Dear Eric Clapton, you may never read this. But I am writing on behalf of your numerous fans: musicians, guitarists or plain admirers. As for me, I can’t play an arpeggio straight, forget about a barre chord.
Often, open letters have an angry, rebellious tone. This isn’t an outburst. On the contrary, it’s a reaction to news I heard last week, that you are suffering from ‘peripheral neuropathy’, a severe nerve disorder that affects basic sensation and movement. In short, it will affect your guitar-playing forever. In your words: “I’ve had a lot of pain over the last year. You feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg.”
My first reaction was of shock, followed by a recovery prayer. Yes, you are 71, so age might hamper the healing. But then, you are Eric Clapton. So there is hope. As people described you years ago, ‘Clapton is God’. They were talking of your guitaring and the hits. I shall agree with the ‘God’ theory, but expand it to areas beyond music. Your life has had many ups and downs, but you have come out strong: a severe addiction to heroin, cocaine, alcohol, prescription drugs; a confused love life, famously known for falling for and wooing Pattie Boyd, wife of good friend George Harrison; your tragic affair with singer Sheryl Crow, which made her write ‘My Favorite Mistake’; and the loss of your four-year-old son, Conor, which inspired you to create ‘Tears In Heaven’ with Will Jennings.
Comeback man
You have gone through hell, and returned. To use boxing film titles, you have been The Champ , Raging Bull , Hurricane , The Fighter .
Your guitars have floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee. You are the musical Muhammad Ali.
You’ve been clean 29 years. You have helped drug and alcohol addicts by creating the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, West Indies. Your Crossroads Guitar Festival raises funds for the affected. You have survived a scary world that took away Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Jeff Buckley, Amy Winehouse, Prince and others owing to similar conditions. You have overcome personal demons by purely devoting yourself to your passion.
Career-wise, you have had many highs: your work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos before your solo career; your collaborations with the great B.B. King, J.J. Cale, Steve Winwood and Wynton Marsalis. Your blues tributes on the albums From The Cradle and Me And Mr. Johnso n, the latter dedicated to legendary bluesman Robert Johnson.
Only complaint
Musically or otherwise, you have been ‘God’. Yet, as a fan, I have one complaint: most of your famous numbers have been written by others. ‘Cocaine’ and ‘After Midnight’ were by J.J. Cale, ‘I Shot The Sheriff’ by Bob Marley, ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’ by Bob Dylan, ‘Before You Accuse Me’ by Bo Diddley. ‘Layla’, written for Pattie, was a group effort by you, Duane Allman’s signature riff, and Jim Gordon, who was inspired by a Rita Coolidge piano tune. ‘Lay Down Sally’ was co-written by Marcella Detroit and George Terry. Your latest album, I Still Do , has only one piece by you.
Basically, besides ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘My Father’s Eyes’, there’s very little you have actually written. With due respect, now’s the time Mr. EC. Let’s have an entire album inspired by your pain and battles. You’ve fought and won many wars. This shouldn’t be difficult. Your guitar will rule forever. Love and respect… NK
The author is a freelance music writer
