Always included in lists of the greatest guitarists of all time, Eric Clapton has been a fundamental figure in rock and blues music. As a member of bands like The Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith, as well as a solo artist, he has inspired countless musicians over the decades. Although he’s a huge fan of the classic eras of blues and rock, Clapton has always shown interest in new talent, praising many guitarists from different generations. Rock and Roll Garage has selected 17 guitarists that Clapton has publicly said he admires. 17 guitarists that Eric Clapton likes Prince https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvnYmWpD_T8&pp=ygUScHJpbmNlIHB1cnBsZSByYWlu The first on the list is Prince, a musician not always remembered primarily as a guitarist but who was an incredible one. Clapton is a huge fan of his music and even said he was an inspiration for him especially in the 1980s. When he was asked by BBC radio 4 to pick the records he would choose to take to a desert island, the musician mentioned "Purple Rain" (1984) - soundtrack of the movie of same name. “(That album) was a lifesaver for me. This is a record that I heard and it came from a movie which I saw at the time when I thought Rock and Roll was dead. I went to see ‘Purple Rain’ and I thought ‘Well, this is it, it’s a reincarnation of Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown in one’. I thought that’s exactly what the world needed. Very controversial figure but I loved him dearly and I think he is a genius musically,” Eric Clapton said. Released in 1984, the film had a budget of around 7 million dollars and grossed over 70 million at the box office. Its soundtrack became Prince’s first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, where it remained for 24 consecutive weeks. Since then, it has sold an estimated 25 million copies worldwide. Prince tragically passed away at the age of 57 due to an accidental fentanyl overdose. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific American artists of all time, he released 40 studio albums over the course of his remarkable career. After the news of his passing was shared in 2016, Clapton posted a special message, saying: “I’m so sad about the death of Prince, he was a true genius, and a huge inspiration for me, in a very real way. In the eighties, I was out on the road in a massive downward spiral with drink and drugs, I saw ‘Purple Rain’ in a cinema in Canada." I had no idea who he was, it was like a bolt of lightning! In the middle of my depression, and the dreadful state of the music culture at that time it gave me hope. He was like a light in the darkness. I went back to my hotel, and surrounded by empty beer cans, wrote Holy Mother. I can’t believe he’s gone,” Eric Clapton said. In 2019, three years later Clapton paid tribute to the late musician performing the track "Purple Rain" during the encores of two of his three shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London. During the three shows he performed "Holy Mother", which is the song he wrote inspired by the movie "Purple Rain". Albert Lee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOXf9oAGfDw&pp=ygUXYWxiZXJ0IGxlZSBlcmljIGNsYXB0b24%3D The British guitarist Albert Lee is also one of Clapton's favorite guitarists and they even had the chance to work together. He even told Classic Rock magazine that during a point of his career he saw Lee as a competitor and also a devotee of the kind of music they were producing. “I didn’t see it that way (them as competitors). I didn’t see anybody as competition. Actually, the only person I was really conscious of – and in a way it was because he was really serious – was Albert Lee." "Albert was playing with Chris Farlowe. And Albert to me was a very interesting guy, because he was a devotee – and he still is – of the Everly Brothers, and therefore of rockabilly. Also Jimmy Bright and Speedy West were his heroes, and that’s serious country virtuoso playing.” "Those guys played with Tennessee Ernie Ford. And yet he was playing in an R&B band with a soul singer. So I found all of that really, really interesting and attractive. He just had a great touch. So if there was anyone I was really keen on then it was him. I didn’t even now about… Jeff Beck, when I left The Yardbirds, I went to see him play in a club with The Tridents, I think he was with, and it was great.” Eric Clapton continued: “No doubt about it, he was – is – a pioneer. But it didn’t move me deep down. I didn’t like the way The Yardbirds went off, in that weird kind of pop thing that they did. It was another direction from where I wanted to go, that’s for sure,” Eric Clapton said. Albert is two years older than Eric and started his musical career in 1959. Nicknamed "Mr. Telecaster", he has a solid solo career and also played with names like Chris Farlowe, The Crickets, Emmylou Harris and Bill Wyman. In 1978 Eric Clapton invited Albert Lee to be part of his solo band and the musician toured and recorded with him until 1984. He played on the albums "Another Ticket" (1981) and "Money and Cigarettes" (1983). One thing that shows how much Clapton likes him is that the musician once fired his entire band but not Albert. He recalled that in a radio interview, saying: “Just five (I worked with him): ’79 to ’84. He fired the whole band twice. I managed to survive a couple of times. So it taught me a lesson." "I thought, ‘Well, this may not last forever’. Sure enough, I got the message that he wanted to make some changes again. He was in a bad way at the time. I don’t think he did very much after that for a little while. But fortunately, he’s put it all back together and he’s doing great now,” Albert Lee said. John Mayer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udIawj-M1dY&pp=ygUXSm9obiBNYXllciBlcmljIGNsYXB0b24%3D One of the youngest players on the list, John Mayer is another musician Clapton has praised a lot. He even said that the American guitarist was extremely gifted and a master in a TV interview to promote the tribute album “The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale” in 2014. Mayer played in the song "Magnolia" and Clapton talked about the track, saying: “No (I didn't gave him a direction on how to play). I think I would have done exactly… You see, I had no idea that John even thought that much about J.J. (Cale). I’m not really sure if I remember rightly but I think some songs were moved around. He wasn’t initially be in ‘Magnolia’.” “But by the time we got to New York to record him that’s what we had in play for him. ‘Don’t Wait’, ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Lies’. He cut all those tracks in about an hour. First or second take and I was gobsmacked, really. I mean, I respect John because he’s extremely gifted. His facility is phenomenal, he is a master and I don’t think he even knows how good he is. He nailed ‘Magnolia’, it’s so sensitive,” he said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). As noted by Clapton, Mayer also played the guitar and shared the vocals with him in two other tracks: “Lies” and “Don’t Wait”. Besides playing together on that record, the musicians performed live a couple of times. On one of those occasions, they played Clapton's "Pretending", which is part of the album "Journeyman" (1989), one of Mayer's favorites. The American musician was born in 1977, so when he was a teenager he was listening to the albums the British musician released in the 1980s. Mk.gee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0pzzkp85-Q&pp=ygUGTWsuZ2Vl The youngest player on the list, Mk.gee was born in Linwood, New Jersey in 1997 and Clapton told The Real Music Observer in 2024 that he is his favorite contemporary guitarist. After the interviewer mentioned a few guitar players, Clapton said: “Where is Mk.gee in that list? Mk.gee kinda sits in a bit of a pop category for me. Right. But it’s unique. And he has found things to do on the guitar that are like nobody else. I think he goes into – I used to have one of these things – a Tascam? It’s a four-track recording cassette machine. He uses that as a preamp,” Eric Clapton said. It was Eric’s daughter who introduced him to Mk.gee’s music, and he said it kind of reminded him of the first time he heard Prince. “My daughter turned me on (to Mk.gee) today, and I trust her taste. And not only that, we’re (speaking about the music industry and guitar scene) safe. The same when I first saw Prince, it was like we’re safe. Just to know it’s there (musicians like Mk.gee) is enough.” Besides being a singer and multi-instrumentalist, Mk.gee also works as a producer. His music is often described as Indie, Alternative and Lo-fi. During his career, the artist released multiple singles and two EPs “Pronounced McGee” (2018) and “Fool” (2018). His first complete album "Two Star & The Dream Police" was released in 2024. Some of his most famous tracks are “Are You Looking Up”, “Alesis” and “How Many Miles”. Mk.gee already said that Clapton was an influence to his playing and he already worked as a songwriter and producer with artists like Dijon, Omar Apollo, Kacy Hill and The Kid Laroi. Freddie King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE9H1bW-zQ4&pp=ygUMRnJlZGRpZSBLaW5n Of course this list wouldn't be complete without the legendary Blues players which may have been Clapton's biggest influences. The late Freddie King is one of them and he described his playing as serious and proper guitar playing. "I think (I was inspired in the beginning by) the early Elvis records and Buddy Holly. When it was clear to me that it was an electric guitar, then I wanted to get near it. I was interested in the white rock 'n' rollers until I heard Freddie King - and then I was over the moon." "I knew that was where I belonged - finally. That was serious, proper guitar playing and I haven't changed my mind ever since. I still listen to it and I get the same boost now that I did then," he told Music Radar in 1994. A few decades later Clapton had the chance to meet Freddie and to play with him on a couple occasions. The American musician passed away too soon in 1976 at the age of 42. Often recalled as one of the "Three Kings of Blues Guitar", he was known for his unique guitar playing and powerful vocals. During his career he released 13 studio albums, the final one being "Larger Than Life" in 1975. B.B. King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDR1-JD4Sms&pp=ygURQi5CLiBLaW5nIGNsYXB0b24%3D B.B. King was one of Clapton’s closest friends and an artist he had the chance to record with and perform alongside many times. They released a collaborative album in 2000 called “Riding With The King”. That record won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues album in the following year. When King passed away in 2015 at the age of 89, Clapton praised him saying: (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “I just want to express my sadness and to thank you to my dear friend BB King.” “I want to thank him for all the inspiration and encouragement he gave me as a player over the years. (Also) for the friendship that we enjoyed. There’s not a lot left to say because this music it’s almost a thing of the past now. There are not many left to play in the pure way that BB King did.” “He was a beacon for all of us who loved this kind of music. I thank him from the bottom of my heart. So if you’re not familiar with his work I would encourage you to go out and find an album called ‘BB King Live at the Regal’. (It) is where it all really started for me as a young player,’ Eric Clapton said. Besides being one of the most influential Blues players, B.B. King was also one of the most prolific ones. His professional career started in 1942 and only came to an end in 2014, the year before his death. During all those decades he released 43 studio albums and 16 live records. Buddy Guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh5lcx0kAMo&pp=ygUWYnVkZHkgZ3V5IGVyaWMgY2xhcHRvbg%3D%3D Another legendary Blues musician Clapton adores is Buddy Guy and he even had the chance to induct him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2005. During his speech, Clapton praised him saying: (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “It’s a great honor and a privilege to be able to induct this distinguished gentleman into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A man who means so much to me personally and as a musician has given so much to us all. It also provides me with the perfect opportunity to say ‘thank you’ for all the inspiration he’s given me over the years.” “He started playing and singing, his love and concern for the welfare of the Blues has been a great example for me. (Also) countless others who had the good fortune to share this road. My first experience of Buddy’s power was when I bought a record called ‘Folk Festival of The Blues’.” “A little album, a live album recorded in Chicago in the 60s. In the company of such great artists such as Otis Spann, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy did far more than to just hold his own.” Eric Clapton continued: “With the greatest respect to all those fabulous masters, in my humble opinion he stole the show. Coming from the back of the field like a thoroughbred racehorse, he’s shown through that genius ensemble. Taking no prisoners, letting everyone know that he was the new dangerous kid on the block,” Eric Clapton said. Eric played the guitar in the track "Early In The Morning" from Guy's 1991 album "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues". Then in 2008 he played the guitar in the song "Every Time I Sing The Blues" from the album "Skin Deep". Buddy Guy started his musical career in 1953 and since then he released 33 studio albums as a solo artist. But he also recorded many albums with Junior Wells, Phil Guy and Memphis Slim. Stevie Ray Vaughan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBG5PQuW6oo&pp=ygUfc3RldmllIHJheSB2YXVnaGFuIGVyaWMgY2xhcHRvbg%3D%3D Stevie Ray Vaughan was one of Clapton’s favorite guitarists, and he once revealed that he always felt insecure whenever he watched Vaughan perform live. “I remember being fascinated by the fact that he never ever seemed to be lost in any way. It wasn’t ever that he took a breather or paused to think where he was going to go next. It just flowed out of him. Always seemed to flow out of him. Actually even that doesn’t come just with virtuosity, practice or any of those. It’s not a question of doing it over and over again or anything like that. It’s just that he seemed to be an open channel. It just flowed through him. He never ever seemed to kind of dry up.” “Because when I play, I sometimes stop. Every now and then I just stop and think ‘what I’m going to do know’. I don’t want to repeat myself. So I get caught up somehow. You freeze and most players do. I never saw him do that. So he was a channel in some way.” “I saw him play in London one time. So I sat about six rows back at the Hammersmith Odeon and for about the first 10 minutes I thought I wasn’t going to be able to take it because it was so loud. I thought ‘I can’t take this’ and actually got used to it. Within 20 minutes after that I was used to it and it was right. It got me, become all right.” Eric Clapton continued: “At the same time was kind of like that thing I had to surrender to it completely and in a way. When we were in Alpine Valley I couldn’t let myself do that. I had to put up a bit of resistance in order to keep my own kind of self-esteem up. Because I wouldn’t been able to go on otherwise. I’m not joking. To be completely absorbed by what he was doing, I would have thought “what’s the point?’ And done kind of done a runner and I cleared off, run away,” Eric Clapton said in an interview for the film “A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan” released in 1995 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Although Stevie's career was tragically cut short in a helicopter crash in 1990 at the age of 35, they had the chance to meet each other and play together a couple of times.The British guitarist first discovered him when David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” came on the radio while he was driving. He immediately pulled over to listen, and from that moment on, he said he had to find out who that musician was. J.J. Cale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WUeOEkl270&pp=ygUWai5qLiBjYWxlIGVyaWMgY2xhcHRvbg%3D%3D The list wouldn't be complete without one of Clapton's biggest inspirations: J.J. Cale. One of the most talented American songwriters, the singer and guitarist J.J. Cale avoided the limelight and released 15 extremely influential albums during his career. He is the author of Clapton's hits "After Midnight" and "Cocaine". He also wrote "Call Me The Breeze", which was covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd. In 2006 Cale and Clapton recorded a collaborative album called "The Road to Escondido". He passed away in 2013 at the age of 74 and in the following year the tribute album led by Clapton was released. "Making this record was a way for me to say thank you for all the inspiration over the years. I suppose at some point I started to feel mildly outraged that he hadn't got the recognition that, at least I thought, he should have had. He plowed a furrow that was unique and that's the way he wanted to be, to have a quiet life. But, I still felt that he deserved more recognition, at least in his own country. He was pretty well known in Europe but lesser known in America, I think," Clapton told Music Radar at the time. Mark Knopfler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CB9OrGZ7-c&pp=ygUabWFyayBrbm9wZmxlciBlcmljIGNsYXB0b24%3D The legendary Dire Straits guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Mark Knopfler is also a musician that Clapton likes. He called the musician "totally unique and a great craftsman. “Well, Mark Knopfler, I think, is totally unique. He’s a great craftsman, which brings it back to that. I mean, with Dire Straits, if you listen to any of their albums the first time, it sort of goes by you a bit. Then gradually it just gets better and better, and it stands the test of time. They’re fantastic craftsmen.” “Sting has that same quality. Soul Cages was exactly the same thing for me. I liked it the first time, but it was a bit esoteric. Then it grew and grew. For a period of time it was all I listened to, over and over again. I would listen to it in my car in a CD cartridge. Along with Mozart and Puccini and the Band and Muddy Waters. And it stood up on its own, amongst all those other classic things," he said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1991. The musicians had the chance to play together a few times, including the Dire Straits' hit "Money For Nothing" and J.J Cale's "Cocaine"in 1988. Kurt Rosenwinkel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcfqeM-qQA&pp=ygUdS3VydCBSb3NlbndpbmtlbCBlcmljIGNsYXB0b24%3D One of the less-known musicians on the list for Rock fans is the Jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1970 and started his career in 1990. In a 2015 interview with Uncut magazine, he mentioned him as a guitarist he wished he could play like. “Oh yeah! God, yeah. One of my heroes is Kurt Russell. [Laughs] What!? Not Kurt Russell, Kurt Rosenwinkel. He’s a jazz guitar player. Very fluid. He’s a genius, he really is, and a lovely man. He has the ability to play directly what he hears in his head." "I can’t do that. I go to the same old phraseology, or I have to work things out in advance. He’s a proper jazz musician, and I’m in awe of that. He’s got up to play with me a couple of times, we’ve played a blues, or “Cocaine”, and he just flies like a bird. I think, man, that’s a wonderful thing to be able to do.” "But it often looks like that’s exactly what you do onstage. There’s no filter, it’s coming straight to your fingertips. I’m not saying I’m completely calculated. I can lose myself, and then I don’t know what I’m doing. Something seems to happen of its own volition, and I just try to get out of the way. But it’s not frequent, shall we say. It happens now and then,” Clapton said. In 2023 Kurt played with Clapton at the Crossroads Festival. Until 2025, Rosenwinkel has released 19 albums as a leader or co-leader of a group. He also was part of five albums of the band Human Feel and as a sideman he worked with many artists like Brian Blade, Seamus Blake, Paul Motian and Mark Turner. Chuck Berry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzKd0aiaK4c&pp=ygUYY2h1Y2sgYmVycnkgZXJpYyBjbGFwdG9u Clapton was obviously also influenced by the godfathers of Rock and Roll music like Chuck Berry. In the 1989 documentary “Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll" he even said that if you play Rock music you will end up playing like Berry. “(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) If you wanna play Rock and Roll or any upbeat number and you want to take a guitar ride, you would end up playing like Chuck Berry. Because there is very little actually other choice. There is not a lot of other ways to play Rock and Roll other than like Chuck plays it.” “If you tried to play, you know, all this stuff that’s like I was doing, the double string stuff (Eric shows on guitar), it’s really full and if you give me a break in a fast way, I start playing single lines. It doesn’t sound right, It just doesn’t sound right. It sounds thin or something, or too fiddly well (Eric shows on guitar). So it would be ok, but it wouldn’t be as good as (Eric shows on guitar again). So he really laid the law down for playing that kind of music.” Eric Clapton continued: “There is a whole mix of things I hear, Latin and Country, Jazz, the whole thing makes a beautiful hybrid. I’ve heard stories that he was very bitter and he thought people have ripped him off and in order to think that, you must be aware of how far your influence has spread.” “I don’t really know if he is completely aware of how much people love his music. He is more very often very keen to be a showman. That can be a sign of the fact you’re not very secure with what you really are good at. I like to hear him play those ballads, I know that’s deep in his heart and he was doing that on stage then I kind of feel that he was more aware of how much people do love him,” he said. Rock music would have never been the same without Chuck Berry and his classic songs like “Maybellene” (1955), “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958). Like B.B. King, Chuck played live until the final months of his life. His career started in 1953 and came to an end in 2017 when he died at the age of 90. During his career he released 20 studio albums and the final one was "Chuck", released in 2017 shortly before he died. Robert Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvuTw1C6BoY&pp=ygUOUm9iZXJ0IEpvaG5zb24%3D As one of the most praised Blues players in the world, Eric Clapton obviously is a big fan of Robert Johnson who is considered the architect of the music genre. “When I first listened to him I was completely overwhelmed by his vulnerability. What struck me more than anything else was how in touch with his feelings he was. That is something that’s taken for granted today – there are so many different ways these days to get in touch with your feelings, either through therapy or support groups. But back in the early sixties, when I first heard him, the culture in England and the US was much more repressed." "There were very few people on record who sounded like they were singing from the heart, or knew who they were or what they felt. Most were just imitating other people or developing something for the stage. Music, for the most part, was very artificial. Even people I loved, like Leroy Carr and Son House, still sounded like entertainers to me." Eric Clapton continued: "Robert was something else – he sounded like he was naked. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it was reported by Don Law, the man who recorded him, that prior to one of his sessions there were some Mexican musicians in the room with him. It seems he couldn’t play in front of them – he had to turn and play to the corner of the room. And I thought, That makes sense. How could he play in front of other people when he’s exposing his emotions so entirely?" Clapton said. Johnson performed in the studio only twice in his career. The first one in 1936 in San Antonio and the second in Dallas back in 1937. In those sessions he recorded 29 songs (with 13 surviving alternate takes) that changed the history of the Blues. He died at the age of 27 back in 1938 of unknown causes in Mississippi, same state he was born. Clapton had the chance to cover many of Johnson's songs during his career. Cream, for example, covered “Four Until Late” on their first album and “Crossroads” on their third album that became a huge hit. In 2004 the musician released a tribute album called “Me and Mr. Johnson“, with 13 tracks originally written by Robert Johnson. Doyle Bramhall II, Derek Trucks, Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2EvSNHqh0&pp=ygULUm9iZXJ0IENyYXk%3D The final four guitarists that Rock and Roll Garage selected are Doyle Bramhall, Derek Trucks, Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan. Clapton praised them in an interview with Uncut Magazine 2015, saying they were musicians that he recognized as his peers. “I would acknowledge the people who grew up listening to the same stuff as I did, those are the ones that I would be in tune with. People like Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall, Derek Trucks, Robert Cray. Though they’re younger than me, those guys. So people who are more well-versed in blues, that’s who I identify with as my peers.” Eric Clapton continued: “Definitely Jimmie Vaughan, he’s probably at number one, and Robert’s not far behind. These guys have stayed true to their principles all the way through. So commercial success hasn’t really swayed them off the path,” he said. Jimmie Vaughan is Stevie Ray Vaughan's older brother and already played with Clapton multiple times. He is often featured as the opening act of Clapton's shows, especially in the United States. Robert Cray also served as Clapton’s opening act on a few occasions. Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1953, he has won five Grammy Awards over the course of his career. Some of his most famous songs are “Right Next Door (Because Of Me), “Smoking Gun” and “This Man”. Derek Trucks is the nephew of the late Allman Brothers band drummer Butch Trucks. He was born in 1979 in Jacksonville, Florida and created the Derek Trucks Band in 1994. When he was only 20, Trucks had already played with many famous artists like Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and Stephen Stills. Another musician with famous relatives is Doyle Bramhall II, who is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Besides his praised solo work, he is known for his collaboration with artists like Roger Waters and Eric Clapton. He also previously toured with Jimmie Vaughan & The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
