Eric Clapton is one of the best guitarists ever to live, no doubt about it. He has always been incredibly sure of himself and of his playing style. It’s led to him knowing when he has done everything he needs to in bands and when it’s time to leave and find people with the same vision. He moved from The Yardbirds to Cream to further his solo career, all because he was sure of the music he was so passionate about. He is also sure about those who inspire him.
Clapton knows talent when he hears it; he has that natural ear for what makes a good guitar player. Famously, during one of Jimi Hendrix’s first performances in the UK, Clapton let him come on stage to jam with him. Once the jam was finished, Eric left the venue, and when asked where he was going, he answered, “To practice.”
That ability to pick out unique guitar-playing ability has led to his decisiveness as a musician. As such, despite music being entirely subjective and everyone being able to have their own opinion on what great music is, when Clapton says someone is the best guitarist alive, you can bet he might be right.
The rumour was that if you cut Buddy Guy open, he would bleed blue. Guy is one of the most definitive blues musicians on the planet, and his guitar-playing technique has gone on to inspire musicians for generations. Clapton praised the guitarist when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
His words were simple, but when someone means a lot to you and their music can speak for itself, not much more needs to be said. His speech contained the definitive and direct statement, “[Buddy Guy is] without a doubt the best guitar player alive.” Despite the induction being nearly two decades ago, that statement carries just as much weight now as it did before.
Guy played the guitar the same way he breathed air into his lungs: naturally. He had a visceral and ferocious playing style that set the standard for the blues. The heart and soul of the music he loved was in every single note played, to the point that no guitar giant has come after him that hasn’t thanked him in some way for his contribution to their career.
The likes of Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and, of course, Eric Clapton have all sung the praises of Buddy Guy. Everyone wants the opportunity to share the stage with him, and the musician, to this day, is influencing new generations of guitar players. In that sense, Clapton’s words resonated far and wide within the musical world when he called Buddy Guy one of the best. The blues is in his veins.
Did Clapton like any other guitarists?
Of course, over the years, despite his misgivings as a socially responsible person, Clapton has been effusive in his praise for other performers. He has regularly lauded the talents of his six-string counterparts like Prince, Duane Allman and, of course, his friend Jimi Hendrix. But they sadly share one commonality: they’re dead.
But, he has also named artists like John Mayer as supremely talented. Yet, it would seem that nobody could really come close to being the best living guitarist who wasn’t named Buddy Guy. Considering the virality in his music to this day and that, at 89 years old, he is still hitting licks and taking shots, he could hold the crown for a little while yet.
