When Eric Clapton Thought He’d Reached The Finish

Eric Clapton became a household guitarist despite not wanting to become a hit maker or become a famous musician. Although he started with the ideology of making great albums, it eventually led to his recognition and becoming a mogul for young wanna-be guitarists.

In a 1998 appearance on CNN’s ‘Larry King Live,’ Clapton chatted about his intentions with starting in the music business, how he wanted to stay away from the spotlight and the early days when he thought he had reached the end of his career.

The guitarist spoke to Larry about his early days in the industry and how he thought that his days as a musician were over. He recalled:

“I actually thought I was going to retire. I mean that was like when I was 18 years old I thought, it’s over. It’s over. Because they all want the same thing. I mean every band I looked at all had the same agenda: Let’s get a hit record and recording contract.”

Eric shared that in his mind, hit after hit his career would eventually come to an end. The guitarist added:

“And I kind of went, and then what? That was it. It seemed to be that was the end of the road. And for me the road was about a different thing altogether.”

Instead of doing what everyone else did, Clapton told Larry the non-industry standard thing he did. He said:

“So I went off on my own and was approached by a guy called John Mayall who wanted me to play in the clubs, in his blues band, no mention of any TV or records or none of that.”

When Larry questioned Eric whether he was a musician that experienced an instant hit, the guitarist replied:

“No, it was like a developed thing. Even in those days I think it was album sales. I was much more concerned about making good albums. I think I might — in fact, I left one band, The Yardbirds, because they were determined to have a hit, and I was determined not to be involved with that.”

Clapton revealed that he was more focused on making great albums than numbers. He shared that he felt the mental danger in focusing too much on sales rather that the art by adding:

“I don’t know, intuitively I knew it was dangerous to play around with that stuff or to be lured in the spotlight on that level.”

However, King pointed out that the fame came either way. Eric didn’t deny his fame but he also shared that he was cautious. He said:

“Eventually. Yeah, yeah. I don’t know how I knew that, but I knew it was dangerous.”

Eric had a touch and go relationship with the industry. Despite his reservations about what it means to be famous, he chose to perform in front of a crowds. However, he has always performed if the circumstances aligned with his beliefs. For example, he chose not to perform in venues that required concertgoers to show a Covid Pass in order to enter venues after the pandemic.

You can read Eric Clapton’s 1998 interview with Larry King here.