The one guitarist Eric Clapton said it is impossible not to copy: “If you wanna play rock ‘n’ roll”
Looking back at the somewhat inexplicable explosion of blues rock in the 1960s, there are central figures from whom emanated a music scene that would influence generations of performers. One such foundational stone was Eric Clapton.
Now, it’s not easy to defend Clapton these days. His growth into becoming one of rock’s most cantankerous souls started a long time ago and has offended and disgusted enough people along the way to almost discredit his entire career. But the music he created, especially during those early moments with The Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith, is rigid in their support of alternative music as we know it.
The truth is, there is a reason artists like Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck saw a musical kindred spirit in Clapton’s work. ‘Slowhand’, as he was once affectionately known as was a dab hand at creating blues jams that felt brimming with authenticity. Which, considering he was a white boy from England, was perhaps his most impressive asset. But Clapton had always found inspiration in others.
While Hendrix is often thought of as the ultimate six-string genius for his unique sounds and sonic structures, Clapton was famed for his ability to assimilate himself within the scene. He was technically proficient and able to deliver original lead lines, of course, but what he had was the knowledge at hand to make music that felt born of another age entirely.
Like so many kids his age, when he first picked up a guitar and began trying to navigate his way to his own sound, he found influence and inspiration in the music of the Delta blues. Calpton once explained:
“I learned from records, I guess, everybody who’s played a string instrument has had an influence on me”.
He added: “All the Indian musicians I’ve heard and all the blues musicians I’ve heard have influence me. There are lots of other idioms I haven’t even touched on, fields of music I haven’t even been near. There’s also influences I’ve got from people who don’t play string instruments. There’s a blues harmonica player called Little Walter Jacobs who plays really good harmonica. He’s influenced me a lot because you can transfer what he’s doing to a guitar.”
But, in honesty, there was really only one guitarist who first sparked his interest in the instrument: “Chuck Berry did that. ‘Schooldays’ and then ‘Johnny B. Goode‘, I got into that”.
Berry’s position as perhaps the most influential guitar player of all time is an argument not spoken about enough. Cite your favourite band from the 1960s and there’s a high chance that they found themselves duckwalking across their tiny lounge before ever dreaming of a spotlit stadium.
In fact, Clapton thinks it goes even further and that Berry is more of a compulsion than an influence: “If you wanna play rock ‘n’ roll or any upbeat number and you want to take a guitar ride, you would end up playing like Chuck Berry,” Clapton explained in a 1989 documentary. “Because there is very little actual other choice. There is not a lot of other ways to play rock ‘n’ roll other than like Chuck plays it.”
John Lennon once claimed, “If you had to give rock ‘n’ roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry”, and there’s a seriously good chance Clapton would agree.
