Bon idea Publishing

Enthusiasm and passion rule the heart of young musicians. The life force running through the veins of these budding artist seem unstoppable. We have to consider that many of our most celebrated artists, who carried within a burning flame, managed somehow by their sheer daring persistence, to break free from the traditional matrix imposed by the caution and unadventurous businessmen who thought hard that music and performers should sound and look the same.  These faceless corporations are killing the rock music now. Hence, enter the hungry musicians who wanted to experiment, innovate by fusing different genres and saw the electric guitar as the ideal instrument to express raw emotions and feelings. The youth in the fifties and sixties were indeed restless with a rebellious spirit and willing to take risks as opposed to the businessmen always cautious to invest in new artistic endeavours. A subculture arisen in the UK where three extraordinary guitarists were about to change the rules of the game. First Jimi Hendrix came blowing all hopes for new guitarists.  Then the blues gave a carte blanche to the new breed of UK based guitarists to have a go at emulating the American music. 

The Beatles were the first at experimenting new sounds, but they stopped playing live. The Stones formed early on bringing unapologetically rock and roll. The Yardbirds followed suit by being inspired by the blues and hired a young 17 years old Eric Clapton obsessed by the blues, trying to emulate his blues heroes but was mostly held down, limited as a lead guitarist. There was no opportunity in this group to do an improvised solo.  After two years playing there, he had enough as he wanted more freedom as an artist to express himself. You can say that he had in him more artistic abilities than his peers. From his latest homage to John Mayall, it seems after leaving the Yardbirds, he found himself dishearten by the music scene and wanted to quit altogether at the age of 18. I think personally this state of mind was born out of his utter frustration for not being able to play at the next level and express in full colour, his passion for the blues. This artist has been hindered in his track and barred to reach his full potential. Subsequently, he acknowledged the fact that Mayall by recruiting him save his life by allowing him to express himself with his instrument. There was no turning back for Clapton to become one heck of an extraordinary guitarist. Similarly, when Jeff Beck joined the Yardbirds, he was too independent to fully commit himself to this group. He tried to have his mate Jimmy Page playing there too.  They were basically skilled lead guitarists with potential; they needed a group to support them instead of the other way around. They were serious about music. There is nothing they could not do once they set their mind to it. The three of them were independent strong-minded individuals with a vision, willing to learn and work. Without this burning passion and commitment to honour their craft, they would have resigned to be a mere guitarist in a group.  Clapton wanted to quit after the Yardbirds, then years later, in the seventies, he quitted another time because of heroin addiction. Page after Led Zeppelin never tried to reform or recreate another band. Drugs got in the way of these brilliant guitarists decreasing their creativity and force.  Beck unfortunately passed away 2 years ago. Page rarely performs. Clapton is the only artist still actively performing live and touring at his own pace now.  

There is no doubt these guitarists were genius by innovating and pushing against the grains. Youth were on their side. Drugs not so much. They wouldn’t be legends if they stayed home watching Netflix and challenged their peers. I think the trouble life they endured was caused by working with people throwing at them, ‘can’t do’, ‘cannot be done’, ‘won’t work’, etc.  They overcame challenges because they felt compelled to do justice to music. I know Clapton feels responsible having this gift to bring it to people as long as he can. What a gift it is. Their passion became our passion. I am sure, first these young men wanted to pull girls but soon realised that, actually music was their purpose in life to bring something special to others during their lifetime. So, we are likewise responsible to use our gift to help others and create a more interesting and happier place for all.