Eric Clapton shares rare, raw emotional tribute to "mentor and surrogate father" John Mayall

25 July 2024, 13:25

"Thank you for rescuing me from oblivion."

That's exactly how guitar great Eric Clapton saw the role that John Mayall played in his life.

After leaving The Yardbirds in 1965, disillusioned about the creative direction they were heading, Clapton very nearly quit the guitar.

That was until he joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, which effectively helped propel his music career to far greater heights.

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Naturally, after the recent death of Mayall at the age of 90, the music world came out in droves to pay tribute to his impact.

Mayall championed rhythm and blues within the British music scene, effectively starting the wave of British blues bands that dominated the mid-to-late sixties.

Now Eric Clapton, in a rare and emotionally raw tribute, has taken to social media to express the influence that his "mentor and surrogate father" John Mayall had on his life and career.

Clapton was only with the Bluesbreakers for one album - 1966's Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton - before departing to form his own band Cream.

But Mayall took the budding guitar virtuoso under his wing, sharing his extensive record collection with Clapton and encouraging him to pursue the style of music that was meaningful to him.

Taking to social media, Clapton said in a poignant video message: "I want to say thank you chiefly for rescuing me from oblivion, and god knows what.

"I was a young man, around the age of 18 or 19, when I decided I was going to quit music. He found me and took me into his home and asked me to join his band."

"I stayed with him and I learned all that I really have to draw on today in terms of technique and desire to play the kind of music I love to play. I did all my research in his home, in his record collection," he continued.

“I played with his band for a couple of years, with Hughie [Flint, drummer] and John [McVie, bassist who later formed Fleetwood Mac], and it was a fantastic experience."

Visibly distraught in the video, at times Clapton struggles to speak his words loud enough to hear, holding back his tears.

"He taught me that it was okay to just play the music you wanted to play without dressing it up or making anybody else like it. To listen to myself."

“He taught me all I really know, and gave me the courage and enthusiasm to express myself without fear, without limit," Eric added.

"And all I gave him in return was how much fun it was to drink and womanize when he was already a family man. I wish to make amends for that."

"I shall miss him, but I hope to see him on the other side. Thank you John, I love you, I’ll see you soon, but not yet."