These Rock Legends Formed the Top-Ranked 'Love Triangle' in Music History
Love triangles go along with Rock 'N' Roll. There have been many tangled romances throughout music history, and they often fuel emotions that create classic songs. But one famous love triangle was named the "messiest musician love triangle that rocked the music world."
According to Ranker, the #1 spot belongs to the love triangle among music legends Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Pattie Boyd. "George Harrison, like the other members of the Beatles, was no stranger to romantic drama, much of which centered on his wife, Pattie Boyd, and his good friend and collaborator, Eric Clapton," Ranker wrote. The good news is that the twisted love story produced at least three iconic songs.
But what exactly went down?
Pattie Boyd Met George Harrison on a Film Shoot & He Proposed to Her Immediately
People described Boyd as "the iconic fashion model whose style and beauty helped define an era." According to the magazine, she was married to both Harrison and Clapton; Harrison wrote "Something" with her in mind, and Clapton wrote both Layla and Wonderful Tonight about Boyd.
She told her side in a book of photos. According to People, she met Beatle Harrison on a film set, and he proposed to her just moments after their first meeting. She had a boyfriend, but they soon broke up, and she started dating Harrison, a relationship that would last a decade. They married in 1966.
Clapton wrote Layla about Boyd when she was still married to Harrison, according to Christie's.
"So I went up to the flat and he put on a cassette, and it was Layla," Boyd told Christie's, which auctioned off some of her letters and photos. "It was inspired by a 12th-century Persian tale called The Story of Layla and Majnun about a young poet whose unrequited love turns him mad, and it was so passionate and full of love and raw emotion. I was taken aback by its beauty — but at the same time I felt guilt."
(Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
Clapton and Harrison were close friends, complicating matters. "‘George and I were going through a bit of a spiky time together," Boyd told Christie's. "The Beatles had this chaos and anxiety surrounding the band, and George was being dismissive. Then Eric keeps coming over to our house asking me to run away with him. Well, that was tempting, but I couldn’t do it. It just wasn’t right."
(Photo by Graham Wiltshire/Redferns)
She left Harrison after marital troubles that included his alleged affairs, Christie's writes. Now divorced, Boyd married Clapton, but Harrison referred to the artist as his "husband-in-law."
(Photo by Michael Ward/Getty Images)
"Boyd and Clapton’s relationship would also come to be rocked by substance abuse and infidelities, and she left him in 1987," Christie's wrote.
However, History.com explains that it was all a bit more complicated than that: "Boyd...had a brief affair with Clapton, but later returned to Harrison just as the Beatles were breaking up and Clapton was in the early stages of an addiction to heroin. After finally breaking up with Harrison, Boyd returned to a now-clean Clapton, and the couple was married on March 27, 1979."
Which Other Love Triangles Made the List?
Which other love triangles made the Ranker list? Second place was occupied by music legends Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood.
Number three on the list was really a quadruple love triangle: Michelle Phillips, John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Denny Doherty. "Band members Michelle Phillips and John Phillips were married, and Cass Elliot carried a torch for bandmate Denny Doherty. Michelle, meanwhile, was a believer in free love, and had an affair with Doherty," wrote Ranker.
George Harrison figured into a second love triangle, which made fourth place. Ringo Starr, Maureen Starkey, and George Harrison were the participants in that relationship drama.
Number five? Johnny and Joey Ramone and Linda Ramone.