Quotes

“I never met Johnny Rotten, and I didn't want to meet Johnny Rotten.” Eric Clapton

“I often enjoy singing in an acoustic setting more than an amplified one.” Eric Clapton

“I wish I could write easily. I'm one of those guys who's visited by the muse when things are dire.” Eric Clapton

“I'd love to knock an audience cold with one note, but what do you do for the rest of the evening?” Eric Clapton

“In playing, I suppose my greatest gift was to express the way I felt or the willingness to express myself.” Eric Clapton

“It is painful to relive things that have caused emotional crises or whatever and find ways to express that musically.” Eric Clapton

“'My Father's Eyes' is very personal. I realized that the closest I ever came to looking in my father's eyes was when I looked into my son's eyes.” Eric Clapton

“The blues are what I've turned to, what has given me inspiration and relief in all the trials of my life.” Eric Clapton

“The first band I identified with from Chicago was the Muddy Waters band.” Eric Clapton

“The point of being at home is to be with my family as much as possible.” Eric Clapton

“The toughest thing about being a celebrity, I suppose, is being polite when I don't want to be.” Eric Clapton

“There's a desire in me to express something - to match what I hear in my head.” Eric Clapton

“To sing in a lower key is harder work. You have to use your diaphragm more.” Eric Clapton

“Well, I think part of my gift, or if I have one, is that I love listening.” Eric Clapton

“I think everybody has their own way of looking at their lives as some kind of pilgrimage. Some people will see their role as a pilgrim in terms of setting up a fine family, or establishing a business inheritance. Everyone's got their own definition.” Eric Clapton

“I've got the god given talent or the god given opportunity better put, to let that out in a harmless way you know, and I don't know what it does to you, I don't really know.” Eric Clapton

“Oh yeah, I mean, it wasn't a very good guitar, most good guitars have got thrust rods in the necks that you can adjust or that'll keep them in shape, you know keep them straight. This one just, well it turned into a bow and arrow after a couple of months.” Eric Clapton

“One summer I remember, I got exposed to Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly and Buddy Holly was a very very big, made a very big impression on me. Because of a lot of things, you know, the way he looked and his charisma.” Eric Clapton

“This moment in time, on this tour, you know, I'm discovering a lot of new things. And to be 45 and doing that, it's a mixture of pleasure and pain, I can assure you.” Eric Clapton

“When all the original blues guys are gone, you start to realize that someone has to tend to the tradition. I recognize that I have some responsibility to keep the music alive, and it's a pretty honorable position to be in.” Eric Clapton

“A British pressing with a compilation of the best stuff really, I mean actually not only that but, these were all kind of semi hits for the people on it in America.” Eric Clapton

“Although they can do it all the time, you know, they're far better than me, on a musically, on a theoretical music level. You know, they're out of my league.” Eric Clapton

“I did play a lot of fingerstyle when I first started playing. I could never really find the right combination of flatpick or fingerpick, so playing fingerstyle is really the easiest way - though it's quite strenuous on the fingertips.” Eric Clapton

“I feel a real need to observe a level of propriety in what I'm handing out. Instead of me just venting or spilling my guts, I've got to consider how it's going to affect people. How it's going to affect me, as well. Because it's like a cycle.” Eric Clapton

“I just like the company of beautiful women. I have a weakness in that department. And I suppose because I am fairly well off and a famous musician, I'm up for grabs. And that makes me an eligible bachelor in the press.” Eric Clapton

“I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened to everything I could that came from that place that they call the blues but, in formality, isn't necessarily the blues.” Eric Clapton

“I mean, the sound of an amplified guitar in a room full of people was so hypnotic and addictive to me, that I could cross any kind of border to get on there.” Eric Clapton

“I remember hearing Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Big Bill Broonzy, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and not really knowing anything about the geography or the culture of the music. But for some reason it did something to me - it resonated.” Eric Clapton

“I remember when I thought of singing as the bit that went between the guitar playing - something I couldn't wait to get out of the way. Singing was originally like a chore that I didn't really enjoy.” Eric Clapton

“I think everybody has their own way of looking at their lives as some kind of pilgrimage. Some people will see their role as a pilgrim in terms of setting up a fine family, or establishing a business inheritance. Everyone's got their own definition. Mine, I suppose, is to know myself.” Eric Clapton