Eric Clapton’s life changed forever after the tragic death of his 4-year-old son, Conor, on March 20, 1991. Conor fell from a 53rd-floor window in Manhattan after a housekeeper left it unlatched. At the time, Clapton was in New York to visit, and he had just promised to be a more involved father after spending the day with Conor at the circus the day before.

In the hours leading up to the tragedy, Clapton was on his way to pick Conor up, but his partner Lory Del Santo checked a fax before going to see him, which delayed her and led to Conor’s fall. Devastated, Clapton withdrew from public life and spent nearly a year in isolation in Antigua, using music to cope with his grief.

He channeled his sorrow into the song “Tears in Heaven,” which became one of his most personal works. Tragically, just days before his death, Conor had written a letter to his father, which arrived after the funeral. The note, which read “I love you,” was a heartbreaking reminder of what had been lost.