What happened to Eric Clapton?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Last edited Sat Nov 13, 2021, 12:13 AM - Edit history (1)

Robert Cray was stunned when he first heard “Stand and Deliver.” Eric Clapton, his onetime musical hero, who became a mentor and friend, had released his first protest song in 56 years of recording. Only it wasn’t about George Floyd or global warming. Clapton’s midtempo shuffle, a collaboration with Van Morrison released in December, went full anti-lockdown, taking aim at the government for trying to control a global pandemic by temporarily shuttering restaurants, gyms and concert halls.

What grabbed Cray’s attention was the second verse.

Do you wanna be a free man

Or do you wanna be a slave?

-snip-

Cray — one of the great blues guitarists of his generation, a five-time Grammy winner and Black man born in segregated Georgia — emailed Clapton immediately. Was the 76-year-old guitar great comfortable singing Morrison’s words, which compared the lockdown to slavery?

-snip-

After a September show in Austin, Clapton posed backstage with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott had recently signed the country’s most restrictive abortion law and a Republican-backed measure to limit who can vote in the state. Like that, a 35-year friendship was over.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/11/11/eric-clapton-vaccine-lockdown/


On edit:

Eric Clapton’s Tour Opener Dropped Out After Rocker Compared Lockdown to Slavery

Eric Clapton’s friends and collaborators discuss the rock legend’s anti-lockdown stance — and defend him against allegations of racism — in a new report.

Following a string of anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown tracks, Rolling Stone detailed Clapton’s descent from just speaking about his vaccine skepticism to actually bankrolling it.

Clapton’s associates are similarly perplexed by his recent stance, with many labeling Clapton as largely apolitical. “He’s the anti-Bono,” Clapton’s former label manager Bill Oakes told the Washington Post. “He is the epitome of someone who is there for the music, and he’s never rubbed shoulders with world leaders and never wanted to.”

The Rolling Stone report followed Clapton’s U.S. tour, where he specifically sought out venues where mandates (masked or vaccinations) didn’t apply. Along the way, Clapton performed a series of shows in Texas; Gov. Greg Abbott — himself opposed to mandates — stopped by backstage and shared a photo with the guitar god on social media.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/eric-clapton-tour-opener-dropped-203145266.html

[ItsjustMe]

1. Eric Clapton's Tour Opener Dropped Out After Rocker Compared Lockdown to Slavery

No paywall

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eric-clapton-friends-bandmates-confused-covid-1256752/

[Skittles]

5. Cray did try to talk to Clapton about this

when he didn't explain himself, Cray notified him he could not perform with him.....sounds like he did what he could but Clapton is in Bizarro World

[spooky3]

2. Valerie Bertinelli was quoted as saying, "once an asshole, always an

asshole.” Guess she had some less than charming encounters with him.

[obamanut2012]

15. Yup, he basically tried to rape her

When he was all over his "friend" Van Halen's wife. And, was just a racist, women-beating asshole. No way Bertinelli would like any of that.

[Norbert]

3. He had to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle

[stopdiggin]

4. not Clapton's first foray into really shi*ty

behavior and opinion (as is fairly well known). Clapton's out and out racist beliefs became (mostly unspoken) public knowledge at his own hands as early as the mid 70s. Being a pigish - and largely ignorant - human being has been a long standing feature - for all that the man can play a guitar.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/eric-clapton-vaccine-lockdown-racist-comments-1239027/

[bottomofthehill]

6. One word

Money…..

He wants it, needs audiences willing to die for him to get it.

[fishwax]

7. Clapton is literally the reason that Rock Against Racism was founded in the 1970s

he went on a vile racist tirade in a concert in Birmingham, and expressed support for Enoch Powell, who was sort of a cross between Donald Trump and George Wallace. Unfortunately, this shit isn't really new from him.

[walkingman]

8. So disappointed about this - A great guitarist but I will never get this out of my mind. I had

the same feeling about Neil Young and his marriage. I don't get it.

[OneGrassRoot]

10. Can you explain about the marriage part?

I just Googled trying to find a controversy about his marriage and discovered he's now married to Darryl Hannah. I had no idea...lol. Was there a controversy with Pegi, who has now passed, I see?

[obamanut2012]

19. I'm also perplexed

Darryl Hannah is a good leftie, as was Pegi.

[walkingman]

21. I guess that I am just old school. After 36 years of marriage and going through

the journey of being a R&R star and dealing with a disabled child to decide that the grass was greener with someone else just is disappointing to me. Of course it is none of my business but after being married myself for 43 years it just is disappointing.

[OneGrassRoot]

27. I understand. Thx. n/t

[obamanut2012]

16. What's wrong with Darryl Hannah?

[walkingman]

23. Nothing that I know of.

[Straw Man]

9. What happened to Clapton?

Years of drug and alcohol abuse combined with excessive adulation, all heaped on a personality that wasn't wrapped too tight to begin with.

I actually met him once. He's an asshole.

[retread]

11. Nothing happened. Just got older. Privileged white boy started career ripping off black musucians

and standing on the shoulders of giants. Even attained the status of "God" until Jimmy Hendrix put an end to that nonsense.

Lots of African-American musicians did it much better with much shittier equipment but white privilege being what it is Clapton was acknowledged as great musician and fresh musical innovator.

No surprise he believes his press and considers himself a font of wisdom. One does wonder about the effect of years of heavy drug use on a person's brain as they age.

[Scruffy1]

25. Both of them are good examples of white privilege.

I remember a discussion among some musician friends about the worst insult they ever got on stage. A very good guitarists answer was "You sound like Eric Clapton." Having heard players like Hubert Sumlin and Otis Rush when I was young, I was never impressed by Clapton's blues playing. What he did was really simplification and making it more pop sounding, thus more palatable to white audiences.
He's just another musician who got rich by knocking off black peoples music. Hell, I bet most people think Stevie Ray Vaughn wrote "Texas Flood" when he just played Fenton Robinson's guitar part note for note from Larry Davis's 1959 recording. Later on Boz Skaggs ripped off his song "Somebody Spare me a Dime" without even a credit, let alone a royalty. Just one in a long chain. Not all of them were racists, especially Stevie.

[Celerity]

12. he has been a racist bellend for 5 plus decades

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214631463

https://archive.md/98M2R

[A Clearing]

13. Co-sign that he has always been this way.

He’s an undeniably great guitarist and singularly influential, but I’ve always found his music deeply boring.

This is a good time to remember that Hendrix existed, and listen to any of the spectacular albums and live recordings he graced us with.

[obamanut2012]

14. He has been a racist, women-beating piece of shit since his early 20s

Nothing happened to him, except he got older and richer and worse.

[llmart]

20. My favorite quote:

"Whatever is wrong with your personality is only exacerbated with age."

He's always been a total jerk.

[PatSeg]

24. Good quote and very true

A jerk just becomes a Super Jerk when he gets older.

[yardwork]

33. Word.

[Vinca]

17. It's a shame he's such and asshole. His music has always been so great.

[CrackityJones75]

18. He is and always was an asshole.

End of story.

[Goodheart]

22. Never heard the song, but knowing it's Eric Clapton I'm sure it's mundane, unmelodic shit.

[Act_of_Reparation]

26. Nothing *happened* to Eric Clapton.

He's always been an asshole.

[LuckyCharms]

32. Yep. n/t

[MagickMuffin]

28. The label of greatest guitar player is laughable at most

I've never cared for his rebranding of music styles he pursued and mutilated over the years. Plenty of better guitar players out there.


These wonderful current guitarist come to mind

Robert Fripp

Anthony Phillips

Mike Oldfield

Steve Hackett

There are more but these come to mind.

[johnp3907]

37. "Okayest Guitar Player" maybe.

[Backseat Driver]

29. He thinks he's become wealthy enough to accept most of the consequences

and escape just about any "situation." Time is short (death); power and control will protect that wealth and free-dumb under which it was acquired (taxes). He's got plenty of community and company for recovery at any age.

[Backseat Driver]

30. He thinks he's become wealthy enough to accept most of the consequences

and escape just about any "situation." Time is short (death); power and control will protect that wealth and free-dumb under which it was acquired (taxes). He's got plenty of talent, community, and company for recovery at any age.

[Martin Eden]

31. Now I'm an even bigger fan of Robert Cray

My wife and I attend his performances whenever he comes to Chicagoland, perhaps a dozen times over the last 20 years.

We first saw Young Bob at the big 1990 Alpine Valley (Wisconsin) concert when he backed up headliner Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the night before the tragic helicopter crash that took Vaughan's life.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

34. Kick

[LetMyPeopleVote]

35. Eric Clapton was more than happy to have his photo taken with Greg Abbott.

Link to tweet