I Shot the Sheriff
Crossroads
(Cream)
Groaning The Blues
Cocaine
GUITAR SPACESHIP
Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter
and composer. He is "probably most famous for his mastery of the Stratocaster guitar."  Clapton has
been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a
solo performer. Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time,
Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"
and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Although Clapton has varied his musical style throughout his career, it has always remained grounded
in the blues. Yet, in spite of this focus, he is credited as an innovator in a wide variety of genres.
These include blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds) and psychedelic
rock (with Cream). Additionally, Clapton's chart success was not limited to the blues, with
chart-toppers in Delta blues (Me and Mr. Johnson), pop ("Change the World") and reggae (Bob
Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"). One of his most successful recordings was the hit love song "Layla,"
which he played with the band Derek and the Dominos.

Clapton has performed songs by myriad artists, most notably Robert Johnson and J. J. Cale. Other
artists Clapton has covered include Bob Marley, Bo Diddley and Bob Dylan. He cites Freddie King, B.
B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and primarily Robert Johnson as major influences of
his guitar playing. In his book, Discovering Robert Johnson (which he co-authored with several other
writers), Clapton called Johnson "...the most important blues musician who ever lived. He was true,
absolutely, to his own vision, and as deep as I have gotten into the music over the last 30 years, I
have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most
powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice, really. ... it seemed to echo something I
had always felt."

-- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: January 15, 2009
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Clapton)
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