If one artist has ever changed the world of blues music, that artist would be Eric “Slow Hand” Clapton. Clapton has been one of the most influential blues performers of our time and has changed the world with his soulful singing and talented guitar playing. He is one of those artists that you just have to listen to when the mood strikes. The great thing about Eric is how versatile of a player that he is.

For example, “Tears in Heaven” is much different style and feel when compared to “White Room”. Both songs are challenging in their own way to learn as a musician but as a general listener, you can just hear the different moods between the songs.

Lots of his work is like this, it’s very complicated. Clapton can play great melodies and solos even when he plays slow, earning him the nickname “Slow Hand”. At the same time however, Clapton is also a fantastic fast player on the electric and also has the nickname of “God” to many of his die-hard fans.

It’s important to look at the history of this artist to more fully understand his music as a whole. Eric was born in England to a sixteen year old mother. His grandparents took him under their wing and raised him as their son while his mother posed as his sister.

He wouldn’t learn the truth about his heritage until he turned nine years old. This was very troubling for young Eric and he started to do poorly in school and had to go to secondary school to try to get back on track. After secondary school Clapton attended a few art schools but dropped out due to “excessive” rock and roll.

Clapton was 13 when he got his first guitar, a heavy thing with steel strings which made it difficult to play for the beginner player. Then when he was 17 he joined his first band, The Roosters. The Roosters were very short lived, but Clapton started to gain notoriety among the local scene musicians. It was apparent even then of the young artists talent. It was this same year, 1963, when he was picked up by Yardbirds. He played with the Yardbirds for a while before the band started to move to more of a commercial rock sound of those times.     

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers would be the next band that Eric would lend his services to. It was with this band that Clapton would earn his second nickname “God” due to a fans display of affection on London’s Islington Tube Station. He would play with the Bluesbreakers on and off until 1966 when he joined one of his most famous bands, Cream.

Cream was an awesome band. “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room” are two of their more popular songs. “White Room” has one of the hardest guitar solo’s ever written by a band. The other members of Cream include Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

Cream was only together for two short years but during that time they make music that would influence artists forever. Songs on their three albums during this time showcased the talent in this band. While in the band, Clapton expanded the entire blues genre by incorporating his signature licks into the music.

Basically, it breaks down like this: if the blues where the Bible, artists like B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Skip James would be the Old Testament and Clapton would be the New Testament. Well, you would probably have to include others in it as well, like Jack White, but the list goes on and on. 

After the break of Cream, Eric found himself in a standstill of his career. He continued to search for a band to allow him to show off his musical talent and joined with several other artists during this time but each attempt was ultimately unsuccessful.

It wouldn’t be until 1974 and the release of his album 461 Ocean Boulevard, that he would be back in the saddle musically. It was time for Clapton to start being cool again as he embarked on his full-fledged solo career.

Now, I’m a product of the 80’s, and growing up, I got to hear Clapton’s newest stuff first hand. This is how I originally got interested in this artist. Then, over the years, I began listening to his earlier work.

One of the first songs that I ever heard from him was “Wonderful Tonight” and I thought it was absolutely heartwarming.

That’s one of the things I like about Clapton, he sings what he feels. Not what he thinks he should sing or what everyone else wants him to sing. He just sings what is on his mind.

I’m really glad that he actually started singing in addition to playing guitar, because he is an excellent singer and songwriter. Why waste talent right?

Another good thing about Clapton is that each one of his albums have a different sound and feel to them. Something that you don’t see everyday in musicians. Usually, they just stick to a formula to keep their music different but still having a signature sound to it.

Clapton didn’t do any of that. He just made music that he felt was good, and it was good. He’s such a diverse artist musically that I don’t think that he could stick to a cookie-cutter format even if he wanted to. 

I mean, the guy just oozes talent and lots of guitar players can’t even come close to him. Sure, they can try, but they will never be as good as Clapton. Clapton is “God” after all.

The guitar has stood as an American Icon for many years. It represents the culture and its peoples in history through the art of music. The guitar was first developed over in Europe and then later migrated to the Mississippi Delta in America during the civil war. The first guitars of this time were acoustic guitars and were popular amongst the slave culture. The reasoning behind this was the strife and affliction during these times to the people of the region. Artists of the time would vent frustrations and sing inspirational songs to help lift spirits and encourage like-minded people to continue on and keep surviving. Their soulful, dirty and poetic songs helped formed the foundation of what would be called the Blues.

After the country was freed, these influential artists continued their art and took to the open road in search of a muse. Often telling tales of the road and other songs of deep personal meaning. These artists were known as the Delta Blues Musicians and not only created the Blues but also provided a footing for Rock and Roll Musicians to build upon. It was these musicians who applied musical theories and helped to develop new techniques and theories for future musicians to follow for many years to come.

There were many influential Delta Blues performers, some of these greats include Robert Johnson, Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Patton, and Blind Willie Johnson. It was these artists that would put the ball into motion for guitarists like Jimmy Page, Jack White and Eric Clapton.

These artist’s often used unconventional ways to play guitar and incorporated new items into their music such as the pop-bottle slide and basic items like the cigar box guitar. Some of these artists were also later paid homage by other popular musicians covering some of their work. Some examples of this are the songs “Lord, I Can’t Keep From Crying” performed by the White Stripes, and “In My Time of Dying” performed by Led Zeppelin. Both of these songs were originally written by Blind Willie Johnson.

The guitar continued to grow and flourish during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression with modern musicians building on classical guitar and transforming it into different genres and styles of playing. Then in 1939, a great invention would revolutionize the art form. The invention in question is the invention of the electromagnetic pickup first made popular by Charlie Christian on his Gibson ES 150.  The electric pickup was the beginning of something great, the electric guitar.

The first electric pickup was put into production in 1931 by the Rickenbacker and started a revolution in the industry. Some of the leaders in the revolution included inventors Les Paul, Seth Lover, Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender. It was these brilliant inventors that lead the way in pickup technology. Some of their inventions included the single coil, double coil, hum bucker, mini-hum bucker, baby hum bucker and super hum bucker pickups later in history.

These pickups allowed the instrument to cover different tones and also increased the clarity and quality of the music over the years. It also allowed artists to choose between setups on-the-fly to create new kinds of music with their instrument.

The invention of the hum bucker in 1957 by Seth Lover would revolutionize the art of playing guitar yet again by reducing the amount of humming, boasting output sound and creating a great “fat” sound to the instrument. 

Using an Electric Guitar also meant that musicians could take methods and styles of acoustic and classical guitar to an entirely new level. It meant that musician’s could explore and discover new tonal ranges and setups on their instruments. It also lead to the ability to hot rod a guitar to create new and interesting sound formations.

It also allowed for amplification of the instrument so that the instrument could be heard at much larger venues. This was an important step in the history of the instrument and was a vast improvement over the traditional way of recording music during that time. The use of electricity also allowed for other electronics to be implemented to the use of the guitar. Some of these electronics would come in the form of Effects Pedals and custom amplifiers as well as high quality methods of recording the instrument.

There were several different kinds of electrical guitars, some examples of these were the solid body, hollow body and semi-hollow body styles. These guitars would contain different setups that would appeal to the different musical styles of individual performers. It was Paul Bigsby that would invent the first solid body guitar and designing his own pickups to go into it. Bigsby also created the famous Bigsby Tremolo.

Lets flash forward to the 50’s and the beginning of rock and roll. It’s by this time that the world has been changing, and with it music has become more advanced in all areas. While classical guitar is still the norm a new sensation has been hitting the air waves. That sensation is rock and roll. It’s during this time that big name acts really start weaving the guitar into the American way of life.

With inventions such as the television and more complex means of broadcasting on the radio the world can now see and hear artists that they simply could not before. In the fore front are artists such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. It would be these artists that would make the guitar a part of American life. They would integrate it into the culture and create a spark of life within the hearts of many cherished fans. Many people hadn’t even heard an electric guitar before these musicians and they would continue to gain the support of the nation through their music throughout their career and long afterword.

It was also during this time when the guitar first faced it’s first hurdle, with the culture of rock and roll seeping into American youth, the older generation did not accept the new music. Many felt that rock and roll was polluting the airwaves and corrupting the youth with loud amplifiers and saucy dancing that resulted from it being played.

In 1954 came the invention of the most famous guitar in history, the Fender Stratocaster. This guitar contained three single coil pickups and had a solid body. The original three way switch would activate the pickups individually from each other allowing the guitarist to play different varieties of songs without switching guitars. It wouldn’t be long before artists and guitar techs were hot rodding these axes to create custom, one-of-a-kind sounds.

One such artist was guitar master Jimi Hendrix, who discovered one day that you could play the strat with the level positioned between the stock settings to create an out of phase combination of the pickups instead of using just one pick up at a time.

In the 60’s the guitar culture in America flourished as many bands found new and interesting ways to play this great instrument. The technology had also advanced allowing for custom setups that allowed different bands to leave their mark on the world with a distinguished sound that was different from other players of the time. Artist’s like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison lead the way during this time. Such amazing sounds were being emitted from these instruments in the sixties that it’s effects were mind boggling.

Jimi Hendrix did so many INSANE things on the guitar that it is impossible to cover everything that the man did in this article. Let’s just say he’s a genius and that he created so many different feels and sounds on the guitar that no one in history has ever came close to the way he performed on his instrument. I once heard that Jimi developed his sound while trying to emulate cartoon sound effects but that is pure speculation.

The way the guitar was being played changed a lot in general during this time as well as artists began to add effects to their sound and long and complex guitar solo’s were developed. Jimi made the wah pedal famous during this time with it’s one of a kind wah wah sound. The guitar was no longer being seen as a chord machine used by classical acts. No, it was now time to rock.

In the 70’s, musicians like Jimmy Page, Angus Young, and Tony Iommi continued to influence the world with their musical styles. New advancements in technology during this time let the musician’s play even more custom setups to create sounds and rhythms that were never before heard coming out of a guitar.

In 1979, designer Floyd Rose released his famed Floyd Rose Bridge, which was an ingenious floating bridge system that also contained a locking nut to hold the strings in place. This bridge allowed for quick adjustments to be made when tuning the instrument and also allowed for the instrument to stay in tune longer during treacherous playing sessions that included a lot of bending and heavy soloing.

This was great for artists because it meant that hey could play longer and still have their guitar in tune. They could also get some pretty wicked bends out of the floating bridge without the use of a tremolo bar.

By the time the 80’s arrived the guitar had become a household icon of American culture and garage bands were popping out of the woodwork in suburbia. By this time there had been so many advancements with the instruments that many companies began production of the guitar. You didn’t have to have a Fender or Gibson anymore, other brands like Ibanez, Dean, B.C. Rich, and ESP were also now making guitars. The range of effects and amount of amplification had also improved. You could now play on a stack with 20” speakers and 1000 watts of power to make floors shake and break windows, if you didn’t go deaf first. Popular artists that served the music service during this time included acts like Yngwie Malmsteen, Metallica, Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Vai and Slash.

It was during this time that the seven string guitar started to gain popularity with acts like Steve Vai playing signature models. This kind of guitar was great for both metal and classical players alike because of it’s variety of range and ways to play it. Many Metal bands love this kind of guitar because they can tune lower to get a better “fat” sound while still maintaining high attack on their guitar.

In the 90’s guitar culture continued to change with the invention of grunge. These guitarists continued to create signature guitars. Some of the most famous guitars during this time were the Dimebag Darrell line of Dean Guitars, known for their custom pick ups and signature looks. Other popular musicians during this time were Tom Morello, Kurt Cobain and Mike Tremonti. Kurt Cobain also made the left handed guitar popular during this time with his custom Fender Jagstang.

In modern times the path of the guitar has been modified from the original hollowed out gourd with horse hair. Now-a-days their have been some serious modifications to the instrument, some guitars are now fully digital and feature robotic systems of tuning to help keep them playing fantastic. The guitar has also been idolized in recent video games like Guitar Hero, which features a miniature plastic representation of a guitar as a controller. Some of the controllers even feature maple necks and authentic rosewood.

In summery, the look and technology backing the guitar has changed radically over it’s history in the US. Where once it was strictly an acoustic instrument, it has grown to an electrical giant of mass proportions. New styles and designs of custom pickups, bridges, strings and necks have changed both the look and the sound of this great instrument. The musician’s are the one’s who made it all happen, but the fans are the one’s who carry the legacy of this fine instrument in their hearts forever.

Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers began making records in the 70’s. Now some 40 years later Tom is still a pillar of musical genius. He began playing guitar during his high school years in the 60’s. His style is considered to be slow and bluesy, the definitive sound of Southern Rock. Now, I know that artist’s hate genre branding, but Petty and his band helped defined the genre, not many artists can say that.

Petty’s music features a lot of acoustic rock styling's mixed with bluesy funk sounding riffs. It’s great music to just sit and chill too or sing along with while in the car. While other artists were developing their music into a more metal and glam feel, Petty and The Heart Breakers were continuing to shape their own music, away from the glitz and glamour that was overtaking the nation during that time.

Tom and the band remained true to their roots and continued to create music that people both liked and was different than the other bands that were emerging during the late 70’s and early 80’s.

Tom and the band are great influences to their fellow musicians standing up strong for artist rights. I think this is important as well because artist’s should have creative control over their music. Tom wanted control over what label would manage his music back in the 70’s when the record company tried to switch labels on him without his consent.

Personally, I think Tom just wanted to say in the loop, and why not? Every artist wants to know where their money is coming from.

Petty is mostly known for playing Gibson and Fender Guitars. Most notable of his collection are his Gibson Dove and his 1964 Strat in sunburst. He has also designed a Signature model Rickenbacker guitar for Rickenbacker Guitars. Rickenbacker guitars were originally made famous by the Beatles.

The history of the band stems from 1976 when the group, consisting of Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Ron Blair, Benmont Tench, and Stan Lynch, began working on their debut self titled album. The album wasn’t immediately successful for the band. In fact the band wouldn’t become successful until three years later with their release of Damn the Torpedoes, released under a new record label.

The band would continue on adding and subtracting members over the years. Fellow band mates of the crew included Howie Epstein, Scott Thurston and  Steve Ferrone.

The band have released a total of ten albums thus far, the most current being The Last DJ in 2002. Petty has also enjoyed a lucrative solo career while releasing three solo albums during this time. His most recent solo work is called Highway Companion and was released in 2006. Tom is also a member of the Traveling Wilburys, a super group comprising of Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne.

Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers are a band known for their talents in the art of story telling. Most, if not all of their music, tells a story. This is a great artistic talent to have because it gives listeners something entertaining to listen too.

This also sets them apart from many other bands that just infuse emotion into their music. Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers music has pulp to it. It gives you something to follow along with as you listen to it. It’s great thinking music.

Throughout the years Tom has also focused his talents into the realm of television, appearing on an episode of the Simpsons where he attempts to teach Homer about songwriting. Other spots include small parts in the movies FM, Made in Heaven and The Postman.

With amazing talent, awesome songs and a rock attitude that invented Classic Rock Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers have won their way into the hearts and souls of many die-hard fans all over the world. Their music is truly inspiring and has served as a base for many new artists of today. They have and will always continue to lift up the spirits of fans, where ever they may be.

Darius Rucker is one of those artists that likes to expand his possibilities in his life. His vast range of musical skills has led this artist to release an album that sold 16 million copies and to further expand his musical portfolio with genre bending songs.

Darius first performed professionally with Hootie and the Blowfish which started in 1994. Their first album Cracked Rear View is one of the most memorable albums of the 90's.

With Cracked Rear View the world was introduced to a melodic mix of bluesy loved soaked tales that the band used to swoon it's way into the hearts of millions of adoring fans. Some tracks featured on the album were "Hold Her Hand", “Only Want to Be With You", and "Let Her Cry".

The band since then created four additional full-length studio albums and they performed relatively well for the group. The band also was featured on the Friends Soundtrack with their single "I Go Blind", which became widely popular during that time.

Darius also expanded his musical career by playing with several different performances during this time. One such artist is Edwin McCain which he shares some of the singing duties on the song "Solitude".

The band also formed their own record label, Breaking Records,  in 1996 due to their success. Some artists featured on this label included The Meat Puppets, Little Children and Treehouse.

Along with helping with producing with these bands, Hootie also recorded a song for the movie Me, Myself and Irene during this time.

Since then Darius has put Hootie and The Blowfish on the back burner to cross over to the realm of Country Music. While he’s still a member of Hootie and The Blowfish his new solo career is performing quite well for this artist.

Darius’s solo album, titled Learn to Live, is shaping up to be one of the hottest country albums of this decade. It currently features three #1 hit singles on the album. Hits included on this album feature “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”, “Alright”, and “It Won’t Be Like This for Long”. This is quite an astonishing feat for any artist to achieve.