Despite being a fawned-over guitarist, Eric Clapton has amassed a fair amount of haters–which are largely spurred on by Clapton’s staunch opinions. No one can deny that Clapton is one of the best players to ever strum a guitar, but the three musicians below feel that fact pales in comparison to their qualms with the “Layla” singer.
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1. Phoebe Bridgers
Being separated by generations and genre lines, we can’t imagine that there is much Phoebe Bridgers and Clapton would find in common. In fact, Bridgers has expressed her distaste for the guitar legend several times. While her “Moon Song” sees her bash one of Clapton’s signature tunes, she’s been more explicit in her criticisms outside of the studio.
“I have such an Eric Clapton rant, because I think it’s just extremely mediocre music, but also he’s a famous racist,” Bridgers once said. “Sometimes I think people are too problematic to be canceled, or not relevant enough to be canceled. I mean, it wouldn’t even make news if he said something racist today, because he went on a racist rant in the 60s or 70s that was very famous.”
2. The Yardbirds
Clapton has been a part of many bands across his tenure. One of his first endeavors was with the Yardbirds–though he wasn’t under that banner for too long. When the band decided to take a step away from Clapton’s beloved blues, he decided to jump ship. According to some of his ex-bandmates, it was a welcomed change.
“Eric had these R&B mod songs he wanted us to do,” drummer Jim McCarty once said. “Him leaving was a relief. Eric would be sitting in the van not talking to anyone. You’d think he’s so moody, he’s such a pain, we’re fed up with this.”
3. Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge‘s beef with Clapton stems from a particular incident with the rockstar while writing one of his titular tunes: “Layla.”
Coolidge penned the breakdown piano part in the track, but never received any credit for it. Given the lasting popularity of the song, it was a hard blow. Even though it wasn’t Clapton who took the credit, Coolidge’s opinion of him alludes to the idea that he wasn’t much help in that department.
“I’ve never had a conversation with Eric about probably anything,” Coolidge once said. “He always made me feel like I was beneath him.”
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Crossroads Guitar Festival)
