Ouch, Someone Doesn't Like Clapton

[Mark]

Just another loser psuedo journalist using a someone elses fame to rub some sunshine on his own face. As far as the racism well tell that to BB and all of Eric's black friends and band members!....anyone see BB's toast at Crossroads 07? Was Eric a raging butthead when he was a dope fiend and drunk...sure he openly admits it and seems to be doing what he can to finish up his life as a decent human. He has done so much to bring the blues and especially the people they came from to the forefront and he has always credited the people who's songs he covered. Unlike a few rock group icons that stole everything that wasnt nailed down and claimed it for their own, then fought to deny the rightful authors their due. The author of the article is a dolt pure and simple. I tend to judge people by their actions and I think EC is out of the dark and into the light these days. His contributions to music will stand the test of time and the idiot writing this article will be forgotten in oh about 10 minutes.

[R_of_G]

He has done so much to bring the blues and especially the people they came from to the forefront and he has always credited the people who's songs he covered. Unlike a few rock group icons that stole everything that wasnt nailed down and claimed it for their own, then fought to deny the rightful authors their due.

I think you nailed it right there Mark. The author takes EC to task for "stealing" the blues. I have read every interview with EC I can get my hands on, and never once have I heard him claim to have invented anything. He is EXTREMELY humble about his playing [esp. for someone as vastly talented as he is] and always gives credit where it's due. If this author only listens to artists who invented the kind of music they play he must have a very small collection.

[Brian Krashpad]

Just another loser psuedo journalist using a someone elses fame to rub some sunshine on his own face. As far as the racism well tell that to BB and all of Eric's black friends and band members!....anyone see BB's toast at Crossroads 07? Was Eric a raging butthead when he was a dope fiend and drunk...sure he openly admits it and seems to be doing what he can to finish up his life as a decent human.

Although he's made a point of not recanting that original very public racist remark, and even, many years after it (2004), repeating his admiration for the race-baiting politico?

Even George Wallace eventually admitted he was wrong in advocating the same type of notions that Enoch Powell supported. It would be easy for Clapton to just say "I was wrong about Enoch Powell," rather than some generalized "I should get a free pass from '73-'84 (or whenever) because I was on drugs."

Having black friends and coworkers cuts both ways under these circumstances. The "Some of my best friends are black" defense devolves not to the necessary conclusion that the speaker is not racist, but instead to one of two opposing conclusions, either of which could be true: 1)the speaker is not racist, OR, 2) the speaker is racist but is also two-faced to those he calls friends, and says one thing when they're around and another when they're not.

By not taking the expedient option of specifically recanting his drink/drugged-out support of a racist politican (and in fact publicly stating what appears to be Clapton's continuing admiration for the guy decades later), Clapton adds fuel to the fire that the second option above is the accurate one.

Which saddens me.

[Lev]

As an Irishman I would rarely defend a Conservative British politician. However in order to give some balance to this debate I thought I should point out that Enoch Powell was not some extreme marginalised right wing looney (well history may show he was..) But at that time he was in fact one of the most popular British politicians.

Britain was in the midst of an economic depression at the time while having no immigration policies to speak of - unsustainable in any economic model. Powell was the first to speak out publicly about this and his views were labelled as racist by many of his opponents in order to gain political advantage.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree and that's not why I'm making the point. What I'm trying to say is that Clapton was certainly not alone in the view point that he held. For what it's worth I don't believe for one second that Clapton is a racist now or was at that time.

...this journalist should hang his head in shame for writing such an unbalanaced character assasination!!

[R_of_G]

Brian, glad you brought up the Elvis Costello story as I had been thinking of that as well. At least he distanced himself from his comments once he sobered up.

One more trivia note on the Enoch Powell thing. If I am not mistaken, the Beatles' "Get Back" originated out of a jam they were doing ad-libbing lyrics in critical response to Powell's infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech. Apparently, some of the bootleg "Let it Be" sessions feature recordings of "Get Back" with some of these lyrics remaining [not any that I have though].

[duhvoodooman***]

I doubt any of us would like to be reminded of some of the things we said when we were young, cocky and drunk (or otherwise altered). If you truly believed that Clapton was a racist, do you think he'd garner the genuine respect that he does from African-American blues players? Or that he'd allow himself to be depicted as B.B. King's driver on the cover of Riding with the King? A completely ridiculous implication, IMO.

Forgetting about his musical contributions completely for the moment, just considering what he's done for addicts with his Crossroads Centre in Antigua should be enough to earn the admiration of any fair-minded person. Which pretty much leaves out this clown Kieron Tyler.....

[R_of_G]

So at least we are all in agreement that the author of the article is an imbecile.

[just strum]

I doubt any of us would like to be reminded of some of the things we said when we were young, cocky and drunk (or otherwise altered). If you truly believed that Clapton was a racist, do you think he'd garner the genuine respect that he does from African-American blues players? Or that he'd allow himself to be depicted as B.B. King's driver on the cover of Riding with the King? A completely ridiculous implication, IMO.

Forgetting about his musical contributions completely for the moment, just considering what he's done for addicts with his Crossroads Centre in Antigua should be enough to earn the admiration of any fair-minded person. Which pretty much leaves out this clown Kieron Tyler.....

+1

And screw the politically correct crap. There are racist everywhere and as much as you, me or anyone else might not like it, it's their right to an opinion. The same can be said for many of the statements made in this thread - it's only opinion and not much else.

And as for the "N word", that is getting pretty old.