<\/p>\n
The famous \u201cClapton is God\u201d graffiti in London in the late 1960s was a sign of the \u201cGuitar God\u201d Eric Clapton was about to become. He is one of the most influential and successful artists of all time and played an extremely important role in the evolution of Blues and Rock.<\/p>\n
Consistently ranked among the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was always at the top of his game, with very few artists able to match him. Throughout his career, he spoke about many guitarists he admired and once said which were the two guitar players he considered to be his true peers in the 80s.<\/p>\n
The 2 guitarists Eric Clapton considered his true peers in the 80s
\nMark Knopfler (Dire Straits)<\/p>\n
The first one mentioned by Eric Clapton was the Dire Straits<\/a> songwriter, singer and guitarist Mark Knopfler. \u201cWell, they\u2019re the people whom I do see as being my true peers, and I\u2019m very comfortable with that. I mean, it\u2019s a very secure feeling. They are great players of taste, and I think that\u2019s what you\u2019re talking about, taste, really,\u201d Clapton told\u00a0Musician<\/a> magazine in 1986. He has always been a fan of Dire Straits and has had the chance to perform with Mark Knopfler multiple times, once calling him a \u201cgreat craftsman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Mark Knopfler<\/a>, I think, is totally unique. He\u2019s a great craftsman, which brings it back to that. I mean, with Dire Straits, if you listen to any of their albums the first time, it sort of goes by you a bit. Then gradually it just gets better and better, and it stands the test of time. They\u2019re fantastic craftsmen,\u201d he told Rolling Stone<\/a> in 1991. He first went to see the band perform in the early 1980s, when they were promoting \u201cLove Over Gold\u201d (1982). He later went backstage to meet them, as bassist John Illsley recalled in his book \u201cMy Life in Dire Straits<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hit the road with a warm-up gig at Guildford Civic Hall, a sketchy performance memorable only for the after-show appearance backstage of Eric Clapton, a guitarist much admired by anyone who has ever picked up the instrument. It was flattering that he came to see us or, more probably, to see Mark in action,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mark Knopfler toured with Clapton as part of his band<\/p>\n Curiously, one of the few times over the decades that Eric Clapton played in a band mainly as a rhythm guitarist was during his shows with Dire Straits. Illsley even joked once that the legendary guitarist is actually quite good at playing rhythm guitar.<\/p>\n The first time they played together was in 1985, when Eric joined them at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. That night they performed \u201cTwo Young Lovers,\u201d Clapton\u2019s version of J.J. Cale\u2019s \u201cCocaine,\u201d and \u201cFarther Up the Road,\u201d a song by Bobby \u201cBlue\u201d Bland that Eric had previously recorded.<\/p>\n They played together again in 1986 at the Prince\u2019s Trust 10th Birthday Concert and the following year, when Clapton began his Royal Albert Hall residency, with Knopfler as his second guitarist. In 1988, they reunited once more for another Prince\u2019s Trust concert and the Nelson Mandela tribute show. Their partnership continued when Clapton embarked on an American tour to celebrate 25 years of his career, with Knopfler as part of his band. The final shows, held in Japan, also featured Elton John and Sting as special guests.<\/p>\n Jimmie Vaughan<\/p>\n The second guitarist mentioned by Clapton is Jimmie Vaughan, older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan<\/a>. \u201cJimmie is one of my closest friends and is, in my opinion, in the same league as Buddy (Guy)<\/a>. Totally unique in style and free as a bird. We have been pals and collaborators since the sixties and as much as anything musical, I owe him a debt of gratitude for turning me on to the hot rod culture,\u201d Eric Clapton said in his autobiography.<\/p>\n Curiously, he never thought the brothers had a similar style. \u201cWhen I first heard them play away from one another, I couldn\u2019t see the connection. Because for me, Stevie was Albert King, seemed like he was a protege of Albert. He played that way and I thought: \u2018These two very, very different styles\u2019. (There was definitely) sibling rivalry going on, I don\u2019t know if Jimmie would agree, but he probably would. (\u2026) So I think in a way, (this reinforced) Jimmie\u2019s style of playing too, keeping it tight and fundamental while Stevie was going off into that atmosphere (he was),\u201d Eric Clapton said in the documentary \u201cBrothers in Blues<\/a>\u201d (2023 \u2013 Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).<\/p>\n Jimmie and Eric are great friends and have toured and played together countless times throughout their careers. Clapton took him on the road several times as his opening act and Jimmie was also present at nearly every edition of the Crossroads Festival, founded by the British musician to support the Crossroads Centre, a substance abuse rehabilitation facility located near St. Philip\u2019s, Antigua.<\/p>\n Jimmie said that Eric helped him cope with Stevie\u2019s death<\/p>\n Jimmie credits Clapton as one of the most important people who helped him cope with Stevie\u2019s tragic death. \u201cEric was very nice and wonderful and supportive through the whole thing. Then he called me up. He said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you come play with me over here in England and get away from over there? Just come play guitar. Just leave that behind you. Come play.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Okay, I can do that.\u2019 So he really helped me come back out. It\u2019s been 31 years. Can you believe that?\u201d Jimmie Vaughan said in an interview with Goldmine<\/a> magazine in 2021.<\/p>\n In 2000, when Eric and B.B. King recorded the album \u201cRiding With the King,\u201d Jimmie joined them on the song \u201cHelp the Poor\u201d. Clapton later wrote in his autobiography that he wished he had invited him to play on every track. \u201cOn one track Jimmie Vaughan joined us, and his contribution worked so well. I kind of wished I\u2019d asked him to play on each song,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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