“The fundamentals”: The reasons Eddie Van Halen favored Eric Clapton over Jimi Hendrix
Rivals, some petty and some created, have always existed in the history of music. More specifically, there seems to be a lot of competition in the guitar music industry. Because of this, there are many diverse responses to the age-old question, “Who is the greatest guitarist of all time?” But two names consistently come to mind: Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Even though the two artists complimented one another, guitar aficionados like Eddie Van Halen continue to set them against one another.
Of course, Van Halen has his own claims to guitar excellence. The American songwriter and guitarist revolutionized the way that a lot of people play the guitar. Van Halen, for example, was one of the pioneers of the “tapping” technique in rock music, which is playing the guitar with both hands on the fretboard to play riffs faster than anyone else. For many years, the musician has decorated the covers of guitar magazines and the walls of naive young six-string enthusiasts. He owes a great deal of his success to Eric Clapton.
Van Halen has consistently acknowledged the guitarist from Cream as having had a significant effect on his own playing since he was a little boy. Over the years, Clapton’s playing has evolved significantly, moving from Cream’s hallucinogenic rebellion to the intricacies of his storied solo career. But anyone who has ever listened to Clapton will tell you that his guitar playing has always been based in the blues. It is said that Van Halen’s commitment to the blues drew him in as a guitarist.
The songwriter reportedly stated to Rolling Stone, “The basic simplicity in his approach and his tone, his sound, was what attracted me to [Clapton’s] playing and style and vibe.” He essentially took a Gibson guitar and plugged it straight into a Marshall, and that was that. the fundamentals. The blues. […] Basically, the only person who has inspired me is Clapton.
On the other hand, it appears that Van Halen had very little regard for Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix, a fellow blues and psychedelic enthusiast, is unquestionably the most famous and adored guitarist of all time. His distinctive compositions and improvisational methods made him a dominant figure in the 1960s counterculture rock scene. We’ll let you decide which Van Halen is smarter—only an idiot or a purposeful outcast could criticize Hendrix’s genius.
In 2020, Kylie Olsson, who was close to Van Halen, gave an introspective account of their time spent together to Ultimate Guitar. She revealed the shocking information, saying, “We didn’t really play-play, we just were there with guitars on the left, and he asked me who my favorite guitar player was.” “Well, that’s Jimi Hendrix,” I said. And he preferred Eric Clapton above Jimi Hendrix because he felt the latter was too careless.
To describe Hendrix’s breathtaking tones as “sloppy” would be akin to referring to the Sistine Chapel as a “rushed job.” It seems especially absurd coming from Van Halen, who is a very skilled guitarist in his own right. You would think he could appreciate the subtle nuances and intensely personal aspect of Hendrix’s technique. Van Halen, meanwhile, consistently insisted that Clapton was the only guitarist worth hearing.
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