Eric Clapton assembled Derek and the Dominos, and Whitlock’s fingerprints are all over the band’s 1970 classic, “Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs.” He’s credited as a co-writer on tracks including “Bell Bottom Blues,” and his keyboards and vocals helped shape that raw, aching record’s identity. His connections went beyond Clapton: Whitlock worked with George Harrison on the enormous “All Things Must Pass” project, and he is reportedly one of the anonymous contributors on the Rolling Stones’ 1972 “Exile on Main St.” sessions.
Whitlock’s story is equal parts musician and survivor. From early days at Stax to sitting in the studio with rock royalty, he navigated a music business built on talent, chance, and connections. Later in life he found a second creative pulse: painting. According to his own site, since 2018 he completed roughly 1,800 pieces, using canvas to translate emotion into color and form. That paints a portrait of someone who kept making things, stubbornly and prodigally, right up to the end.
Family and close associates are sorting practical matters now, including where well-wishers should send memorial donations. Manager Carol Kaye called his passing “heartbroken” and confirmed the immediate details to TMZ. Coco’s note to fans reads less like a press release and more like the private sermon of someone who saw a brilliant and complex life up close—hands “so intensely expressive and warm” and a spirit that made ordinary days feel like adventure.
This isn’t a reinvention of rock history; it’s a closing of a chapter. Whitlock’s contributions—keyboard swells, co-written heartbreak, studio smarts—are woven into records millions still listen to. So yes, cue the intro to “Layla” if that’s how you prefer to honor him, but maybe also look up one of the 1,800 paintings. He wasn’t just replaying the past; he was making new work right up to his final days.
Sources close to the family and public statements confirm the timing and setting of his death, and his career milestones are well documented in music histories and studio credits. For now, the family’s statement and manager’s confirmation are the official notes. Expect more details about memorials and a charity choice as the family finalizes plans.
Grumpy closing: He made great music, he painted a boatload of canvases, and now someone else has to deal with the estate. That’s life—take it and try to make it beautiful, like he said.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ, Family statements (wife Coco Carmel Whitlock), Stax Records historical records, Derek and the Dominos album credits
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
