FEATURE:
Saluting Slowhand
IN THIS PHOTO: Eric Clapton in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Eric Clapton at Seventy-Five
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IT seems strange that we are celebrating…
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
musicians’ birthdays, as we are all inside and not socialising. Nevertheless, music is continuing, and we have a lot more free time to dig deep and discover something new. I was flicking through some articles recently, and I noticed that Eric Clapton was mentioned. I have always been a fan of his, but I forgot that his seventy-fifth birthday was today. Although some doubt the legacy of Clapton, one cannot deny he is a wonderful guitar player and a musician that many people look up to. This article addresses the importance of Eric Clapton and how he has changed Rock music:
“One of the most influential guitarists of all time, Eric Clapton got into music in his early teens. In the over 50 years of his music career since, he hasn’t put down the guitar. Out of a long list of famous guitarists, music greats such as Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, Lenny Kravitz and Mark Knopfler have all named him as one of their key influences.
Clapton himself was heavily influenced by 1930s guitarist Robert Johnson, whom he described as “the most important blues musician who ever lived … I have never found anything more soulful than Robert Johnson”. His other influences include BB King, Muddy Waters and Hubert Sumlin as well as Chuck Berry.
Apart from being named Rock God on the guitar in the 1960s due to his incredible guitar skills, he has created a whole new way of using the modern rock guitar. Before Eric Clapton, the rock guitar was used for the rockabilly sound or the Chuck Berry method, which was later modernised by Keith Richards. Eric studied both methods and infused them with BB King’s electric blues. This new sound formed the fundamentals of how the lead guitar is used in Rock and Roll today.
Eddie Van Halen in an interview about his main influence, Eric Clapton:” There was a basic simplicity to his playing, his style, his vibe and his sound. He took a Gibson guitar and plugged it into a Marshall, and that was it. The basics. The blues. His solos were melodic and memorable – and that's what guitar solos should be, part of the song”.
Whether you are in the Clapton camp or not, clearly, he has laid down some truly marvellous songs and, on his seventy-fifty birthday, I think Slowhand deserves a salute. The playlists goes to show that Eric Clapton is…
IN THIS PHOTO: Eric Clapton in the 1970s/PHOTO CREDIT: Patti Boyd
ONE of the greats.