The three guitarists who inspired Eric Clapton
Love or loathe him, there’s no doubt that Eric Clapton is one of the most iconic guitarists in music history. Whether it be in The Yardbirds, Cream or as a solo artist, the Surrey native has an extensive oeuvre that confirms why his standing is so lofty.
Of course, it is impossible to ignore the infamous racist outburst that Clapton delivered in 1976, where the drunken rocker threw his support behind the ethnonationalist rhetoric of Enoch Powell. Filled with hate, horrific slurs and expletives, this eruption paints an entirely different picture of the former hippie who owes so much to African-American music. It makes you question what actually goes on between his ears, particularly in light of other condemnable takes he has since delivered.
The reality, though, is that Clapton has saved himself from being consigned to the dustbin of history due to the pioneering nature of his musical efforts. Blues-rock, psychedelia and virtuoso playing all owe a lot to him. So does the way that the blues permeated Western culture so intensely and changed the direction of popular music.
Whether it be the lead guitar on The Beatles’ ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ or Derek and the Dominos’ ‘Layla’, Clapton has delivered a host of iconic efforts in his time, which are marked about by his distinctive and expressive style. He has always been open about his array of influences, which, more often than not, come from the blues genre.
When speaking to Classic Rock in 2016, Clapton revealed just how inextricable his story is from the blues greats when he listed the three guitarists who inspired him most in the early days. These were Freddie King, B.B. King and Buddy Guy, three of the most influential blues players of all time. He made it clear that he attempted to fuse their efforts into something new in his early years, and as we all know, it worked.
Asked if he was channelling emotion and a desire to be technically proficient back then, Clapton responded: “No, I was channelling music. I was channelling what I heard on record by people that I was following, trying to learn from; I was channelling Freddie King, BB King, Buddy Guy. I was melding all those guys into some new shape. And I think people liked that. Maybe people projected stuff onto that. But for me I was purely trying to turn people on to what I loved: old music.”
Watch Eric Clapton channel the blues greats below.
