Eric Clapton, known for his mastery of the guitar and his deep connection to blues music, has made an indelible mark on the genre. His iconic riffs and emotive style reflect the sensibilities of the blues greats who influenced him. However, Clapton acknowledges that even his own contributions to the genre are just a small part of a broader, rich musical tradition.
Clapton’s relationship with the guitar began at an early age when he picked up a steel-string Hoyer. Throughout his youth, he immersed himself in the study of the instrument, spending much of his time practicing scales. This passion for guitar often led to trouble at art school, where he found himself on the verge of expulsion for his persistent practice in the classroom. It was within the walls of London’s art school, however, that Clapton’s devotion to the guitar truly took root, further fueled by the influx of blues records from across the Atlantic.
“I was listening to a lot of blues,” Clapton shared on Desert Island Discs, reflecting on his early influences. “As well as everything else you heard on Family Favourites. You’d hear the occasional Lead Belly song or Big Bill Broonzy or Chuck Berry, you know?”
However, it was the groundbreaking work of legendary blues artist Robert Johnson that truly reshaped Clapton’s musical direction. Clapton named Johnson’s Cross Road Blues as one of the “deepest of all the blues records” in his life. He described Johnson’s style as “the most disturbing and hardest to listen to of all the blues singers because it is such emotionally charged music,” emphasizing its complexity, which he considered to be the most intricate in the genre.
Johnson, a central figure in the Delta Blues scene of the 1930s, was joined by other pioneering blues figures such as Howlin’ Wolf, whose raw and powerful voice left a lasting impression on Clapton. Wolf’s commanding presence, described by bluesman Cub Koda as having the power to “rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of their wits,” had a profound influence on Clapton.
In 1994, Clapton released From the Cradle, an album filled with covers of blues standards, including songs by Muddy Waters, Barbecue Bob, and Freddie King. While Clapton felt comfortable paying tribute to many of his blues heroes, he acknowledged that Howlin’ Wolf’s songs were simply beyond his ability to cover in a way that felt true.
“I’ve found that it’s impossible for me to sing a Howlin’ Wolf song on record, and for me to be convinced about it at the end of the day, unless I change it so much that it’s just not me doing a Howlin’ Wolf song, but then you lose something,” Clapton explained in an interview with John Pidgeon. “Sometimes the songs aren’t strong enough without his actual presence.”
Clapton went on to explain that his versions of these songs are shaped by his personal connection to them, filtered through the impact they had on him when he first heard them. His own interpretation, he said, is an attempt to balance his respect for the original with what he can bring to it as an artist.
In this way, Clapton’s journey with blues music has always been one of reverence, adaptation, and, above all, an acknowledgment of the genre’s unyielding power and legacy.
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