I've always respected Clapton though he barely makes my top ten. I spoke of his integrety and was reminded of a story Paul Shaffer told in his book, We'll Be Here For The Rest Of Our Lives. He was rehearsing the band for the televised Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame one year and Eric Clapton and B.B. King were jamming. Paul was trying to sketch out the performance and he suggested Eric sing a verse and then B.B. and then Eric solo for 16 bars and then B.B. .... and Clapton interupted him and coldly said, "Paul, it's the blues - let it happen." Frustrated, Paul tried to explain that they had a strict 3 minute time-slot, they had to hit the commercial breaks, they needed to rehearse so everyone would be on the same page and everyone got a chance to perform. Again, Clapton just looked at him, shook his head and said something like, "Paul, I understand, but it's the blues. You can't force the blues." That's stuck with me, because as a bandleader, I've always said, "Spontaneity on stage is great, as long as it's well reheased." But Eric's right. You can't force the blues and you sure can't fool the blues.
~ Gary Moore, Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker ~
