“The playing is fiery, the lines are emotionally powerful and the melodic ideas and phrasing are perfect”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to his favorite guitar player of all time

Eric Clapton plays a solo on a blue Strat as Joe Bonamassa looks on.

I’ve come to the the realization that I have not yet talked about the “elephant in the room” – my favorite singer/songwriter and guitar player of all time, Eric Clapton.

We have to break this up into two columns, because there are many different facets and eras to examine in Eric’s long and storied career. A fun, and perfectly logical, way to split up an investigation into Eric’s playing is to begin with the “Gibson years,” followed by the “Fender years.”