Bill Waidner: The forgotten guitarist who “tore Clapton’s head off”
Guitarists come and go, but certain figures have reigned supreme over the landscape of guitar playing for decades. Artists like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton are still regularly hailed as the greatest players of all time, decades after their heyday has passed. After all, it was their pioneering playing styles back in the 1960s that paved the way for virtually all future styles of rock and roll. In addition to that holy trinity of guitarists, however, there are many more skilled guitarists who largely flew under the radar.
It should come as no surprise that Clapton is routinely held aloft as a guitar god. After all, it was his trailblazing playing style that came to define the counterculture era of the 1960s. From his early days in blues rock pioneers The Yardbirds, to the psychedelic exploration of Cream and the sonic diversity of his subsequent solo career, Clapton’s work has routinely reinvented itself, exploring countless different sounds and influences. There is scarcely a guitarist in existence who does not wish they could play like Eric Clapton.
That is not to say, however, that Clapton’s guitar stylings were unbeatable. Over the years, countless guitarists have rivalled the Ripley-born musician, although very few have been afforded the same enduring legacy in rock and roll history. One such figure who was capable of standing up to the apparently otherworldly guitar playing of Eric Clapton was the Chicago guitarist Bill Waidner.
If you have never heard the name Bill Waidner, do not worry, you are likely in the majority. The guitarist first emerged during the 1960s, performing in various local rock, R&B, soul, and garage outfits around Chicago. Most notably, he lent his incredible guitar tones to Boston Tea Party, a short-lived and woefully underrated group who released the track ‘Is It Love’ in 1968. That group was led by vocalist and songwriter Terry Gates.
Gates went on from Boston Tea Party to become a stalwart of the Chicago music scene, working as a sound technician and stagehand for a multitude of artists, ranging from The Stones to U2. In recent months, Far Out made contact with Gates, who shared various stories from his extensive life in the Chicago music scene. One such tale described a Delaney and Bonnie show in Chicago, with Eric Clapton in tow.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Delaney and Bonnie orchestrated a soul-rock ensemble show which included performances by the likes of Eric Clapton. When the group visisted the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Terry Gates was working the sound desk, while his bandmate Bill Waidner played an opening set for the band.
As Gates recalled, “I saw Clapton standing at the foot of the stage while Waidner went from full band–brass and all–into a trio (guitar, bass, and drums).” While the thought of playing guitar in front of Eric Clapton would be daunting for most, Waidner was none the wiser. “Waidner would close his eyes when he played; he did not know Clapton was there.”
“He tore Clapton’s head off with the guitar work that night,” Gates concluded, adding, “Waidner was one of the best Chicago guitar players ever to step on stage.” Following on from that storming performance opening for Delaney and Bonnie back in 1970, Waidner went on to release an album with the Los Angeles progressive brass-rock outfit Aura in 1971, but failed to ever gain the widespread recognition afforded to guitarists like Eric Clapton.
Nevertheless, if you go back and listen to that Aura record, or even the singular release from Boston Tea Party, the quality of Waidner’s performances is undeniable. The pages of musical history are awash with skilled artists who never receive the recognition they so richly deserve, but Waidner’s compelling discography, along with his ability to rival Eric Clapton, suggests he is deserving of much more attention than he went on to receive.
