Eric Clapton and Marshall

[$WLABR]

If it wasn't for Clapton, Marshall amps wouldn't have become popular and the Les Paul would have been a forgotten guitar. I base these claims on the following :

1. The BluesBreakers album and live reputation in 1965-66.
2. Cream's touring the USA.
3. Jimi Hendrix coming to UK on the promise he would meet Clapton then essentially duplicating his rig.
4. The Who were first to use Marshall stacks but only briefly in 1966 and never in the USA.

Thoughts?

 

[kustombob]

All I know is he was the first guy to use a Marshall and LP on a album ' The rest is history.

 

[BlueX]

I will not underestimate Claptons contribution to electrified guitar music, and the picture below is one of the coolest I know.
However:
- Jim Marshall wouldn't have given up that easy. Others would have picked up Marshall amps and cabs
- Also for LP's. Others would have rediscovered that guitar.

PS. Don't forget to put the cigarette away while tuning your guitar! DS.

 

[jeffb]

Clapton forged the sound of heavy rock music and rock guitar playing for eternity- by doing a really heavy blues album (which is absolutely legendary). His playing, his tone, changed everything. No Clapton?.. No Cream..No Hendrix, no EVH, etc etc etc.

No way in H E double hockeysticks the then current crop of other musicians using Marshalls would have elevated anything....Nobody was going around back alleys spraypainting "Brian Poole and the Tremeloes is God"

Without Clapton we might all be playing Voxes And for certain none of us would be here, or likely even be playing guitar. Many of our lives would indirectly be very different if there was no EC and Beano album.

 

[scozz]

Mike Bloomfield is the person that propelled the Les Paul into the Rock scene, and Clapton and Keith Richards took the lead from Bloomfield. Bloomfield was an accomplished Blues guitarist and one of the most respected guitarists of his time.

He’s the person who really brought the Les Paul guitar to the forefront and Clapton and others followed. It was virtually the same scenario as what Hendrix did for the Stratocaster.

Hendrix became popular in England before he did in the US, and the word got around the Rock scene that Jimi Hendrix was doing things with a guitar that had never been done before!

All the great Rock guitarists went to see him live and they were all completely blown away. So what was the result,… many of them followed his lead and started playing Strats, Clapton, Beck, are two examples, and there were many others.

So in my mind, Bloomfield is the first well known Blues/Rock guitar player to use a Les Paul, and he influenced others att because he was the guitarist others wanted to emulate.

As far as your Marshall theory, I agree that Clapton was one of the earliest Marshall amp user, circa 1962. I also think Hendrix was very much involved in raising the attention of other guitarists to Marshall amps

Although Clapton was using Marshall amps a couple of years sooner than Hendrix, Clapton’s use of a Bluesbreaker amp on the “Beano” album in 1966 was a turning point. That was the same year, 1966, that Hendrix was on the scene in London playing Marshall full stacks.

Hendrix, in London, made a HUGE impression on the guitarists that went to see him, everyone was completely blown away with his guitar playing.

Hendrix had a hard time here in the US, in the very beginning, so when Chas Chandler, (bassist for the Animals), saw him in Greenwich Village, he immediately made arrangements to bring Hendrix to England.

Hendrix was a huge sensation in England, and he returned to the US in 1967. That same year he played the Monterey Pop Festival with his two Marshall stacks. That appearance skyrocketed Hendrix to fame, the rest is history.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

hum..... i think Marshall would have found their way.
Eric and pete were just lucky enough to get in with Jim quickly
looking for louder amps. both were highly respected players
and that helped.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I think Marshall would have made it even without Hendrix or Clapton. They may have added star power, but the product speaks for itself. Loudly and clearly. Once Marshall got started they had people waiting to buy the hot new amplifiers and their popularity increased every time another aspiring young guitarist saw a band playing and there were Marshalls on the stage for him to hear.

When the question was "Can we get it louder?", Jim Marshall had the answer. Of course that worked.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

here I thought it was Orbison...

 

[El Gringo]

Mike Bloomfield is the person that propelled the Les Paul into the Rock scene, and Clapton and Keith Richards took the lead from Bloomfield. Bloomfield was an accomplished Blues guitarist and one of the most respected guitarists of his time.

He’s the person who really brought the Les Paul guitar to the forefront and Clapton and others followed. It was virtually the same scenario as what Hendrix did for the Stratocaster.

Hendrix became popular in England before he did in the US, and when the word got around the Rock scene that Jimi Hendrix was doing things with a guitar that had never been done before!

All the great Rock guitarists went to see him live and they were all completely blown away. So what was the result,… many of them followed his lead and started playing Strats, Clapton, Beck, are two examples, and there were many others.

So in my mind, Bloomfield is the first well known Blues/Rock guitar player to use a Les Paul, and he influenced others att because he was the guitarist others wanted to emulate.

As far as your Marshall theory, I agree that Clapton was one of the earliest Marshall amp user, circa 1962. I also think Hendrix was very much involved in raising the attention of other guitarists to Marshall amps

Although Clapton was using Marshall amps a couple of years sooner than Hendrix, Clapton’s use of a Bluesbreaker amp on the “Beano” album in 1966 was a turning point. That was the same year, 1966, that Hendrix was on the scene in London playing Marshall full stacks.

Hendrix, in London, made a HUGE impression on the guitarists that went to see him, everyone was completely blown away with his guitar playing.

Hendrix had a hard time here in the US, in the very beginning, so when Chas Chandler, (bassist for the Animals, saw him in Greenwich Village, he immediately made arrangements to bring Hendrix to England.

Hendrix was a huge sensation in England, and he returned to the US in 1967. That same year he played the Monterey Pop Festival with his two Marshall stacks. That appearance skyrocketed Hendrix to fame, the rest is history.

Okay Keith Richards used a Sunburst with a Bigsby Gibson Les Paul (I want to say a 59 ? ) on the Rolling Stones appearing on the Ed Sullivan show . Every one always says it's Bloomfield and Google just said it was Keith Richards in 1964 .

 

[El Gringo]

hum..... i think Marshall would have found their way.
Eric and pete were just lucky enough to get in with Jim quickly
looking for louder amps. both were highly respected players
and that helped.

Yup , as that's the way I know that history as they were up Jim Marshall's bum from being around the block from his shop . Pete was the one who got Jim to design and build the 8x12 I believe , to the chagrin of the Who's road crew that had to haul around all that heavy stuff versus Vox AC-30's . It was either Richie Blackmore or Pete that was the inspiration behind the 200 watt Marshall Major , think about that sonic fire power for a moment ? Can you imagine the quintessential 2 X 200 watt into 4 -4 x 12's cabinets ? This was all back in the day of crap PA systems and thus more firepower on stage to project sound .

 

[ricksdisconnected]

Yup , as that's the way I know that history as they were up Jim Marshall's bum from being around the block from his shop . Pete was the one who got Jim to design and build the 8x12 I believe , to the chagrin of the Who's road crew that had to haul around all that heavy stuff versus Vox AC-30's . It was either Richie Blackmore or Pete that was the inspiration behind the 200 watt Marshall Major , think about that sonic fire power for a moment ? Can you imagine the quintessential 2 X 200 watt into 4 -4 x 12's cabinets ? This was all back in the day of crap PA systems and thus more firepower on stage to project sound .

yep and then got him to split it up into 4x12's cause those 8x were killing the road crew lugging them around.
so maybe Pete gets the credit after all.

 

[El Gringo]

I think Marshall would have made it even without Hendrix or Clapton. They may have added star power, but the product speaks for itself. Loudly and clearly. Once Marshall got started they had people waiting to buy the hot new amplifiers and their popularity increased every time another aspiring young guitarist saw a band playing and there were Marshalls on the stage for him to hear.

When the question was "Can we get it louder?", Jim Marshall had the answer. Of course that worked.

I do believe that sentiment as well as Marshall's are that great and still are !

 

[Kim Lucky Day]

Okay Keith Richards used a Sunburst with a Bigsby Gibson Les Paul (I want to say a 59 ? ) on the Rolling Stones appearing on the Ed Sullivan show . Every one always says it's Bloomfield and Google just said it was Keith Richards in 1964 .

Actually, Clapton has long stated that one of his primary influences was Freddie King, specifically pointing out the Gold Top Les Paul he played. I'm not exactly sure what the earliest Freddie King record was but I'm sure this one was quite influential to Clapton (this one released in 1961). So pretty sure Chicago blues guys like Freddie King had a lot more to do with the eventual popularity of the Les Paul than anyone else.

I could be wrong with this but in all of the autobiographies of Clapton I've read, I don't recall him speaking about Bloomfield as been influential on his choice of a Les Paul in the Bluesbreakers and early Cream days.

 

[MarshallDog]

No, no, no its all because of

 

[MarshallDog]

If it wasn't for Clapton, Marshall amps wouldn't have become popular and the Les Paul would have been a forgotten guitar. I base these claims on the following :

1. The BluesBreakers album and live reputation in 1965-66.
2. Cream's touring the USA.
3. Jimi Hendrix coming to UK on the promise he would meet Clapton then essentially duplicating his rig.
4. The Who were first to use Marshall stacks but only briefly in 1966 and never in the USA.

Thoughts?

I would have to agree!

 

[jeffb]

Frankly, Clapton was a big rip of Freddie King- it's just white audiences had never heard of Freddie King at the time so they figured all those great licks were magic new stuff Clapton came up with.

This is later on (early 70s) but it's obvious where Clapton's got 90% of his chops for his John Mayall and Cream work. Speed it up, less empty space between phrases, a little less wild on the vibrato than King.

 

[Kim Lucky Day]

On an unrelated note, how many of you wear your neck strap the way Freddie King did? It just would seem to me that the guitar would want to pull the strap off your shoulder eventually...

 

[ricksdisconnected]

Actually, Clapton has long stated that one of his primary influences was Freddie King, specifically pointing out the Gold Top Les Paul he played. I'm not exactly sure what the earliest Freddie King record was but I'm sure this one was quite influential to Clapton (this one released in 1961). So pretty sure Chicago blues guys like Freddie King had a lot more to do with the eventual popularity of the Les Paul than anyone else.

I could be wrong with this but in all of the autobiographies of Clapton I've read, I don't recall him speaking about Bloomfield as been influential on his choice of a Les Paul in the Bluesbreakers and early Cream days.
View attachment 102496

Freddy was my fav king.

 

[jeffb]

On an unrelated note, how many of you wear your neck strap the way Freddie King did? It just would seem to me that the guitar would want to pull the strap off your shoulder eventually...

I've got wide shoulders, but even with a skinny strap, no can do.

 

[jeffb]

Freddy was my fav king.

Me three- I cannot listen to many if any blues players/music for any great length of time, but Freddie was heavy as hell and I can listen to him all day and night.