artist british
Eric Clapton
active from 1963 · Surrey / London
British blues guitarist whose work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall and Cream helped turn Chicago vocabulary into blues rock guitar heroism.
Eric Clapton became a central British blues figure by treating American blues records as a standard to be served intensely and loudly. With the Yardbirds he helped bring blues material into pop visibility; with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers he became the model of the British blues guitar virtuoso; with Cream he helped stretch the form into blues rock improvisation.
His node marks a shift in rock culture: the guitarist as named auteur, not just band member or accompanist.
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Sources
- Life — Keith Richards with James Fox (2010). Little, Brown and Company · Book
- Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: Pop from the Beginning — Nik Cohn (1969). Weidenfeld & Nicolson · Book
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