Among friends and collaborators, there’s hope that Clapton can repair the damage he’s done to his reputation. Interviews with more than 20 musicians and acquaintances who have known Clapton over the years, from his days in the Yardbirds to his most recent concerts in September, shed light on why he may have thrust himself into the covid debate. “He is the epitome of someone who is there for the music, and he’s never rubbed shoulders with world leaders and never wanted to.” “He’s the anti-Bono,” says Bill Oakes, who managed Clapton’s label throughout the 1970s. “I’ve talked to other musicians, old friends of mine, these great players who, you know, will remain nameless in our conversation, who say, ‘What the f- is he doing?’” says producer Russ Titelman, whose credits include “Unplugged” and a new Clapton album that arrives this month, “Lady in the Balcony: Lockdown Sessions.” So it’s been more than a departure to hear him questioning scientists on anti-vaccine websites. He was never one to pop up at rallies or marches. In an increasingly polarized world, Clapton stayed out of politics. He is the only artist inducted three different times into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His 1992 album, “Unplugged,” remains the best-selling live release ever, with over 25 million copies sold. Before the pandemic, the guitarist and singer was one of rock’s elder untouchables, a multigenerational hitmaker with the same draw and standing as Billy Joel, James Taylor and Elton John. Many of Clapton’s friends and fans are asking that same question. Abbott, Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton in that similar pose, and I’m going, what’s wrong with this picture? Why are you doing this?” King sitting in a chair, Jimmie Vaughan, myself and Eric sitting behind him,” Cray says. “There’s this great photo (from 2013) at Madison Square Garden after the show, with B.B. Like that, a 35-year friendship was over. Abbott had recently signed the country’s most restrictive abortion law and a Republican-backed measure to limit who can vote in the state. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)Īfter that, Cray watched as Clapton released two more lockdown songs, conducted a lengthy interview with vaccine skeptics, and pledged to perform only where fans would not be required to be vaccinated - or, as Clapton said in a statement, not “where there is a discriminated audience present.”Īfter a September show in Austin, Clapton posed backstage with Texas Gov. Lifetime achievement award winner Robert Cray performs during the Americana Honors and Awards show, Sept.
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The next time he wrote was weeks later to politely inform Clapton that he couldn’t, in good conscience, open for him as planned on an upcoming tour. “His reaction back to me was that he was referring to slaves from, you know, England from way back,” Cray says. Was the 76-year-old guitar great comfortable singing Morrison’s words, which compared the lockdown to slavery? Cray - one of the great blues guitarists of his generation, a five-time Grammy winner and Black man born in segregated Georgia - emailed Clapton immediately.