The “spoof” song Eric Clapton used to pay tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn
A lot of people who don’t understand the genre would be reluctant to admit just how influential the blues were, but they truly helped change music as we know it.
The reason why so many people struggle to understand its impact is because of how simple a lot of it is: there are no over-the-top thrills and spills, no ridiculous effects being used; there are just excellent musicians, tapping into the deepest depths of their emotions in a bid to get the best out of their sound, and it resonated with many and still does, hence why people continue to listen to it and be inspired by it.
One of the best examples of an artist who could find something complex within something simple was BB King. ZZ Top’s guitarist Billy Gibbons once recalled seeing BB King solo and being blown away, despite the fact that King hardly played any notes. The magic wasn’t necessarily in what he did, rather, it was in how he did it.
“My dad was an entertainer. When I was seven years old, he said, ‘Listen, hop in the car. I wanna take you with me. I’ve got business to take care of at the recording studio,’” recalled Gibbons. “We went into the studio, he parked me in a chair and said, ‘You’ll probably like this, they’re recording a band. I’ll be in the office if you need me…’ It turned out to be a BB King recording session.”
Gibbons continued, “So, between seeing Elvis Presley and BB King, I thought, ‘Man, this is it. This is for me!”
Not only was a lot of the music simple, but so too were the themes being discussed. The truth is, the blues became a great form of music for people to tap into when exploring the ideas of wealth inequality and racism; however, the actual songs didn’t discuss as much. Instead, heartbreak was used as an extended metaphor, where pining for a loved one could be taken at face value, but could also mean something else, such as looking for a better world to live in.
A lot of blues singers also sang of trying to return home, but this wasn’t literal, it was about finding somewhere to be at peace. The two topics of home and heartbreak can be found throughout the blues; however, the means by which they are interpreted lie at the heart of the listener. There is something truly magical in that simplicity, and this formed the foundation for Eric Clapton’s spoof song, ‘Sick And Tired’.
The track was released in 1998 on Clapton’s album Pilgrim, and was supposed to be an ode to legendary blues guitarists Steve Ray and Jimmie Vaughan. Rather than try to go toe to toe with the great blues musicians, Clapton opted to write a song which was more of an obvious ode to the simplicity of this great genre. In doing so, he made a song which is humorous, but in being so, is also a pretty good tribute to the blues.
“The riff came first, and I just thought of the Vaughan brothers,” Clapton concluded. “I told Simon (Climie) to program a shuffle and exaggerate the back beat so it would sound like a Texas-style groove. I began improvising silly lyrics and thought, ‘Well, I might as well make it a song now.’ It’s a spoof, really.”
