The phrase “Clapton is God” has become one of the most iconic and mythic pieces of rock history. It appeared as graffiti on a London wall in the 1960s, proclaiming the young Eric Clapton a divine figure in the world of guitar. At the time, Clapton was barely 20 years old, and while the label might have been a heavy mantle for anyone that age, he admits today that a part of him felt it was justified.
Clapton’s path to guitar hero status was already in motion by the time the graffiti emerged. He had first made a name for himself with the Yardbirds, a group that was gaining commercial traction. However, in early 1965, Clapton left the band, frustrated by what he saw as the pop sensibilities of their hit single For Your Love. His artistic vision demanded more authenticity, something he found later that year when he joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. With Mayall’s band, Clapton honed the powerful, emotive blues style that would define his career, taking cues from American blues legends like Buddy Guy, Freddie King, and Otis Rush. It was during this period that his searing solos and expressive tone began drawing serious attention—enough, evidently, to inspire someone to paint his name on a wall with divine reverence.
Over the years, Clapton has offered different takes on how he felt about being deified at such a young age. In a 2016 interview with Louder, he downplayed the moment, describing the attention as puzzling and burdensome. He recalled feeling isolated by the seriousness he brought to his craft, while others in the industry seemed motivated by fame or frivolity. To him, the “Clapton is God” label became more of a “cross to bear” than a title to boast about.
However, in a 1994 conversation with Guitar World, Clapton offered a different perspective. At that time, he confessed that he actually felt the praise was deserved, considering the level of intensity and dedication he brought to his music. Laughing, he said, “I thought it [the graffiti] was quite justified, to be honest with you… I suppose I felt that I deserved it for the amount of seriousness that I’d put into it.” He went on to describe how deeply committed he was to the blues, even feeling he was on a mission to share its truth with the world. “I was in it to save the fucking world!” he said. “Even then I thought that I was on some kind of mission, so in a way I thought, ‘Yes, I am God; quite right.’”
With the benefit of hindsight, Clapton has admitted that his youthful sense of superiority came with a large ego. Decades after the graffiti appeared, he looked back on that version of himself with some humility. Speaking again to Guitar World, he acknowledged, “My head was huge! I was unbearably arrogant and not a fun person to be around most of the time, because I was just so superior and very judgmental.”
As time passed, Clapton even came to question whether the graffiti was truly the work of an awestruck fan. In his 2016 Louder interview, he speculated that it may have been a publicity stunt rather than an organic outpouring of admiration. He recalled a man named Hamish Grimes, who worked with Yardbirds manager Giorgio Gomelsky, as someone tasked with hyping up crowds before performances at venues like the Crawdaddy Club. Clapton suspected Grimes might have been the one who painted the phrase on the wall, possibly with the intention of drumming up excitement. “I’ve always suspected that he was the one who went out there with a pot of paint and a brush and painted that on the wall,” Clapton said. “I really doubt that it was a genuine fan.”
Whether born of genuine adoration or savvy marketing, the “Clapton is God” graffiti helped define the early myth of a guitarist who would go on to become one of the most respected and influential musicians of the 20th century. Even as he distances himself from that divine label, Clapton’s legacy as a pioneer of modern guitar remains firmly etched in history.
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