Happy 80th Birthday Eric Clapton!

Celebrating the influential guitarist… Thank You Eric!

Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945 in Ripley, Surrey, England

Slowhand and “Blackie”.

Eric Clapton with his famous guitar on stage in the 1970s.

Source: guitar.com; Image: Robert Knight Archive / Redfern

Finding common ground… With regards to the “age-old debate”, my late mother was on “Team Stones”, while my late father was on “Team Beatles”. However, they both liked ‘60s-era Eric Clapton. My mom always preferred the edgier acts from the “British Invasion”, including The Rolling Stones [her favorite] and Clapton’s band, Cream. My dad was also a fan of the late John Mayall and his band the Bluesbreakers, which for a time featured Clapton on lead guitar.