Considering how good Clapton’s ear is, this says a lot about how difficult it is. This is the guy who went from a noob to lead guitar of the yardbirds in 3 years.
I'd love to bring Robert Johnson back to Earth for one day, and show him how much he has changed music forever. And during that time, I'd like to learn guitar with him. His life might have been short, but he's given nearly 80 years of musicians and fans endless joy.
Having just giving the original version a good listening to and seeing how it's done via Eric here-kinda makes one appreciate exactly how advanced RJ was in his day. Incredible stuff!
Realize that only in today’s warped society could you make a back-handed, half-ass, raczist compliment about anyone other than a white male and not be chastised. Clapton is a walking encyclopedia of blues songs and folklore. But forget stereotypes….there are Asian girls, Euro chicks, Native American dudes, Scandinavian grandmas playing credible blues
Game recognizes game. The sheer humility of a master at his level to acknowledge the intricate nuances of another master's work,yet still in admission of the difficulty of executing it, it is just refreshing.
Very very true! I met Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo several yrs ago at a concert in Caldwell ID near where I live and Roy played "Terraplane Blues" with Norton when I said: "Hey, you guys should throw in some Robert Johnson!" after he signed my acoustic guitar and asked ME to play Blues I knew for him before he signed it! Talk about being put on the spot! But it rocked! Also check out Rory Block for a chilling rendition of RJ. She's got serious soul!
Thank you very much for posting this. Amazing to be able to get that close to sit in a room with Eric Clapton performing - and explaining what he does on top of it. Great.
Wow, Im glad I found this. From a musicians standpoint it really puts in perspective the talent of Robert Johnson. If Clapton's struggling with it, its f'ckin tough to play. Sounded great though.
the thing is Robert was playing this stuff two generations ago im sure he would be amazed and delighted that one of the foremost artists of today would be praising him in such glowing terms,oh and by the way Clapton has never sounded so alive as when he is playing something that he really belives is so so special AMAZING
Great to see Slowhand's undying devotion to reproducing the original - thereby deepening his understanding and feel for what is the most impressive and original blues creativity in history. He ain't Tommy, but he sure has us appreciate him. Thanks, Eric.
imitation is not only the highest form of flattery, as i'm sure you've heard, but it's how you learn. we all take what people have done before us, and we add to it. Clapton has definately added his share to the wealth of music history. CLAPTON IS GOD
Eric C is great, I mean really great and I like much of his work, but still it took him 20, 30 or more years to reach the orginals. I do not understand how the original was able to be so good in so short time. This was fantastic work of Eric.
Yes, Eric gets better for every year, started from the mid 90's. I did not like him before that but know I like and respect him very much. He is almost near bb king,RJ, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Muddy Waters. Respect
For me...he's one of the best....You listen to his fluidity, knowledge of the fretboard and verstality and you quickly realised how good he is......I think guitarists appreciate his work more and obviously appreciation of the blues..... Musically Jazz is the most advanced but for me has no soul or feeling. Goes to show that technicality only has a small amount to do with it when guitar is concerned.
lanod321, just take it that they both know what they were doing dude. both are among the finest guitar players in the world. i'm from gallagher's home town, and i'm pissed off he doesn't get enuf recognition, but i also believe that clapton deserves every bit of credit he gets, and this is coming from a blues musician instead of someone who just likes clapton cos of layla or tears in heaven or whatever.
I am diehard realist, but when i think - Johnson had average guitar skills at age 20-something, and then, after 2 years he became virtuoso in composing, skill, felling, singing, everything. HE LEARNED IT IN 2 YEARS. And Clapton - god with 50 year old experience in guitar says he can't play Johnson's songs properly. SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE. Deal at the crossroads starts to make sense.
Who do you think you are to feel you have any right to destroy our dreams ? If Clapton didn(t exist I would never have discover R johnson . If Mozart never exist perhaps R johnson wouldn't .... this is not a competition Everyone in this world is here to help to build the world with his own little action , and Clapton very well did his own part
Gotta love Eric. What he did with Cream opened the umbrella for Zeppelin, Hendrix and Sabbath to build the sound of modern rock and Metal. And he masters the Johnson's double tempo like he asked Satan permission
As for the location, in the full length DVD they talk about Clapton setting up the a portion of his "Sessions for Robert J" in the same building in Dallas where Robert Johnson recorded in 1937. The address is 508 Park Avenue in Dallas Texas, which I believe today is an office or warehouse building.
There is no doubt that EC is a master guitar player, but you only need to look at Leo Kottke's playing to know that Robert Johnson's ability was not impossible. I can pick with 2 fingers and accompany myself with my other fingers, 6 or 12 strings, in the background. Its not so easy, and Leo has had many surgeries, and will never play the same again. Respect needs to go where it is due, Mr Johnson is is grandfather of the blues.
You have to be kidding. He played a lot, and had talent. If anyone seriously considers the supernatural alternative then their mind is clearly at fault. It's just a myth; harmless folklore that's not to be taken seriously. Anyway, Robert Johnson made great music, and Clapton does a fantastic cover, Very good video!
@yeyeresma I beg to differ with you. Clapton is indeed a true blues guitarist. Playing someone elses blues song and getting the exact feeling is impossible. That's not to take away from ether as far as their talent goes. They are both outstanding blues artists with very deep blues souls.
From a musical standpoint, I think it's actually better to learn guitar without any formal musical training if you want to play anything but classical music or jazz. I played French horn for 10 years, but when I picked up a guitar 4 years ago, I discovered, at least for me, that it's much easier and a lot more fun to just experiment on your own and learn organically rather than use sheet music. The only way anyone could come up with something like Robert Johnson's overlapping meters is if they were free of any kind of conception of classical structure (like Clapton says in the video), or else even trying to create such music would seem illogical, impossible, or 'primitive'. Any self-taught musician has to stand in awe of players like Robert Johnson or Django Reinhardt.
Clapton is right when he says that he can't play it completely right. Robert Johnson's finger style was just more technical. RJ didn't always just hit open strings for the bass lines, he does a little more complex bass patterns.
Maybe the problem is that all guitar players learn the "normal" way to play. Back then, Robert could've just taught himself in his own way, with his own rules
And to think that someone of Clapton's stature and ability thinks so highly of another player...even if it is Robert Johnson...my hat's off to Mr. Clapton. Saw him last year with Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall in his band. It was a great night...
I was maybe 12 years old first time I heard Robert Johnson. When I found out it was just one man playing in didn't believe it at all. There is something otherworldly about his playing. I swear I could hear two guitars. I also dint know that at one point he just strung up an extra string on the low E spot to make a 7 string sound.
You certainly can't knock Mr.Clapton for this, he does a damn fine job - better than most and far, far better than me! His singing too is superb, which is such a hard thing to do on RJs songs, especially with the high falsetto notes. One thing I notice, with the 'dum-de-dum' bass bits between the melody, is that Eric strokes the strings to get this. I think RJ thumb picks these out (4-3-5 strings), which I find tricky to do, especially if trying to hook the thumb under the strings to get that delta thwack. Just wondering if any other guitarists have any thoughts on this this one?
Wow... this truly does show how he had to sell his soul to the devil for the kind of guitar playing skills he has. But it seems to me that if robert johnson was alive today, he would just tell clapton to improvise it and feel the blues of the tune. If there ever was a song that you can't imagine NOT existing, it's this one
Damn I wish I could've seen Jimi do some R Johnson like this, I bet you he could really get the feeling. Clapton does pretty decent here...though you can still notice a big difference in feel as compared to RJs original version...
I think he's doing mighty fine on that music... but i really wish youtube would allow me to watch the old robert johnson things instead. i do need that music now! and original i mean, although clapton's real good.
What is wrong with you people? It's music. If you like it listen to it and if you don't leave it alone. I kinda think that Robert Johnson would be really happy that people are still palying his tunes and learning from him. Don't musicians all want to share their music? I mean isn't that kind of the point? is it just me?
yeah but its said that he played guitar before he dissappeared but they say he was really really bad and then all of a sudden he came back less than a year from being away and was the best blues guitar player around.
absoloutly beautiful. it's a shame all the songs on me and mr johnson anr tust eric and his acoustic which i think would be even more a tribute to perhaps the best guitarist ever.
ok its not that the music may be complicated its who is the one that sold the song to the publics interest and how popular are they becuase of it is what makes them great
I'm kinda glad that we're argueing about real music here ( blues..)... I mean it's not some fight about how gay justin bieber is, or some hip hop stuff. It proves that true music is not dead yet- blues, jazz, rock n' roll, swing,.. I mean wtf Am I talking about, afkors it's not dead it will never be..! :D
lol at people who actually believe the myth. eric in this DVD explains it well. he said he doesnt sound like someone who wanted to be the best ever. he wasnt flashy or anything. everything was just right to fit the music. all he did is what they call woodshedding. guitar wise he didnt do anything that amazing. the real amazing thing was his ability to sing and play in practically two different times.
I know Clapton is extremely popular with the (sorry for the derogatory term) 'Boomer' generation. But I feel he is not appreciated enough by the younger generation because he is so understated and such a household name, making him much less appealing than say Hendrix or SRV. But he is extremely good, he really is something and at it for so long and so consistantly. I wouldn't necessarily go to one of his shows because they're so 'Boomer' oriented, but Clapton should demand the utmost respect musically from younger players too.
![Quando Rondo - Grow Up [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8zFnCg3BO4Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Clapton doing these songs has raised my respect for the man.
I really admire Claptons acoustic playing. He channels Robert Johnson very well. Amazing!
Ya know, Eric's always been a blues player but it's cool to see that he's finally become an elder statesman of the blues, just like BB and Buddy.
Admiration of Eric for paying tribute to RJ, thanks for posting.
he's no robert johnson but he is still a legend. robert is just the perfect mentor to so many rock guitar legends.
Even ERIC CLAPTON is having a hard time playing Robert Johnsons' song...
Considering how good Clapton’s ear is, this says a lot about how difficult it is. This is the guy who went from a noob to lead guitar of the yardbirds in 3 years.
Eric played with the best artists worldwide...much ❤and respect 😊❤❤❤❤❤
I'd love to bring Robert Johnson back to Earth for one day, and show him how much he has changed music forever. And during that time, I'd like to learn guitar with him. His life might have been short, but he's given nearly 80 years of musicians and fans endless joy.
Having just giving the original version a good listening to and seeing how it's done via Eric here-kinda makes one appreciate exactly how advanced RJ was in his day. Incredible stuff!
Terraplane blues is one of my favorite songs ever. Robert Johnson is still one of the best guitarists ever
agree... high praise from the Jedi master of the fretboard... when Clapton reports having trouble nailing your guitar work, you have arrived.
Still the best white boy " alive" who can play blues with the Soul
Realize that only in today’s warped society could you make a back-handed, half-ass, raczist compliment about anyone other than a white male and not be chastised.
Clapton is a walking encyclopedia of blues songs and folklore.
But forget stereotypes….there are Asian girls, Euro chicks, Native American dudes, Scandinavian grandmas playing credible blues
Game recognizes game.
The sheer humility of a master at his level to acknowledge the intricate nuances of another master's work,yet still in admission of the difficulty of executing it, it is just refreshing.
17 fingers slipped and hit the wrong button...Clapton is absolutely incredible!
Very very true! I met Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo several yrs ago at a concert in Caldwell ID near where I live and Roy played "Terraplane Blues" with Norton when I said: "Hey, you guys should throw in some Robert Johnson!" after he signed my acoustic guitar and asked ME to play Blues I knew for him before he signed it! Talk about being put on the spot! But it rocked! Also check out Rory Block for a chilling rendition of RJ. She's got serious soul!
Man when Eric explains it I can appreciate the music so much better. Not dismissing the fact that its beautiful without the edification.
Nice to hear Eric say that. I was feeling the same way when playing along to his rendition of Terraplane Blues
Thank you very much for posting this. Amazing to be able to get that close to sit in a room with Eric Clapton performing - and explaining what he does on top of it. Great.
Robert Johnson was and still still is the greatest guitar player
Wow, Im glad I found this. From a musicians standpoint it really puts in perspective the talent of Robert Johnson. If Clapton's struggling with it, its f'ckin tough to play. Sounded great though.
Love the high "woo-hoo" 's EC sings.
That explanation he gave of what he was having to do to cover rj just gave me even more of an appreciation for this music.
I find it funny how Eric Clapton acts like a week is a long time to learn how to play Robert Johnson's songs.
He is a class musician. Great guitarist and singer. 🙏🙏
the thing is Robert was playing this stuff two generations ago im sure he would be amazed and delighted that one of the foremost artists of today would be praising him in such glowing terms,oh and by the way Clapton has never sounded so alive as when he is playing something that he really belives is so so special AMAZING
Wow. This is the most relaxing music Ive ever listened to!
Great to see Slowhand's undying devotion to reproducing the original - thereby deepening his understanding and feel for what is the most impressive and original blues creativity in history.
He ain't Tommy, but he sure has us appreciate him. Thanks, Eric.
Man of my favorite guitarist playing a cover from one of the greatest blues guitarist. Very cool stuff!
I'm 16 years old
Great vid, Clapton in his best
My boy....Thats my boy there....my master, my guitar god. Clapton is the songtrack of my lie and his guitar the heartbeat
Interesting insight. Thanks! Johnson's music really takes you to another place.
i agree. i really like his vocals on this. i beleive every word he says.
love it, listen to this DVD all days!
imitation is not only the highest form of flattery, as i'm sure you've heard, but it's how you learn. we all take what people have done before us, and we add to it. Clapton has definately added his share to the wealth of music history.
CLAPTON IS GOD
Very impressed, haven't seen Eric play like that before
Eric C is great, I mean really great and I like much of his work, but still it took him 20, 30 or more years to reach the orginals. I do not understand how the original was able to be so good in so short time.
This was fantastic work of Eric.
the best acoustic blues player ever.... without question...
Eric Claptons blues voice is incredible
Yes, Eric gets better for every year, started from the mid 90's.
I did not like him before that but know I like and respect him very much. He is almost near bb king,RJ, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Muddy Waters.
Respect
Never seen this before. Incredible. Thanks for the post.
For me...he's one of the best....You listen to his fluidity, knowledge of the fretboard and verstality and you quickly realised how good he is......I think guitarists appreciate his work more and obviously appreciation of the blues.....
Musically Jazz is the most advanced but for me has no soul or feeling. Goes to show that technicality only has a small amount to do with it when guitar is concerned.
I really like Clapton on acoustic.
Appreciate the upload
nobody, even the great Eric Clap J OHNSTON THE only true blues player in heaven.............
+tommy mcilwee
I think those hellhounds would disagree. We all know what he did down by the crossroads.... (¬‿¬)
golden clip. thanks.
I'm deeply impressed, by Eric. Taking on a classic piece by a Blue's Legend (Johnson). Clearly Johnson was a "Force Of Nature".
Clapton gets better and better as he gets older... less loud, but much more soulful.
lanod321, just take it that they both know what they were doing dude. both are among the finest guitar players in the world. i'm from gallagher's home town, and i'm pissed off he doesn't get enuf recognition, but i also believe that clapton deserves every bit of credit he gets, and this is coming from a blues musician instead of someone who just likes clapton cos of layla or tears in heaven or whatever.
I am diehard realist, but when i think - Johnson had average guitar skills at age 20-something, and then, after 2 years he became virtuoso in composing, skill, felling, singing, everything. HE LEARNED IT IN 2 YEARS. And Clapton - god with 50 year old experience in guitar says he can't play Johnson's songs properly. SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE. Deal at the crossroads starts to make sense.
Genius work!
Clapton has done a great job making Blues popular,so i dont want to say anything bad about him
Melody of the song is just like Milkcow's Calf blues. It's amazing how he can play... wish I could.
fantastic! robert johnson a was real guitar boy!
Who do you think you are to feel you have any right to destroy our dreams ?
If Clapton didn(t exist I would never have discover R johnson . If Mozart never exist perhaps R johnson wouldn't .... this is not a competition Everyone in this world is here to help to build the world with his own little action , and Clapton very well did his own part
Gotta love Eric. What he did with Cream opened the umbrella for Zeppelin, Hendrix and Sabbath to build the sound of modern rock and Metal. And he masters the Johnson's double tempo like he asked Satan permission
As for the location, in the full length DVD they talk about Clapton setting up the a portion of his "Sessions for Robert J" in the same building in Dallas where Robert Johnson recorded in 1937. The address is 508 Park Avenue in Dallas Texas, which I believe today is an office or warehouse building.
There is no doubt that EC is a master guitar player, but you only need to look at Leo Kottke's playing to know that Robert Johnson's ability was not impossible. I can pick with 2 fingers and accompany myself with my other fingers, 6 or 12 strings, in the background. Its not so easy, and Leo has had many surgeries, and will never play the same again.
Respect needs to go where it is due, Mr Johnson is is grandfather of the blues.
Oh man i give that album 5 stars
Mmmmm sold his soul for sure, no one can play that good
claptons a great blues player...
I know what he means “a lifetimes work” but I sure do enjoy trying to play his songs.
Mr. Eric Clapton isn't the best, Mr. Eric Clapton is THE BEST!!!
You have to be kidding.
He played a lot, and had talent. If anyone seriously considers the supernatural alternative then their mind is clearly at fault. It's just a myth; harmless folklore that's not to be taken seriously.
Anyway, Robert Johnson made great music, and Clapton does a fantastic cover, Very good video!
@yeyeresma I beg to differ with you. Clapton is indeed a true blues guitarist. Playing someone elses blues song and getting the exact feeling is impossible. That's not to take away from ether as far as their talent goes. They are both outstanding blues artists with very deep blues souls.
Fantastic!
From a musical standpoint, I think it's actually better to learn guitar without any formal musical training if you want to play anything but classical music or jazz. I played French horn for 10 years, but when I picked up a guitar 4 years ago, I discovered, at least for me, that it's much easier and a lot more fun to just experiment on your own and learn organically rather than use sheet music. The only way anyone could come up with something like Robert Johnson's overlapping meters is if they were free of any kind of conception of classical structure (like Clapton says in the video), or else even trying to create such music would seem illogical, impossible, or 'primitive'. Any self-taught musician has to stand in awe of players like Robert Johnson or Django Reinhardt.
Django kinda didn't have a choice. Be original, or don't play at all
Clapton is right when he says that he can't play it completely right. Robert Johnson's finger style was just more technical. RJ didn't always just hit open strings for the bass lines, he does a little more complex bass patterns.
nice video real cool
Maybe the problem is that all guitar players learn the "normal" way to play. Back then, Robert could've just taught himself in his own way, with his own rules
Not sure why this isn't common sense for most people. Same thing with Hendrix.
Robert Johnson had a guitar teacher...
lol fair enuf bud. well its good to know that there r still some good blues out there.
And to think that someone of Clapton's stature and ability thinks so highly of another player...even if it is Robert Johnson...my hat's off to Mr. Clapton. Saw him last year with Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall in his band. It was a great night...
Great vid, Thanks.
I think robert johnson would be stunned and knocked over by all this attention.
Brilliance all 'round
Wow… 16 years ago this was posted… I was 5…
Wow I can't believe it's been 16 years since I recorded this and posted it. 😳
I was maybe 12 years old first time I heard Robert Johnson. When I found out it was just one man playing in didn't believe it at all. There is something otherworldly about his playing. I swear I could hear two guitars. I also dint know that at one point he just strung up an extra string on the low E spot to make a 7 string sound.
You certainly can't knock Mr.Clapton for this, he does a damn fine job - better than most and far, far better than me! His singing too is superb, which is such a hard thing to do on RJs songs, especially with the high falsetto notes. One thing I notice, with the 'dum-de-dum' bass bits between the melody, is that Eric strokes the strings to get this. I think RJ thumb picks these out (4-3-5 strings), which I find tricky to do, especially if trying to hook the thumb under the strings to get that delta thwack. Just wondering if any other guitarists have any thoughts on this this one?
Wow... this truly does show how he had to sell his soul to the devil for the kind of guitar playing skills he has. But it seems to me that if robert johnson was alive today, he would just tell clapton to improvise it and feel the blues of the tune. If there ever was a song that you can't imagine NOT existing, it's this one
I'd love to see more from this if you had it...
Damn I wish I could've seen Jimi do some R Johnson like this, I bet you he could really get the feeling. Clapton does pretty decent here...though you can still notice a big difference in feel as compared to RJs original version...
whoa you're so cooL!!!!
looks effortless to me. Also Claptons voice is one of the best around
Robert Johnson, that man could sing and play two different things at the same time. Could be classified as multi tasking.
For all you beginners out there, this is a great warm up exercise...
Hes talks about his hero great blues music
i agree its hard to differentiate between the two but ur totally right
This is from the dvd "Sessions For Robert J". Widely available.
Thanks God someone else who makes sense...
I think he's doing mighty fine on that music... but i really wish youtube would allow me to watch the old robert johnson things instead.
i do need that music now! and original i mean, although clapton's real good.
What is wrong with you people? It's music. If you like it listen to it and if you don't leave it alone. I kinda think that Robert Johnson would be really happy that people are still palying his tunes and learning from him. Don't musicians all want to share their music? I mean isn't that kind of the point? is it just me?
yeah but its said that he played guitar before he dissappeared but they say he was really really bad and then all of a sudden he came back less than a year from being away and was the best blues guitar player around.
this is WAY better than the album, itself
He's the man.
absoloutly beautiful. it's a shame all the songs on me and mr johnson anr tust eric and his acoustic which i think would be even more a tribute to perhaps the best guitarist ever.
ok its not that the music may be complicated its who is the one that sold the song to the publics interest and how popular are they becuase of it is what makes them great
I'm kinda glad that we're argueing about real music here ( blues..)... I mean it's not some fight about how gay justin bieber is, or some hip hop stuff. It proves that true music is not dead yet- blues, jazz, rock n' roll, swing,.. I mean wtf Am I talking about, afkors it's not dead it will never be..! :D
lol at people who actually believe the myth. eric in this DVD explains it well. he said he doesnt sound like someone who wanted to be the best ever. he wasnt flashy or anything. everything was just right to fit the music. all he did is what they call woodshedding. guitar wise he didnt do anything that amazing. the real amazing thing was his ability to sing and play in practically two different times.
I know Clapton is extremely popular with the (sorry for the derogatory term) 'Boomer' generation. But I feel he is not appreciated enough by the younger generation because he is so understated and such a household name, making him much less appealing than say Hendrix or SRV. But he is extremely good, he really is something and at it for so long and so consistantly. I wouldn't necessarily go to one of his shows because they're so 'Boomer' oriented, but Clapton should demand the utmost respect musically from younger players too.
clapton is definitely close. there's no "best" player, there's only the gods.
Now that is really saying something, when Clapton can't do it. The blues has evoved!
He is the best one!!!