Eric Clapton said today that he is going to tour until he’s
70 and then stop. That is remarkable in
so many ways, it shows that the road can call you for oh so long and then one
day it just stops and you want to find peace and tranquility. Something tells me though that the road will
still call him even with his best intentions maybe not so far like Europe or
Asia but maybe New York and California?
Once you are a journeyman you are always a journeyman. It’s
kind of like an itch you can’t stop scratching I would imagine. You might really want to chuck it all and
become an organic farmer but in the end perhaps there are some that are meant
to be 9 to 5ers and some that are meant to be dreamers.
Clapton also personifies the man who has found his genre,
the blues has allowed him to keep his career thriving and moving upward as the
blues are so conducive to a beautiful aging voice. It is far more forgiving than say Bon Jovi
singing Living on a Prayer (and I love Bon Jovi by the way). The older a voice gets the sexier it makes
the blues. Listen to Buddy Guy or John
Lee Hooker or Albert King. As they got
older their voices aged and their guitar playing just got better and better, a great
combination.
I’ve shared Layla which is my favorite Clapton song; I just
love the slower bluesy version of it. I
hope he keeps singing it well into his 80’s and 90’s and I hope someday to be
traveling somewhere and see him sing it live as I like to think I have a bit
of a journey woman in me too.