I thought, ‘My God, this is like Buddy Guy on acid.’
ERIC CLAPTONI thought, ‘My God, this is like Buddy Guy on acid.’
ERIC CLAPTONThe first guitar I ever had was a gut-string Spanish guitar, and I couldn’t really get the hang of it. I was only 13, and I talked my grandparents into buying it for me. I tried and tried and tried, but got nowhere with it.
ERIC CLAPTONOh yeah, I mean, it wasn’t a very good guitar, most good guitars have got thrust rods in the necks that you can adjust or that’ll keep them in shape, you know keep them straight. This one just, well it turned into a bow and arrow after a couple of months.
ERIC CLAPTONI tried when I was 13, when my grandparents gave me an acoustic guitar, and I tried for a year. It hurt so much to play. I mean, the fingertips hurt so much, I gave up.
ERIC CLAPTONThey found our hero in the gutter with a diamond ring and a gun.
ERIC CLAPTONMy original interests and intentions in guitar playing were primarily created on quality of tone, for instance, the way the instrument could be made to echo or simulate the human voice.
ERIC CLAPTONI grew up playing in clubs – that’s my spiritual stomping ground.
ERIC CLAPTONMusic survives everything, and like God, it is always present. It needs no help, and suffers no hindrance.
ERIC CLAPTONMusic became a healer for me.
ERIC CLAPTONAn obsession is where something will not leave your mind.
ERIC CLAPTONI got a problem, can you relate? I got a woman calling love hate.
ERIC CLAPTONAll I am certain of right now is that I don’t want to go anywhere, and that’s not bad for someone who always used to run.
ERIC CLAPTONYou were at school and you were pimply and no one wanted to know you. You get into a group and you’ve got thousands of chicks there.
ERIC CLAPTONI think I deliberately sold out a couple of times. I picked the songs that I thought would do well in the marketplace, even though I didn’t really love the song.
ERIC CLAPTONI can’t play long solos anymore without boring myself.
ERIC CLAPTONOne of the most beneficial things I’ve ever learned is how to keep my mouth shut.
ERIC CLAPTON