The one guitarist who could relegate Eric Clapton to “rhythm guitar”
Eric Clapton is one of the most important guitarists to ever put pick to string.
It’s not that he was good. I mean, he was good, obviously, but it’s not just that, he was also one of the first guitarists to merge different styles and drag guitar playing into a new age. He was able to play like the rock ‘n’ rollers who had made guitar music exciting, but blend it with the more modern style that was creeping through the door. The result was a means of playing which defined a lot of modern guitar music.
Steve Van Zandt spoke highly of Eric Clapton and his ability to merge all of these different playing styles. It was incredibly exciting for him to hear, and it has led to his assessment that there is no one better than the Cream lead. “Eric Clapton is the most important and influential guitar player that has ever lived, is still living or ever will live,” he said. “Do yourself a favour, and don’t debate on this.”
While he was individually an exceptional guitarist, Eric Clapton was also more than happy to share the stage with different musicians. One of his most famous jams came when he went on stage with Jimi Hendrix. This all happened shortly after Hendrix had originally arrived in the United Kingdom, and people didn’t know quite what he was capable of yet. When Hendrix asked to join Clapton on stage, the guitarist welcomed him, and the two delivered an exceptional performance, trading riffs and solos.
“He played just about every style you could think of, and not in a flashy way,” said Clapton. “I mean, he did a few of his tricks, like playing with his teeth and behind his back, but it wasn’t in an upstaging sense at all, and that was it… He walked off, and my life was never the same again.”
While Hendrix certainly gave Clapton a run for his money, the two were both considered lead guitarists during their performance together. It’s hard to imagine Clapton ever being anything other than a lead guitarist; however, later in his career, he began to slow down somewhat. The fancy guitar style didn’t feature as prominently in his playing, and he was happy to just belt out some nice chords with the occasional lick here and there.
Steve Van Zandt said this period in Clapton’s career wasn’t him winding down, but it was simply him morphing his style, as he went from trying to sprint to trying to run a marathon. Once you’ve invented the wheel, you can’t really go much further than that, and so Clapton didn’t need to try. Instead, he just played well and released good music, even if it wasn’t quite as cutting-edge as what he put out in the early days.
“He had seven years of the most extraordinary, historic guitar playing ever – and 40 years of doing good work,” said Van Zandt. “Being the best has got to wear you out. So he pulled back, like Dylan and Lennon did. The sprint is cool – the marathon is better. Clapton has followed in the footsteps of his mentors: He’s become a journeyman.”
It seems that Clapton seemingly agreed with him. While he played on stage with Hendrix in the late ‘60s and was happy to trade solos and share the lead spot, as his career went on, there were some guitarists he said he was happy playing rhythm for. One of these was Jeff Beck, another excellent guitar player who also came up around the same time as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
“If people want that heavy metal thing, they can go somewhere else. I’m not in any kind of competition,” he said, concluding, “If they put me onstage with Beck, who’s really fast and tough, I’d just have to play rhythm guitar.”
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