“About the same”: The band Eric Clapton claimed were as good as The Rolling Stones
The 1960s were a remarkable time for the musical output of the British Isles. Successfully managing to ‘invade’ the US with their influx of pop acts that had been significantly influenced by blues, rock and psychedelia, there were plenty of exceptional British bands and musicians who were making names for themselves across the globe during this period, and among those names was a precocious young guitarist called Eric Clapton.
Having joined the Yardbirds in 1963 after the departure of Anthony ‘Top’ Topham, Clapton rapidly made a name for himself as one of the most formidable guitarists that the country had to offer. He’d previously been plying his trade as a session musician having been kicked out of art school in 1961, and his almost effortless playing style attracted the attention of many other bands who were keen to capture his services as a full-time member.
The Yardbirds would seemingly develop a knack for discovering other formidable guitarists, later recruiting legends in Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, but their career initially took off under the guidance of Clapton, whose blend of blues and rock-inspired playing was a truly electrifying spectacle to behold. They had a supreme talent within their ranks in Clapton, and the sudden rise to prominence that they experienced in the mid-1960s was largely thanks to his flair.
However, at the same time there were plenty of other acts operating within the same sphere as The Yardbirds, and who were rapidly becoming recognised as exciting prospects that had potential to break through to an audience outside of the UK. Among those were The Rolling Stones; a group that began with a distinctive R&B style and gradually began to develop into a versatile group that encompassed pop, rock and blues elements.
They may have gone on to have more commercial success and become more renowned than The Yardbirds ever were, but every group has to begin somewhere, and that was seemingly on a level playing field with their contemporaries. In their earlier years, Clapton regularly used to perform alongside the Stones, and even stood in for Mick Jagger in the early days of the band when his throat was too hoarse to sing comfortably.
In an interview with Louder Sound, Clapton reflected upon this period and claimed that there wasn’t much separating the two acts in terms of talent at the time, proclaiming that they were “about the same” and saying that he thought that their vocalist, Keith Relf, had just as much to give as Jagger did despite his physical disadvantages. “Keith had difficulty because he only had one lung and he had asthma,” Clapton claimed. “His ability to give it his all was limited.”
Clapton did make a handful of concessions about the talents of the Stones, and noted how they did have the upper hand in a few regards. “The Stones were a bit older than us and a little bit further down the road in terms of confidence and experience. So the Yardbirds followed on. We were never going to catch up.” That being said, he never doubted his own abilities, and was clearly confident that there was a time where his own band rivalled the rock and roll titans. “I think for a while, while we were playing the clubs and before they decided to go for stardom, we were on an equal footing.”
