Jeff Beck Details His Decades-Long Rivalry With Eric Clapton

Jeff Beck Says He and Eric Clapton Have Decades-Long Rivalry

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck have accumulated a lot of mutual fans over the years. The guitarists, who both led the legendary blues British band The Yardbirds at separate points in their careers, are inextricably tied to the history of what we now call classic rock. 

Clapton and Beck have moved through many of the same musical cliques over the years, and their connection has led to plenty of fan arguments over the years. Friendships have been strained, loves have been lost and families have been broken over the unanswerable-yet-still-arguable question: Who's better?

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration! But in a new Rolling Stone interview, Beck offered some clarity on his longstanding (friendly) rivalry with Old Slowhand. Beck said that he was honestly surprised to see Clapton contributed an interview to the new documentary film, Jeff Beck: Still on the Run.

"I must admit there was a tear, especially with Eric," Beck laughed. "I never expected him to bother to be in it. I studies his face over and over, just to make sure there wasn't something else going on [laughs]."

He continued, adding that somehow, despite any real friction over the years between the two, Beck subconsciously "emblazoned" Clapton in his own brain as being "a real bother boy — like, a force to be recoked with, someone who's moody, maybe punchy."

Beck and Clapton never met until Beck succeeded Clapton in the Yardbirds. Beck said that early on he was more successful than Clapton; with Beck the Yardbirds did their first American tour. But everything changed soon after.

"...[Lo] and behold he comes out with Cream and swipes us all around the head," Beck recalled.

Beck said he believed Clapton was miffed by Beck's successful work in the R&B world with Stevie Wonder, while Beck felt Clapton had "the blues covered." 

Beck added that seeing guitar contemporaries like Clapton, Slash, David Gilmour and his childhood friend Jimmy Page talk about him in such glowing terms in the documentary was "overwhelming."

"It was like This Is Your Life in condensed form," Beck said of the film. "But they left out all the gory bits. I'll save those for myself.

Jeff Beck: Still on the Run is available everywhere Friday. Get more information here. Get Beck's summer tour dates here

Clapton also has a few shows on his itinerary for this year. Get those dates here.


Photos: Getty Images


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