Eric Clapton is an artist who isn’t afraid to speak his mind. With a career like his, we reckon he’s earned the right to. Below, find his thoughts on three of his fellow musicians. Spoiler, they aren’t glowing reviews.
[RELATED: Eric Clapton Announces New Album, ‘Meanwhile,’ Featuring Recent Collabs with Van Morrison, Jeff Beck; Listen to New Single, “One Woman”]
3 Artists Eric Clapton Dislikes
1. Led Zeppelin
Like many of his English rock peers, Clapton was heavily inspired by American blues. Clapton credits Cream, a power trio he helped form, as setting the stage for blues-influence rock. Though he admires Led Zeppelin for picking up where they left off, he thought they lost the plot as their career went on.
“But we had a really strong foundation in blues and jazz,” Clapton once said. “Led Zeppelin took up our legacy. But then they took it somewhere else that I didn’t really have a great deal of admiration for.”
Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face
And stars fill my dream
I’m a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed
2. Oasis
Oasis was known for being a rambunctious lot in their heyday. They certainly weren’t the model of moderation and level-headedness. Clapton was disappointed by how little bands had learned from the deaths of other rock greats, who died a the hands of addiction and living life too fast. He saw Oasis as a paradigm of that disappointment.
“We were naive and dumb,” Clapton once said. “We thought we were part of a big revolution. It took more than 30 years and many deaths like Jimi Hendrix’s or Janis Joplin’s until I realized that I, as an artist, have a responsibility to society. I thought that young bands like Oasis had learned from our mistakes. Instead they are irresponsible and arrogant. They act like hooligans. They are a load of s*** to me.”
So I start a revolution from my bed
‘Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime’s in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out
3. Madonna
Rockers often take issue with pop stars. They are very different from one another, so it stands to reason they would have creative or personal differences. Clapton was once at odds with Madonna, whom he called the product of “production and packaging.”
“To me, music is either good or bad if it makes me feel something,” Clapton once said. “If it doesn’t make me feel anything, I’m just indifferent to it. Madonna is a phenomenon that I recognize, but she doesn’t make me feel anything. I can’t identify with her on any level because all she is, is production and packaging.”
Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me
I think they’re okay
If they don’t give me proper credit
I just walk away
They can beg and they can plead
But they can’t see the light
‘Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Crossroads Guitar Festival)
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