Eric Clapton

            Arguably one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, Eric Clapton played a major role in bringing the Delta blues, particularly the music of Robert Johnson, to the forefront of the blues revival in the 1960s and ‘70s.

             Although a minority of North American aficionados and folklorists had “rediscovered” the early blues, the vast majority of American audiences were unaware of this music until Clapton (and other English musicians and bands like the Rolling Stones) introduced them to Johnson and the Delta style through performances and recordings of blues covers and CD liner notes in which he expounded on the wonders of the early blues. [1]   As late as 2004, when he released a tribute to Robert Johnson called Me and Mr. Johnson, Clapton continued to pay homage to and promulgate the music that he called “the finest music I have ever heard.” [2]  Having amassed a global audience, Clapton brought the Delta blues into the consciousness of the musical world. [3]

             In addition to popularizing early blues, Clapton was a pivotal figure in the fusion of blues and early rock, propelling the evolution of the harder, blues based rock styles that characterized the music of groups like Led Zeppelin, The Who, and even contemporary musicians like The White Stripes and Adele. Clapton’s original songs were characterized by a newer rock-based style, but contained clear inflections of the Delta and Chicago blues (such as Strange Brew, composed in the 12-bar blues form, and Sunshine of Your Love, which utilized a repetitive, distorted guitar riff characteristic of Chess Records’ Chicago sound). [4]

      Bibliography

      [1]  Wald, Escaping the Delta, 244-5.       [2]   Eric Clapton, liner notes included with ''Me and Mr. Johnson. ''Reprise Records 9362-48423-2, 2004 compact disc.       <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[3]  Wald, Escaping the Delta, 245. <p class="MsoFootnoteText">      <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[4]  Dave Headlam, “Blues Transformations in the Music of Cream,” in Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis, eds. John Covach and Graeme M. Boone (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 84; Cream, studio recordings of “Strange Brew” and “Sunshine of Your Love” on Disraeli Gears, Reaction 593003, 1967, compact disc.