“He sounds better”: the guitarist Eric Clapton said had the greatest touch
Every guitarist’s goal is to make sure that they can be identified by only a few guitar licks. Everyone might strive to play their scales perfectly, but while it’s easy to get that kind of dexterity after hours of practising, it’s important to have that signature sound that makes people perk their ears up without having to hear too many notes. And while Eric Clapton cultivated an entire army of guitarists behind him in the late 1960s, he knew he was simply following in the footsteps of six-string craftsmen.
But having a great tone on guitar doesn’t mean having the most in-depth guitar skills, either. Kurt Cobain never claimed to be one of the greatest players that ever lived by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s easy to tell when one of his solos is coming in because of his unusual approach to the instrument. The same could be said of Tom Morello, who knew how to play ripping solos but chose not to in service to great DJ-like sound effects.
For Clapton, though, nothing could replace turning in hours with the guitar, and that came from him devouring any type of blues music he could get his hands on. It was all about the music from America at the time that ‘Slowhand’ was first gaining recognition, and there’s no way that anyone could have gone wrong in the London clubs at the time when quoting people like Muddy Waters or Buddy Guy.
Going through his own classics, it’s not that hard to spot where Clapton was getting a lot of his influences from, either. Every now and again, there would be that lick that would be ripped straight out of Robert Johnson’s playbook, and even when he was quoting old tunes like ‘Blue Moon’ in ‘Sunshine of Your Love’, he was always a little bit cheeky with the way that he would infuse some blues swagger into the list.
“This guy is working, flat out, still the same as he was when he was in his 20s.”
Eric Clapton
If there was someone who was the epitome of swagger, though, it was BB King. He may not have been one of the fastest guitarists of all time, but he was always looking for taste above everything else, and as soon as he would hit a single note, every single person in the room would become transfixed on everything that he pulled out of ‘Lucille’ as he played.
And while Clapton claimed to have some great moments behind the fretboard, he had to admit that there was a certain power to King’s work that no other guitarist had managed to equal, saying, “I just think he has the greatest touch, and there’s not many people that – and he’s, he’s not a spring chicken. This guy is working, flat out, still the same as he was when he was in his 20s. Actually, I think he sounds better.”
At the same time, King’s strength isn’t really as noticeable unless you look at him and Clapton side by side. It’s easy to see ‘Slowhand’ break out every fast riff he has in his arsenal, but all it would take is one note for King to say just as much as Clapton did in 50 notes, as if he channelled all of his heartache into making sure one signature bend could sing for days when his solo started.
By the time Clapton was working with him, King had become the wise sage of blues music in many respects. He didn’t have as much to say as his contemporaries did, but when he spoke, you better believe people listened.
