In the 1960s, the words “Clapton is God” appeared in a graffiti tag in Islington, London. The phrase spread like wildfire and dowsed the flames of competition. At the time, several guitarists in the London scene, including Jimi Hendrix and Clapton’s fellow Yardbirds alums Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, enjoyed a fruitful, friendly rivalry. Shortly after, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green was nicknamed “Green God” by his fans in response to the line about Eric Clapton.
Psychedelic rock bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream and Led Zeppelin encapsulated a penchant for complexity that would ultimately inspire bands of the prog-rock movement. However, as this age of instrumental one-upmanship petered out, listeners seemed to reconnect with songwriting and spirit over substance. This was most palpably reflected in the stark contrast between punk and prog-rock in the 1970s.
Playing the guitar like a “God”, or more realistically, Hendrix and Clapton, is undoubtedly an honourable ambition. “I never accepted that I was the greatest guitar player in the world,” Clapton admitted in his The South Bank Show profile in 1987. “I always wanted to be the greatest guitar player in the world, but that’s an ideal, and I accept it as an ideal.”
Clapton undoubtedly enjoyed the guitarists’ arms race that ensued through the late 1960s, but he understood that instrumental virtuosity isn’t everything when it comes to rock and roll. Even within the realm of guitar playing, stylistic nuances and personal touches can endear a wider audience than technical command.
For this reason, the British artist endorsed JJ Cale as one of America’s most underappreciated guitarists. Cale had bucketloads of technical ability, but it was a unique approach to slide guitar and blues-inspired lead embellishments that separated him from the crowd for Clapton.
Similarly, rock ‘n’ roll musicianship demands a certain attitude and passion for the craft. Musicians like Hendrix and Pete Townshend are often seen as one of a kind due to their consummate musicianship. Not only are they fine instrumentalists, but their innovative compositional grasp and destructive showmanship helped to revolutionise music in the 20th century.
As far as Clapton is concerned, Tom Petty, who rose to stardom as the leader of The Heartbreakers and later joined Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison in Traveling Wilburys, is another irreplaceable star.
In 2017, the ‘Free Fallin” singer passed away aged 66 from an accidental overdose. Clapton was among the first of Petty’s close friends in the industry to pay tribute. “I’m shocked and saddened by the news of Tom’s passing,” Clapton wrote in a statement, “he’s such a huge part of our musical history; there’ll never be another like him.”
Throughout Petty’s life, he shared the stage with Clapton on several occasions. In the studio, their paths crossed more scarcely, but in 2014, they joined forces to pay tribute to JJ Cale on the compilation album Eric Clapton & Friends: The Breeze – An Appreciation Of JJ Cale. Petty collaborated with Clapton on renditions of ‘I Got the Same Old Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll Records’ and ‘The Old Man and Me’.
