Did Eric Clapton Ever Truly Surpass Jimi Hendrix?

Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix’s careers began around the same time in 1962, and their paths crossed quite a few times. In 1966, Hendrix and Clapton met when the former attended a Cream performance in London.

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“He asked if he could play a couple of numbers,” Clapton said of their meeting. “I said, ‘Of course’, but I had a funny feeling about him.”

Naturally, Hendrix went on to play an insane version of “Killing Floor” by Howlin’ Wolf. Clapton would later say that, following the performance, Clapton’s life “was never the same again.” The two would perform together again later that year. Clapton would attend Hendrix’s early performances regularly, and he had an immediate effect on Clapton’s career in the years that followed.

But did Clapton ever truly surpass Hendrix in terms of guitar skill? Clapton himself said that Hendrix “burst his bubble” when he arrived in England, though the two would become friends more than intensely competitive rivals. Hendrix burst quite a few musicians’ bubbles at the time; it seemed like he had a talent that no one could surpass or come close to matching.

Did Eric Clapton Become a Better Guitarist Than Jimi Hendrix?

This is a hard comparison to make because once Hendrix hit the scene, Clapton decided to go back to the drawing board. He could no longer be a “Buddy Guy-like showman” after “Jimi showed up” in England. 

“I realized then that I had to look at Cream as a band, and forget about my little solo odyssey,” said Clapton.

You can look at Cream albums like Disraeli Gears and see just how much Hendrix influenced Clapton, too. Clapton leaned heavily on the wah pedal, trying to capture some of Hendrix’s magic.

Where they diverged, it seems, was when Clapton opted for a new style of playing the guitar.

“I used the bridge pickup, but with the tone control all the way off, so it was all just bottom end, and then I played on the high strings, getting a really fat tone and feeding back,” Clapton explained. “I just played like that all the time. Even with power chords, there was never any variation in my tone.”

In a way, there may be no Clapton vs. Hendrix discussion to have. They were two incredibly talented but different guitarists, and one blew up the other’s scene enough to encourage him to do something totally different, which would lead to a long and prosperous career for Clapton.

Where do you stand on Eric Clapton vs. Jimi Hendrix? Do you think Clapton truly surpassed Hendrix in terms of guitar-playing ability? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Photo by Cyrus Andrews/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images