Eric Clapton, 3-Time Rock Hall Inductee, Blasts the Rock Hall
Eric Clapton seems to have soured on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and went off on the organization in a new interview.
Speaking with The Real Music Observer, Clapton referred to the Rock Hall as a “frat boys club” and “not a place for rebels.”
Clapton, of course, is famously the only artist to be a three-time Rock Hall inductee. His first induction was in 1992 as a member of The Yardbirds. His second induction was the following year in 1993 as a member of Cream. Finally, Clapton was inducted as a solo artist in 2000.
The guitar icon wasn’t always against the Rock Hall, as evident by his multiple inductions. He told The Real Music Observer, “I think the fact that they had Ahmet Ertegun was the ticket for me.” (Ertegun co-founded the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was one of the most influential music executives as president of Atlantic Records.)
Clapton noted of Ertegun, “He was doing it for people like Ruth Brown and the Drifters, all those early Atlantic artists that were being forgotten, and then, it just kind of started to snowball.”
Ertegun co-founded the Rock Hall with Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner, which did rub Clapton the wrong way. However, he said Robbie Robertson’s approval of the Rock Hall seemed to sway him. (Robertson went on to induct Clapton as a solo artist in 2000.)
Clapton’s recent comments about the Rock Hall are also interesting since his mentor and British blues legend John Mayall is being inducted as part of the 2024 class. Sadly, Mayall passed away in July at the age of 90. It was safe to assume Clapton could potentially make an appearance at the upcoming induction ceremony to pay tribute to Mayall, but his comments put his appearance in serious question.
Following news of Mayall’s passing, Clapton shared a very moving and emotional tribute where he referred to Mayall as his “surrogate father.” Clapton joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers after leaving the Yardbirds and plays on the 1966 album, Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. Clapton’s tenure with the Bluesbreakers was brief, but it led to him meeting bassist Jack Bruce, his future bandmate in Cream.
Clapton’s video tribute featured him speaking direct-to-camera. He began, “I want to say a few words about my friend John, who I learned passed last night or sometime yesterday. I want to say thank you, chiefly, for rescuing me from oblivion and god knows what as a young man, around the age of 18-19, when I decided I was going to quit music.”
Clapton continued, “He found me and took me into his home and asked me to join his band, and I stayed with him, and I learned all that I really have to draw on today, in terms of technique and desire to play the kind of music that I love to play. I did all of my research in his home in his record collection — the Chicago Blues, that he was such an expert on. I played in his band of a number of years, with [drummer] Hughie [Flint] and [bassist] John [McVie], and it was a fantastic experience.”
He added, “He taught me that it was okay just to play the music you wanted to play, without dressing up or making anyone else like it, whether it mattered whether they liked it or not, to listen to myself, to my inner motivations. He was my mentor and a surrogate father, too.”
Clapton wistfully noted, “He taught me all I really know and gave me the courage and enthusiasm to express myself, without fear and without limit, and all I gave him in return was how much fun it was to drink and womanize, when he was already a family man. I wish to make amends for that. I did that while he was alive, and I obviously since learned that that is not the best way to carry on.”
He concluded, “I shall miss him. I shall miss him, but I hope to see him on the other side. So, thank you, John. I love you. I’ll see you soon, but not yet. Not yet, as they say in the ‘Gladiator’ movie. God bless you. Thank you.”
