The 500 - #325 - Slowhand - Eric Clapton

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 325

Album Title: Slowhand

Artist: Eric Clapton

Genre: Rock

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, U.K.

Released: November, 1977

My age at release: 12

How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Lay Down Sally

Front cover of Slowhand - by Eric Clapton

It was in Grade 9 when I spotted it, scrawled on the side of an old desk at the back of my drafting class. At first, it appeared to have been roughly printed in permanent marker but, leaning closer, I realized the wood had been carved with a sharp instrument, possibly with the sharp point of a drafting compass.

A desk similar to some in my drafting class

On that desk, amid the clutter of other haphazard engravings (crude words and poorly drawn images), were three simple words... "CLAPTON IS GOD".  At the time, I had no idea there was a 15-year history behind this famous phrase, but I deduced it likely was a former student's effort to idolize guitarist, songwriter and singer Eric Clapton.

Clapton performing (1978)

The phrase, "Clapton is God", dates  back to the mid-60s, when Clapton was a member of the English Blues/Rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Around that time, the slogan was spray-painted on an underground subway station in Islington -- a residential district in London, England. Soon it began popping up all over the city and eventually throughout England. By the late 70s, it was everywhere -- even in my high school classroom in Southwestern Ontario. In a time well before social media made the phenomenon popular, it was a meme -- an idea, style or behaviour – that is widely imitated and rapidly spreads through a culture.

Clapton is God spray-painted on an Arvon Road fence, Islington

An ardent radio listener, I was aware of some of Clapton's music  – but only the tip of the iceberg, as I would later learn. A few years earlier, the song Lay Down Sally, from this week's album, Slowhand, had reached #3 on Canadian charts. Lay Down Sally had a country feel to it, so I had assumed  he was an American country and western artist. A later release, Cocaine, which was getting airplay about the time I was in that drafting class, made me realize he dabbled in several genres.

Lay Down Sally on the Canadian Charts - 1978

Regardless, seeing those words, "Clapton is God", scrawled on classroom furniture by a student who, I assumed, was much cooler than I, enhanced my admiration for the guitarist and singer. I wrote about Clapton's early life and addiction issues in a July, 2020 post, for the album 461 Ocean Avenue, #411 on The 500 List.

461 Ocean Avenue - #411 on The 500

Slowhand was released four years later when Clapton had kicked heroin, but still used alcohol and cocaine to excess. It was his fifth, full-length studio release as a solo artist, but he had already carved a name for himself as a guitar legend with his work with other musical groups, including The Yardbirds, The Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek & The Dominos. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked him as the second greatest guitar player of all time and he is, currently, the only person to be inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times -- with The Yardbirds, Cream and as a solo artist.

A few years after that memorable day in drafting class, I went through a heavy Eric Clapton phase, buying as many records of his that I could. As I listened and learned (in a time before the internet would make research easy) I became a devoted fan -- particularly of his work with Cream and his live blues material. His cover of Farther On Up The Road, from his 1975 live release, E.C. Was Here, figured frequently in mixed cassettes I made in 1986.

E.C. Was Here - 1975 Live Recording

Despite his many accomplishments, Clapton has done a disservice to his legions of fans. After an adverse reaction to the Covid vaccine, he used his celebrity status to undermine medical advice, bankroll anti-vax protesters and promote conspiracy theories -- comparing lockdowns to slavery. However, this is not the most insidious truth to come to light in recent years. He is also an angry racist.

Clapton - a musical genius with racism in his past

At a 1976 performance in Birmingham, England, Clapton asked "foreigners" in the audience to raise their hands. Then he asked them to "leave the venue". The full transcript can be found here, but I have included a censored version of the most damning section below:

"Not just leave the hall, leave our country... I don't want you here, in the room or in my country," 

"The Black w—s and c—s and Arabs and f—ing Jamaicans don't belong here, we don't want them here,"  

"This is England, this is a white country, we don't want any Black w—s and c—s living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome."

The rant went on as he called England "a white country" made "for white people."

Can Clapton be forgiven for his shocking and racist remarks?  After all, it is more than 40 years since his shameful outburst, a period when he was a heavy drinker. He has  apologized and joined  the anti-racism struggle. Nevertheless, his disgraceful outburst made me rethink my continued fandom.

 

Can I separate the art from the artist when I still enjoy notes on a scale with no agenda ringing out from "Blackie", his trademark Fender Stratocaster guitar? It's a lot easier than continuing to laugh at Bill Cosby jokes, and Clapton's rant is scant compared to the actions of indicted sex offenders like Cosby, Harvey Weinstein or R. Kelly.

Clapton with Blackie - his trademark
Stratocaster guitar

In the end, Clapton Is NOT God. He is simply a talented guitar player, songwriter and singer who is also a troubled man with many personal issues and flaws. Perhaps, this updated picture of his meme is more fitting to his legacy.