Bobby Whitlock dies after cancer battle

The keyboard player and vocalist who worked with Derek and The Dominos and George Harrison has died at 77 after a cancer battle.

Bobby Whitlock Dies After Cancer Battle

Bobby Whitlock, a Memphis born keyboard player and singer, has died at age 77 after a brief illness. His manager Carole Kaye said Whitlock passed at 1:20am on Aug 10 at his home in Texas, surrounded by family. Whitlock is best known for co founding Derek and The Dominos with Eric Clapton and for playing with George Harrison on All Things Must Pass, where he earned credit for his piano on Beware Of Darkness. He also contributed as a keyboardist and co writer on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, the 1970 Derek and The Dominos album. After the group split, he appeared uncredited on Exile On Main Street with The Rolling Stones, and he later claimed to have co written I Just Want To See His Face, a contention that has been debated. Whitlock left the music industry by the late 70s, returning briefly in 2000 to perform Bell Bottom Blues with Clapton on Later With Jools Holland. He is survived by his wife, his children and his sister.

Whitlock’s death invites reflection on how 1960s and 70s rock thrived on collaboration. Musicians moved among bands and labels, often leaving a lasting imprint without always receiving equal recognition. Debates over credits for Exile On Main Street and the contested claim about I Just Want To See His Face highlight a broader pattern in rock history where the lines between contributor and co author blur. Yet Whitlock’s work endures in the piano lines of Layla and in the interplay that shaped Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.

Highlights

Whitlock’s piano still echoes in the music that defined a generation.