Eric Clapton criticizes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Eric Clapton He is the only musician to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: for his solo career and then as a member of Yardbirds And Cream. Despite these expressions of esteem, the English guitarist in a recent interview with the YouTube channel The Real Music Observer did not fail to express some criticism towards that institution.

The 79-year-old Clapton reflected on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame explaining: “I think of this club as a fraternity that lured me in.

I think the fact that Ahmet Ertegun (former president of Atlantic Records and then president of the Hall of Fame, ed.) was there was a guarantee for me. He had done it for people like Ruth Brown and the Drifters, all those early Atlantic artists who were being forgotten. And then, it started to grow out of proportion.”

Clapton’s first doubts about the validity of the institution came when Rolling Stone magazine got involved, whose founder, JanWenneralso helped found the Hall of Fame. However, the involvement of his friend in that operation Robbie Robertson convinced him to give the institution a chance. Eric did not fail to admit during the chat that he had a lot of fun at the reunion with the Cream during the 1993 induction ceremony, however, the fact that musicians such as, for example, were never taken into consideration JJ Caleis incomprehensible to him. “The fact that someone like JJ has never even been proposed is either proof of what that thing is, or proof of what it isn’t. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever be proposed. It’s not their stuff. I don’t know what their stuff is. But it’s too anonymous for those guys.”

Clapton was asked what he thought about the Hall of Fame not featuring the former singer of Free and of the Bad Company Paul Rodgers, ‘Slowhand’ He responded bluntly: “He’s a rebel. That’s no place for rebels. That’s establishment stuff.”