Did Eric Clapton/ Cream have an influence on hard rock/ heavy metal (Led Zeppelin; Hendrix; Ozzie etc.)?

Question

I did not notice the connection until I checked out some of Clapton's old music as well as his blues. It was like, wow - this was blues, but it was also hard rock! Sure there are a handful of hard rock pioneers such as The Who and the Rolling Stones etc., but remember, it was the heavy use of blues (and not just the use of guitar distortion) that made these acts heavy: Jimmi Hendrix; Led Zeppelin; Deep Purple; Black Sabbath etc.

I'm just wondering if people have overlooked Clapton's influence over hard rock music (which sprouted heavy metal, eventually).

Thanks.

Thanks, people, for your wonderful positive support, intelligence and great insight into Clapton, as well as that of Iommi and Hendrix (bless them)! No disrespect to any of Clapton's contemporaries or his followers. Actually, Clapton, Page and Beck once played in the same band, the Yardbirds! Nobody claimed that Clapton changed traditional blues music itself. Clapton had always had the highest respect for the likes of Robert Johnson etc. and he himself said it is impossible to emulate the legendary Johnson exactly - not even Clapton himself! As for the answerer who made the ludicrous comparison between Clapton and Bolton - she probably knows her blues, but totally misunderstands Eric and she probably misunderstands rock music itself.

Answer 1

Oh i love this kind of question, really like simple to answer but it's really hard to do it. Hail for your question.
Eric clapton for some people including me, he is God, why do people say this, cause eric really have conquer the world of music with his music and his creativity and also his performance.
Eric is blues, the music that he bring for the first time to all of us until now is blues. He is influenced by many old times blues musician like Robert johnson etc. So his music is really pure blues. I mean all in his album we will find that he keep playing the blues in his hands. He join some band like The Yardbirds then Cream and also Blind faith ( even just one album ) also in Delaney and bonnie and friends, he also play at Derek and the dominos, and also play with John mayall. So his music is really can't compare to other musician. He can express what in his brain to his hands in such a brilliant way. For me he is a most genius musician that still do recording until now.
So for an influence, what ever should we say about eric. Eric play in blues music, and of course the blues music is the music that influenced all of the music nowadays. I mean ALL. Not only that hard rock or heavy metal. So then we can say that Eric is influenced all the music genre.

Hail for you to love him.

Answer 2

Some of Tony Iommi's Sabbath solos sound a lot like some of Clapton's solos in Cream. Both using a Gibson SG, similar phrasing & tone. Page, Blackmore & Jeff Beck came up around the same time as Clapton...all three sound quite different.

Follow Up: In response to Jazi.....Eric Clapton invented what is known to guitarists as "Woman Tone"...playing a Gibson SG (actually a 1961 Les Paul) through an overdriven tube amp creating a smooth, rich sound which was quite different from any other blues guitarist up to that point in time. The Fender Tele or Strat was the guitar of choice for bluesmen, which produce a much brighter, twangy tone. Clapton got a lot of licks from a Texas bluesman names Freddie King.

Answer 3

Clapton and "Cream" have always been mentioned by some of the most noted players in rock history as being a serious if not major influence on their music. Look at the resulting legacy of Led Zeppelin, The Who, Deep Purple, Hendrix...
It's amazing.

Nice that you made that connection between his style of blues and hard rock. Eric is a Master.... without any doubt.

Good Question!!!

Answer 4

Clapton tuned/set his guitars to carry a bluesy tone, but Slowhand made it wail right on target and cue with a clear resonance tone.

Deep Purple (Smoke On The Water), toned their guitars for a darker "crunch" like sound (back then, rockers all discovered their own sound because they were competitive).

On his very last day as a factory worker before following his dream as a rockstar with Black Sabbath, Tommy Inomi lost his chord hand fingertips in an accident. Such a loss normally meant the end of a guitarist's career--but Inomi wasn't going to give up!! His prosthetic fingertips not only allowed him to press down on the guitar neckstrings harder, but gave his guitar his trademark "fuzz grind" sound that set Black Sabbath apart and helped launch the band into rock superstardom. And you thought Sabbath's fame rested soley with Ozzy!!!

Back in the day, rock guitarists all sought for their own sound, unlike today--where guitarists all sound the same. If REAL rock music today is to make a comeback---that's where guitarists need to return to.

Answer 5

Oh my God! I can't believe somebody in this forum noticed how influential Cream was! They were the SOURCE! The answerer who said Clapton didn't influence the blues is WRONG! Clapton came from a blues heritage and. like all musicians, started off by emulating his heroes. But then with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce's support, he added his own thing to it and became more influential than most of his predecessors. And he is still making great music! He has to be one of the MOST influential and creative musicians ever! Sure, he pointed a lot of people back to the previous generation of mostly black blues guitarists. But he gladly acknowledged his roots; never tried to hide his sources. Then he took the blues to new places and influenced thousands of musicians world-wide. The band was one of the most copied ever!

Answer 6

Totally!

Answer 7

YES!!! Of course he did. Clapton is one of the greatest white boys to play blues guitar!! You should research blues, you will find it very interesting. Personally, music was better back in that day.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Eric Clapton copied music.....he was not a pioneer in the sense that you mean......he copied his blues from the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and lot's and lot's of R&B and blues pioneers...even Nina Simone......most of his songs are remakes....I consider him the Michael Bolton of blues.......of course Michael Bolton sings a bunch of crap.......but all of his songs have already been make popular by other musicians.......
Eric Clapton has his grass roots in blues. Clapton did not have an influence in blues but definitely brought some really good songs back to life.
Cream was a really good band back in my day.........influential in hard rock......yes, they probably were.........a great band.

Answer 10

I would'nt say he started metal but slow hand as they call him is no dobt one of the major players in rock history.