Any aspiring guitarist rising to prominence in the 1960s would be playing for second place next to Eric Clapton. Before Jimi Hendrix radically changed the guitar world in 1967, Clapton became known as the first bonafide guitar god of rock and roll, earning a spot next to artists like Chuck Berry for his creative ingenuity on the instrument. For all of the great music he made with his various outfits and on his own, though, Clapton maintained that one of the founders of blues guitar split his mind open when he heard him for the first time.
Before Clapton got into rock and roll, he had always been a massive blues fan. While Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis may have been making waves half a world away, Clapton was indebted to the sounds of artists like Robert Johnson and BB King, usually studying how they played guitar and incorporating their licks into his musical library.
By the time he had graduated to playing clubs in England, Clapton had become a seasoned blues veteran in his 20s. Turning in one classic riff after the next with The Yardbirds, it wasn’t long before Clapton started looking for another outlet for his creativity, eventually forming a band with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to create the genesis of Cream.
Even though the band incorporated a blend of everything from jazz to psychedelic rock, Clapton always relied on the blues to help get him through. While the band would eventually deliver a fantastic cover of the Robert Johnson hit ‘Crossroads’, Clapton recalled that another blues legend left him stunned when he heard him for the first time.
Aside from the sounds of the Mississippi Delta, the sounds of Chicago blues would become integral in Clapton’s musical development. Although many legends like Howlin Wolf may have graduated from the seedy clubs of Chicago, Clapton remembered being awestruck when he heard Buddy Guy perform for the first time.
Coming from the South at first, Guy’s playing ended up putting every other blues guitarist to shame at the time. Combining tasty licks and aggressive fury, Guy would be all over the fretboard while expunging the musical demons from his soul, leaving an indelible impact on how Clapton played.
When discussing Guy’s performance at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Clapton recalled just how much of a visceral reaction he got from hearing him, saying, “I remember in 1965 when he first came to England at the Marquee club, and I was finally able to see him in person. In the flesh, he was earth-shattering. His style on every level was fantastic, doing all the things that we would associate with Jimi Hendrix. He brought the house crashing down, but beyond all that, it was playing that got through to me”.
Guy would also get the wheels turning for Clapton’s next venture, thinking that anyone who could hold down a groove as a trio would work when he put together Cream. While Clapton may have carved out an outlet for his own pain whenever he strapped on a guitar, Guy remained the litmus test for everything that a blues player was supposed to be.
