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Classic Vinyl

With John Gardiner

Eric Clapton and the history of rock

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Back when I was a young guy growing up in Hanover and trying my darnest to be a rock 'n' roll star, I had my idols. One of the first was a young British guitar wizard who burst onto the scene at an extremely tender age, and who is still a major part of the scene now – likely almost 40 years later. His name is Eric Clapton and he is a giant in the music biz.
I first became aware of Clapton on a collection of early blues tunes on an album called British Blues Beginnings. It featured some harp by Cyril Davies (sp.), who I think was the first to bring us the electric blues harp, some nice guitar work by a young Jimmy Page and then there was Clapton. It was my first introduction to a guy I've admired ever since.
A little later, I got turned onto John Mayall, who I've done a Classic Vinyl on and there was Clapton again on Bluesbreakers, likely Mayall's best known work and a true gem of a blues album. I still pull Bluesbreakers out of the record bin every so often just to hear what real '60's electric blues should sound like. Pick this one up, even on CD if you have to. It should be part of every music collection.
Then, of course, there was Cream. But somewhere in there, the myth was born. You see, all of us young rock musicians who were watching as guys like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton dominated the late '60's rock scene, had heard the story. It was about how Clapton had holed himself up in a dingy room somewhere for about a year and done nothing but learn how to play the guitar – to try to be the best in the world. Now, I'm not sure whether Clapton ever did this, but I will tell you that he somehow went a long way toward accomplishing his goal.
Cream remains one of the signature bands of the 1960's. Especially for aspiring young musicians, it was about as good as it got. With Clapton's soaring guitar solos and Jack Bruce's lead bass work and Ginger Baker's thunderous percussion, this was without doubt the most amazing power trio in the history of rock. And that includes some very heady company like Beck, Bogaert and Appice, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Grand Funk and the list goes on. There was none better than Cream.
When the band's first album was released, it caused an enormous stir in the rock world. Disraeli Gears is certainly still worth a listen today, and, in fact, the first real band I played in was called Strange Brew as a tribute to Cream and we did several tunes off the album. For my money, the double LP set, Wheels of Fire, remains one of the best live albums you'll find even given the relatively primitive recording technology available. The 20-minute versions of Spoonful and Crossroads are without compare for live musicianship.
So, Cream suddenly disolves and you've got to think that Clapton may have hit the pinnacle of his career – a career many other. would have been thankful for – I've not even mentioned the Yardbirds. Instead, he teams up with a young Stevie Winwood and they form the hugest supergroup of the late 1960's – Blind Faith. They made one tour and released one album and the rest is history. Truly one of the greatest rock records out there. Do What You Like is a great tribute to the whole band.
After Blind Faith, Clapton continued to delight those of us who'd been following his career. I'm not sure of the chronology, but along came Delanie and Bonnie and Friends, then came Derek and the Dominos (with its huge hit, Layla), then somewhere came the start of his real solo career with the Ocean Boulevard album, featuring another huge hit, I Shot the Sherrif, and he'd introduced us to Bob Marley and reggae.
Clapton has quite simply re-invented himself again and again over the years. He has shown himself to a tremendous songwriter, he is a rock guitarist of the first order and he is an excellent showman. He has it all and he has made good use of it over the years. Back in the late '80's and early '90's when you might have thought he'd be winding his career down, he returned to his roots and released the enormously popular "Unplugged" album. Pure, wonderful blues music – back where it all began.
Eric Clapton has been one of the great ones in the history of rock – indeed, there are few who are his equal. Maybe you could throw around a few names like Neil Young, but there are few who have had so much success and still managed to maintain their integrity. Clapton is one of those. Pick up what you can – if you can't get it on record, get it on CD.



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.