#33 -- Eric Clapton

Judging something as subjective as music is like grasping for a wet bar of soap; ...unless, that is, you look at record sales.  And one mark of a great performer is that they consistently please their listeners.  Eric Clapton, despite all the differences in personnel, style and intensity during his years recording music, always seemed to please.

Success over a four decade period is hard to argue with.

And then there are all those collaborations (with 10 of our remaining 32 slots, plus Aretha Franklin, Elton John, B.B. King, Carole King, Traffic, Kate Bush), proving that sharing one's talents pays off--when friends are needed, and in terms of an ever-expanding fan base.

Perhaps Clapton's greatest specific legacy was his elevation of reggae music, and specifically Bob Marley and the Wailers, when he covered their "I Shot The Sheriff", which was a #1 hit in the US in summer, 1974.

 ...................................

Each band or performer is graded on four things:
  1.  Innovation
  2.  Influence in my life--as a typical American
  3.  Integrity: the band's approach to music (just making a buck or honing a craft?)  
  4.  Immortality--am I, a typical American--still eager to hear their music

8/6/5/7 = 26 out of a perfect 40

....................................

A turning point: Clapton credits The Basement Tapes (Bob Dylan and The Band) with his turn away from guitar solos to, instead, the development of a given song itself.

And a revelation: practicing his guitar playing, when learning to play, Clapton recorded himself, then listened to the tape, gradually refining his methods.  Sounds like "know thyself".

See you next year....