RIP: Bobby Whitlock, Derek and the Dominos founder, dies at 77.

Bobby Whitlock, the musician who co-founded Derek and the Dominos with Eric Clapton, has died, according to his manager. He was 77.

Whitlock died Sunday morning of cancer, manager Carol Kaye confirmed to CBS News. He was surrounded by his family in Texas, Kaye said.

The singer-songwriter was a keyboard player and vocalist for Derek and the Domino, the rock band best known for its 1971 album, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.”

Whitlock was the second vocalist on numerous songs on the Layla album. In 2000, he told an interviewer that he wanted something akin to Sam and Dave’s call and response style-of singing:

That was my idea — that’s what I figured out how to — I was kind of a fire under Eric’s ass as far as it was, vocally, ’cause he wasn’t real secure with his vocals. His first album, as a matter of fact — we did the “Eric Clapton” album, with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends — but Delaney sang all the songs and Eric just came up back behind him and sang exactly what Delaney had sang. Delaney put everything, all the vocals down and Eric came back behind and just put ’em down, exactly like (sings softly): “I’m lovin’ you, lovin’ me, it’s all the same!” Eric was real insecure vocally. He’s more secure now, but he ain’t Otis Redding, but I mean, he’s a good singer. But I put a fire under his ass, and it was an option that I took, just to — our band was open — we didn’t want no chicks, and no horn players, we wanted a four-piece rock ‘n roll band, and we did it, and I chose to it like Sam and Dave. He’d (Eric) do a verse, I’d do a verse, we’d do one together, we’d do the things together, I was doing harmonies and all that, so that’s how that all came to light.

Arguably, Layla was Clapton’s finest moment as an artist, and he couldn’t have done it with Whitlock:

“Thorn Tree in the Garden,” which serves as a reflective acoustic coda for the album’s epic title song, is sung entirely by Whitlock: