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Was Eric Clapton a self-taught guitarist?
One of the most amazing blues players to emerge from England. Eric Clapton claims to be mostly self-taught. He picked up most of his guitar know-how from other blues players in England in the late fifties and early sixties.
When did Clapton start guitar?
Eric Clapton started playing guitar in 1958 at the age of 13 years old. Clapton got a cheap steel-string Hoyer German guitar and started trying to play the blues he had heard on the radio. After half a year of trying and failing to play well, Clapton retired the instrument.
How did Eric Clapton get his first guitar?
Eric Clapton's first electric guitar was a double cutaway Kaye which was a clone of a Gibson ES335. Eric, with financial assistance from his grandparents, purchased it for 100 pounds in 1962.
How old was Eric Clapton when he started playing?
In 1962, Clapton started performing as a duo with fellow blues enthusiast Dave Brock in pubs around Surrey. When he was 17 years old, Clapton joined his first band, an early British R&B group, the Roosters, whose other guitarist was Tom McGuinness.
Did Clapton ever play a Les Paul?
As the 1970s began, Eric Clapton abandoned the Gibson Les Paul in favor of the Fender Stratocaster. However, he never completely abandoned the brand. Today, Eric Clapton uses a Gibson L5 for select numbers in concert and from time to time, he's played a Gibson Chet Atkins acoustic on stage.
Why did Clapton stop using Gibsons?
In 1970, Clapton switched from Gibson electric guitars to Fender Stratocasters, largely due to the influences of Jimi Hendrix and Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood.
How much is an Eric Clapton guitar?
(CBS/AP) Talk about Blues Power. Some of the guitars on which rock legend Eric Clapton may have played that song brought in a pretty penny at auction in New York.
What is Eric Clapton's most famous song?
Top 10 Eric Clapton Songs# 5 – 'Slow Down Linda' ('Money and Cigarettes' / 1983)# 4 – 'I Can't Stand It' ('Another Ticket' / 1981)# 3 – 'Wonderful Tonight' ('Slowhand' / 1975)# 2 – 'The Shape You're In' ('Money and Cigarettes' / 1983)# 1 – 'Tears in Heaven' ('Unplugged' / 1992)More items...•
What amp did Clapton use?
It is with Fender amps however that Eric Clapton is best associated. And again, over the last five decades, Clapton has played a wide variety of different Fender amps. However the two that have arguably had the greatest impact on his tone are the Fender '57 Custom Twin and the Fender '57 Custom Champ.
How did Eric Clapton get so rich?
He's sold more than 100 million albums—indeed, he's one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He's also won 17 Grammy Awards. But his music isn't his only achievement. Clapton has earned significant payouts from real estate, art, and cars.
Was Eric Clapton ever in Genesis?
Eric Clapton found his authentic sound owing to his bold decision, so leaving Genesis was also an essential step in his career path. Clapton and his following success inspired Hackett to part ways with the band and go his own way.
Why is Clapton in a wheelchair?
Clapton was recently diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a condition that occurs when nerves carrying messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body are damaged or diseased.
What is Eric Clapton's favorite guitar?
Eric Clapton has used many different guitars during his career, but he still prefers his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard. He bought it from the original owner at a pawn shop for $250. It was made in 1958 and features a rosewood fingerboard and headstock.
How did Eric Clapton get so rich?
He's sold more than 100 million albums—indeed, he's one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He's also won 17 Grammy Awards. But his music isn't his only achievement. Clapton has earned significant payouts from real estate, art, and cars.
How much is an Eric Clapton guitar?
(CBS/AP) Talk about Blues Power. Some of the guitars on which rock legend Eric Clapton may have played that song brought in a pretty penny at auction in New York.
When did Clapton use a Les Paul?
On 1966's John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, the world was met with a sound never before heard: a Les Paul paired with a Marshall amplifier. 21-year-old Eric Clapton was deftly handling his sunburst 1960 Les Paul Standard on this record, having put down his Fender Telecaster. The rest is history.
Who is Eric Clapton?
Eric Clapton is a British rock musician who was a highly influential guitarist in the late 1960s and early ’70s and later became a major singer-son...
When did Eric Clapton form the band Cream?
In 1966, after leaving the Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton created the new band Cream with two other virtuoso rock musicians, bassist Jack Bruce and dr...
What year was Eric Clapton's song "Tears in Heaven" released?
"Tears in Heaven" was released in 1992 on the album Unplugged. At the 1993 Grammy Awards ceremony, “Tears in Heaven” won for both song and record o...
What bands was Eric Clapton in?
Eric Clapton was part of the Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos.
Which album is considered Eric Clapton's masterpiece?
The band Derek and the Dominos, with Eric Clapton as lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, made the classic double album Layla and Other Assort...
How Did Eric Clapton Learn Guitar?
Eric Clapton learned guitar by ear. He would collect blues albums, tape them with his reel-to-reel recorder and play back individual phrases repeatedly until he got them perfectly. Clapton also used the book Play in a Day. This book was used by many guitarists in the day like Jimmy Page and George Harrison. It provided great instruction on simple chord formations, how to hold your guitar, and various practice exercises.
Who Were Eric Clapton’s Biggest Influences?
The first time Eric Clapton heard the blues was when a children’s radio show called “Uncle Mac” played Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee’s “ Whoopin’ the Blues “. This fascinated Clapton. It provoked him to get his first guitar.
How Many Hours a Day Did Eric Clapton Practice?
Eric Clapton practiced upwards of 8 hours a day during his youth. Clapton practiced obscene amounts of time to get to the level he is at. When he wasn’t practicing, he was listening and studying blues records that he liked and believed could improve his playing.
What bands did Eric Clapton play in?
Eric Clapton was part of the Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos.
Who is Eric Clapton?
Eric Clapton is a British rock musician who was a highly influential guitarist in the late 1960s and early ’70s and later became a major singer-songwriter. Clapton’s mastery of blues form and phrasing, his rapid runs, and his plaintive vibrato were widely imitated by other rock guitarists.
What year did Eric Clapton release his song "Tears in Heaven"?
What year was Eric Clapton's song "Tears in Heaven" released? "Tears in Heaven" was released in 1992 on the album Unplugged. At the 1993 Grammy Awards ceremony, “Tears in Heaven” won for both song and record of the year, and Unplugged was named album of the year.
When did Eric Clapton release his first holiday album?
In 2018 Clapton released his first holiday album, Happy Xmas. Eric Clapton performing with Tina Turner, 1987. Eric Clapton, 2008. Clapton, an autobiography, was published in 2007, and the documentary Clapton: Life in 12 Bars appeared in 2017.
Who was the guitarist for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs?
The guitarist Duane Allman joined the group in making the classic double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), which is regarded as Clapton’s masterpiece and a landmark among rock recordings. Disappointed by Layla ’s lacklustre sales and addicted to heroin, Clapton went into seclusion for two years.
Who was the lead singer of Derek and the Dominos?
Clapton emerged as a capable vocalist on his first solo album, which was released in 1970. He soon assembled a trio of strong session musicians (bassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon, and keyboardist Bobby Whitlock) into a new band called Derek and the Dominos, with Clapton as lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.
Who was the drummer for Cream?
In 1966, after leaving the Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton created the new band Cream with two other virtuoso rock musicians, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. The group gained international popularity with its sophisticated, high-volume fusion of rock and blues that featured improvisatory solos.
How old is Eric Clapton?
Over a recording career which has spanned 56 years (he’s now 75 years old), Clapton has pioneered new guitar/amp combinations, named a specific tone, has his surname as descriptor for playing vibrato ...
What was the name of the group that sang with Clapton?
Named as they were “the cream” of mid-60s London’s musos, a “sensational groups’ group” according to Melody Maker, the alliance of Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker soured after 30 months, in what Eric later called a “shambling circus of diverse personalities”. They all knew it from the get-go. Baker later noted: “There were problems very early on. The only thing that held the band together was its success.” But when Cream did successfully gel, they were immense.
Why is Eric Clapton called the Beano Album?
But Eric was already well-known enough to get named billing on the LP sleeve and Blues Breakers Featuring Eric Clapton quickly became known as ‘The Beano Album’, due to the comic book Eric was holding on the cover photo.
What is Eric Clapton's woman tone?
Armed with The Fool SG, Eric Clapton refined what’s become known, in a term rather reflective of the attitudes of the time, as the ‘woman tone’. In 1967, Clapton told Beat Instrumental, “I am playing more smoothly now. I’m developing what I call my ‘woman tone.’.
What was Clapton's inspiration for the ES-335?
One assumes Clapton’s love of Freddie King was the inspiration for getting his ES-335 (King was the reason he first wanted a Les Paul, too, inspired by the cover of FK’s Let’s Hide Away And Dance Away of 1961) and it was famously used during Cream’s farewell tour in the autumn of 1968.
What guitar did Chris Dreja buy?
There was one iconic guitar he did buy back then, though, even if it was more often seen in the hands of bandmate Chris Dreja: a cherry red 1964 Gibson ES-335. It was essentially the ‘genuine’ version of his early Kay II, and would rise to the top later…
When did Gibson reintroduce the singlecut LP?
Clapton’s influence persuaded Gibson to reintroduce the singlecut LP from 1968 (from 61 to 68, they were only making SG ‘Les Pauls’ – a guitar Les Paul himself wasn’t particularly fond of, and from which he had his eventually name removed). The big win was the t-o-n-e.
Why does Eric Clapton feel numb?
The ‘Tears in Heaven’ hit guitar player and songwriter said that he does not attribute all the pin to the vaccination however as he suffers from “peripheral neuropathy”, a disease that affects the nerves and which he describes as “progressive” and “incurable”. Because of this disease, Eric Clapton explains feeling “numbness or tingling” in his ...
Can Eric Clapton play guitar?
Eric Clapton can no longer play the guitar since receiving his vaccine- fact or fiction. image: Shutterstock. Eric Clapton apparently “can no longer play the guitar” since receiving his vaccine, according to a recent video posted on YouTube. Eric Clapton , one of the most famous guitarists in the world “can no longer play ...
Did Eric Clapton perform in the Caribbean?
In 2018, the guitarist explained that his “hands barely work” In 2016, Eric Clapton confided to the magazine Classic Rock that playing ...
Overview
Guitars
Like Hank Marvin, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of electric guitar. With the Yardbirds, Clapton played a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-cutaway Gretsch 6120, and a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335. He became exclusively a Gibson player for a period beginning in mid-1965, when …
Early life
Clapton was born on 30 March 1945 in Ripley, Surrey, England, to 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton (7 January 1929 – March 1999) and Edward Walter Fryer (21 March 1920 – 15 May 1985), a 25-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec. Fryer was drafted to war before Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up believing that his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband, Jack Clapp, Patricia's stepfather, were his parents, and that his mother was act…
Musical career
In October 1963, Clapton joined the Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock and roll band, and stayed with them until March 1965. Synthesising influences from Chicago blues and leading blues guitarists such as Buddy Guy, Freddie King, and B.B. King, Clapton forged a distinctive style and rapidly became one of the most talked-about guitarists in the British music scene. The band initially played Chess
Influences
Clapton cites Muddy Waters, Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy and Hubert Sumlin as guitar-playing influences. In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton refers to Muddy Waters as "the father figure I never really had". Until his death in 1983, Waters was a part of Clapton's life. "When I got to know Muddy, unfortunately, my drinking career was in full sway." In 2000, Clapton collaborat…
Legacy
Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream. He ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Ti…
Other media appearances
Clapton appeared in the movie version of Tommy, the first full-length rock opera, written by the Who. In the movie version, Clapton appeared as the Preacher, performing Sonny Boy Williamson's song, "Eyesight to the Blind". He appeared in Blues Brothers 2000 as one of the Louisiana Gator Boys. In addition to being in the band, he had a small speaking role. Clapton has appeared in an advertisem…
Personal life
Clapton's partner from the late 1960s to 1974 was Alice Ormsby-Gore, a British aristocrat; they were often wrongly reported as engaged. He briefly dated funk singer Betty Davis. He married Pattie Boyd on 27 March 1979, in Tucson, Arizona, but their marriage was marred by his infidelities and domestic violence. In a 1999 interview with The Sunday Times, Clapton admitted to raping and abusin…