[Slowhand] A Civil Debate, Part 2

[DeltaNick]

In October 1963, having developed quite a reputation as a guitarist, Clapton joined the Yardbirds to replace original member, Anthony "Top" Topham. We have but one recording from 1963: "Sonny Boy Williamson & The Yardbirds," on which Clapton plays tentatively, probably in awe of Williamson, and damn nervous from the paces Williamson had put them through in rehearsal. Furthermore, the live gig was nothing like the rehearsal. What I hear on this record is a sensitivity and emotional intimacy that no other rock generation guitarist had ever exhibited at this point in time, except for, maybe, American guitarist Mike Bloomfield. One can also hear Clapton's emergent solo architecture.
 

And let's not forget that several of his Yardbirds solos in 1964 were truly advanced: on the cutting edge. They also gave a real indication of the way Eric Clapton was going: "I Ain't Got You," "A Certain Girl," "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," and "Got To Hurry." There's some pretty damn fine guitar playing on these, and we can hear Clapton maturing, "Slowhand" already in the process of revolutionizing the electric guitar, wowing folks. He wowed some enough to be invited to play on an Otis Spann album, along with Muddy Waters, when he was only 19. For those who don't know, Spann was Muddy Waters' legendary piano player, and his half-brother or cousin. The session took place on 4 May 1964, while Clapton was a member of the Yardbirds.

 

Mike Vernon himself used to get up and join the band, but mainly because he gave Eric Clapton the chance to stretch out . "The reason I sued to sing with the band was because Eric was the one who always used to get me up there to sing; I was the only one who wanted to do a slow blues, everybody else wanted to do something fast. I wanted to do "Stormy Monday" or "Going Down Slow." I mean, I didn't do them very well, but that didn't matter; Eric didn't care about that, it just gave him a chance to play, and that's why I like to do it, to hear him play. That's how the friendship came about really. Of course, my crowning glory at that particular time was appearing at the Richmond Jazz and Blues Festival. I got up and sang in front of about twenty-five thousand people and sang a slow blues. It was one of the best spots of the whole show: not for what I sang, but for what Eric played" (Bob Brunning, "Blues: The British Connection," p. 37).

 

How did Eric Clapton revolutionize, redefine the electric guitar? Well, Clapton was the first virtuoso rock generation player of note recognized worldwide. This took time, and looking back, one can see the recorded history since 1963; the written history going back to 1962 or even 1960. Next, he was the first who deliberately employed overdrive, distortion in his playing. Previously, this had been, at most, an unanticipated and unwanted by product of an electric guitar turned up too loudly. This required learning the parameters of the effect and its control, setting the way for all who came after him. Clapton turned it up past that point, as he was in uncharted territory, an explorer. He also learned how to control and employ feedback. And next, with his uncompromising, hardcore attitude, Clapton quit the Yardbirds. "Clapton's walk out on the Yardbirds is still regarded as something of an example of a man sacrificing fame for musical principles" (Keith Altham, "Cream Are The Very End!" "New Musical Express," 28 October 1966, http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=8866).

 
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