Just posted a joke about the Mars Rover Opportunity dying and now Alexa is not speaking to me.


Since you asked:


One of my favorite Eric Clapton stories is with Aretha Franklin.

Clapton was a naturally shy and modest guy. Plus he thought that he was nothing on the guitar compared to his idols Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy. And also his good friend, Jimi Hendrix. 

So because Clapton did not encourage the myth surrounding him, when that happens, the myth grows exponentially. “Clapton is God” appeared as graffiti all over London and then the US. Clapton could not have hated that more.

But one area where Clapton was not shy was with clothes. He always had a huge eye for fashion. And in 1967, that meant wild clothes. Purple pants. Bell Bottoms. High heel boots. Floppy hats with huge plumage. 

Clapton was recording in New York when his manager said, “How would you like to record with Aretha Franklin?” Clapton was a huge fan and jumped at the chance.

Aretha’s father was one of the top ministers in the country. And Aretha’s singers and band members were the top gospel musicians. And, since they were all from the church, they were conservative as all hell. 

Clapton walks into the studio dressed like a white Jimi Hendrix - which was exactly the look he was going for down to the first perm-'fro in London - and Aretha and her band just start laughing. He literally looked like a clown to them. 

Then Aretha asked to hear this clown play. After one minute, Aretha turned to her lead guitarist, I forget who he was, but he was great, and said, 


“You’re sitting this one out. The funky white boy is going to play on this song.”