(Credits: Far Out / Raph Pour-Hashemi)
Many people consider Eric Clapton one of the best guitarists in modern history. Whether he was in Cream, The Yardbirds, or throughout his solo career, Clapton has transcended various genres and played the guitar in a manner that shows his expertise while also looking effortless.
With his undeniable talent and ear for melody, Clapton has influenced music and culture as a whole. Inspired by the likes of Buddy Guy and BB King, Clapton took on the blues sound but infused it with various other styles, creating fun psychedelic, rock, and pop songs in the process.
He was also an innovative guitarist, seeing the potential in using different effects to give his guitar a varying tone. He would create a more aggressive and loud guitar style, which paved the way for other rock guitarists to do the same thing. This ushered in a new form of playing, where the guitar solo took on a life of its own and became a pivotal point in various songs.
Because of his talent, though, Clapton held other musicians to a high standard, and he was never afraid to talk badly about artists who he didn’t think were good. There were a number of different bands and performers whom he wasn’t keen on, and there was never hesitancy in making his opinions known. These are five of the artists that he hated the most.
The five artists that Eric Clapton can’t stand
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is widely considered one of the best rock bands of all time. Their sound uses a variety of genres and is the product of four of the best musicians in the world. Given how widely respected they are, it’s surprising to see them on this list; however, Eric Clapton was never a fan of the band.
He believed that Led Zeppelin expanded upon what Cream did but in a way that was against what the band initially started. In an interview, he said, “We had a really strong foundation in blues and jazz… Led Zeppelin took up our legacy. But then they took it somewhere else that I didn’t really have a great deal of admiration for.”
Oasis
Eric Clapton wasn’t a fan of Oasis’s music, but he also had an issue with the band’s behaviour. He doesn’t deny that he may have acted poorly in his youth, but he believes the documentation of it means modern bands should know better.
“It took more than 30 years and many deaths like Jimi Hendrix’s or Janis Joplin’s until I realised that I, as an artist, have a responsibility to society,” he said, “I thought that young bands like Oasis had learned from our mistakes. Instead, they are irresponsible and arrogant. They act like hooligans. They are a load of shit to me.”
The Yardbirds
It would be unfair to suggest that all Eric Clapton feels towards The Yardbirds is hate, as they were a big part of the beginning of his music career, and he no doubt has some positive memories working with them. However, when he left the band, he saw it as a relief as the music they were going on to make was far removed from what he wanted to make, drawing a wedge between him and the band.
He admits he felt alone when he was in the band, saying he was lonely now but “Not so lonely as when I was with the Yardbirds. Then it was a question of being alone with a crowd, and that is the worst form of loneliness,” he said, “I lived as part of the Yardbirds until I was completely out of touch with it. I couldn’t speak and be understood, and they couldn’t speak to me either.”
Madonna
Eric Clapton loved pop music, and a lot of what he did for The Yardbirds was inject an element of pop into them. He respected the genre; however, he was never a fan of the icon Madonna. It wasn’t that he hated her music; rather, he was completely impartial to it.
“To me, music is either good or bad if it makes me feel something,” he said, “If it doesn’t make me feel anything, I’m just indifferent to it. Madonna is a phenomenon that I recognise, but she doesn’t make me feel anything. I can’t identify with her on any level because all she is, is production and packaging.”
The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead are one of the most loved bands in the world. Their new music and archived live recordings continued to chart decades after the band’s original lineup disbanded. However, they took a loose approach to musical creation, which was the opposite of what Eric Clapton stood for.
“I don’t think the quality of their music is as high as a lot of other good recording bands,” he said, “People are more concerned with live music, maybe, than with recording. I’m not sure of that. I’m guessing. If the Grateful Dead are one of the best, they’re not doing a very good job on record.”
