Why The Grateful Dead’s Music Was Not for Eric Clapton: “It’s Not Really My Bag”

The Grateful Dead have one of the most loyal fan bases of all time, and that is due to a lot of different factors. One major factor is, of course, the uniqueness of their music. It is simply for you or not for you. Consequently, a lot of musicians, critics, and general listeners have criticized The Grateful Dead’s alternative sound and focus on live recordings rather than on studio recordings. One musician who wasn’t a fan of their music, yet still admired their sound and vision, was Eric Clapton.

Other than the instruments they played and the sub-genres they toiled in, Eric Clapton and The Grateful Dead had very few similarities. While Clapton deliberately orchestrated and created his music for the record, The Grateful Dead did not do so in the slightest. However, unlike many other critical folks, Eric Clapton did not denounce the Dead’s style. Rather, he simply stated that it just was not for him.

Eric Clapton Was Not Initially Sold on Grateful Dead’s Sound

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1968, Eric Clapton unpacked his thoughts on the Grateful Dead and their style of music. He told the publication, “I don’t think the quality of their music is as high as a lot of other good recording bands. People are more concerned with live music, maybe, than with recording. […] I’m not sure of that. I’m guessing. If The Grateful Dead are one of the best, they’re not doing a very good job on record,” added Clapton.

Eric Clapton continued his analysis by sizing up Jerry Garcia’s guitar playing, as he stated to RS, “It’s very good and very tight, but it’s not really my bag.” Clapton was not strictly complimentary or critical of the Dead’s music. However, what he was overtly complimentary about was the San Fransico music scene they helped create.

Concerning the English musical landscape in comparison to San Francisco’s, Clapton divulged, “The English music market has been bred so long on immaturity, in the press and music papers, they are concerned with nothing else but top 40 and music doesn’t really matter.” “They could use, from San Francisco, a little more open-mindedness about music, to grow up about it,” added Clapton.

In 1968, Clapton was ambivalent towards The Grateful Dead’s music. However, 30 years later, he wasn’t so ambivalent. He told Larry King in 1998, “I would have loved to have played with them, actually. That would have been great fun, just to pick up some of that vibe that, just to figure it out.”

Like a lot of musicians, The Grateful Dead age like fine wine, and they seemingly did for Clapton.

Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns