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Six-String Stories
‘These guitars have been really good tools; they’re not just museum pieces. They all have a soul and they all come alive.’ – Eric Clapton ‘In his own words, Clapton tells his story through the history of his instruments.’ – Rolling Stone In Six-String Stories Eric Clapton reflects on a legendary career as told through the tools of his his guitars. Collected together here for the first time are the instruments Clapton sold in three record-breaking auctions between 1999 and 2011 to benefit the Crossroads treatment centre he founded in 1998. Featuring some of the most famous guitars ever played, Clapton guides the reader through nearly 300 instruments as he discusses their provenance, reveals insights about his own playing, and shares anecdotes from each chapter of his spectacular life in music. ‘One by one these guitars were the chapters of my life. They belong to a very well-loved family.’ – Eric Clapton Six-String Stories presents a ‘family tree’ that makes connections between iconic instruments, such as Clapton’s famous ‘Blackie’ Stratocaster, and previously unknown rarities, placing them in the chronology of his career. Clapton recalls the instruments he bought to emulate his heroes, the guitars with unknown origins that became their own legend, the ones that never left his side, and the legacy they left behind. Every piece has been individually photographed, revealing every curve, detail and scratch, while the work of over 80 of the world’s best rock photographers shows the instruments in play. See Clapton’s evolution from the psychedelic Sixties, through the stripped-back Seventies, electric Eighties, and unplugged Nineties, right up to the sale of the last guitar. ‘As an avid rock or blues fan, I would look at all the pictures in this book.’ – Eric Clapton Historical and technical information for each piece in the collection – including playlists and concert dates for those instruments used on records and at public appearances – completes the story behind each guitar. ‘The guitars are things of great beauty.’ – Eric Clapton
- GenresBiography
376 pages, Hardcover
Published November 30, 2021
23 people want to read
About the author
Eric Clapton
249 books140 followersEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is one of the most successful musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, garnering an unprecedented three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (The Yardbirds, Cream, and solo). Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Although Clapton's musical style has varied throughout his career, it has always remained rooted in the blues. Clapton is credited as an innovator in several phases of his career, which have included blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds) and psychedelic rock (with Cream). Clapton has also achieved great chart success in genres ranging from Delta blues (Me and Mr. Johnson) to pop ("Change the World") and reggae (Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"). Clapton also achieved fame with Derek and the Dominos through the hit song "Layla".
Although Clapton's musical style has varied throughout his career, it has always remained rooted in the blues. Clapton is credited as an innovator in several phases of his career, which have included blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds) and psychedelic rock (with Cream). Clapton has also achieved great chart success in genres ranging from Delta blues (Me and Mr. Johnson) to pop ("Change the World") and reggae (Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"). Clapton also achieved fame with Derek and the Dominos through the hit song "Layla".
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 31, 2021
Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney are my all-time favorites, sorta 1a and 1b on my list of favorite musicians. Still, I thought, "Why would I want a book about guitars? How many could Eric have owned? We all know The Fool, Brownie, Blackie, the Unplugged Martin and his recent colorful Strat, but how many more could he have? A few dozen? Is it really work a big book?" So I didn't buy it, but I received some Amazon gift cards for Christmas and decided to use them to get something I wouldn't normally spend my own money on - this book!
What a revelation this book proved to be! I couldn't put it down. Eric, while never a "collector" like Joe Bonamassa, during his travels over the decades, Clapton would wonder into a vintage music store and if something had great sound and feel, he'd buy it. Then, of course, as he became the spokesman for the blues, every manufacturer would give him their guitars with the hopes that he'd bring one on stage, bringing notoriety to the manufacturer, so he amassed quite a collection of vintage acoustic and electric guitars as well as new oddball guitars from the 1980s on up to the present - literally hundreds of them.
And the information and detail about each one and the history of the model is an education for anyone who loves the guitar or music in general - you don't even have to be a Clapton fan to learn a lot from this book.
And Clapton talks about many of these guitars as well, giving great anecdotes about his favorites.
Having seen Blackie on stage in 1985 and up close at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Play It Loud" exhibit, it was still great to see all the photos and foldout large images of the front and back of Slowhand's all-time favorite guitar.
Lastly, it's a manageable size. If you read my review of the last book I read, Beatles "Get Back," you'll note that I mentioned it's tough to read because it's so large. Six-String Stories is about an inch shorter and two inches narrower - so it's 4 inches narrower when you open it - and much easier to handle while you read it.
Get this book, again, whether you're a fan or not, because it's great!
What a revelation this book proved to be! I couldn't put it down. Eric, while never a "collector" like Joe Bonamassa, during his travels over the decades, Clapton would wonder into a vintage music store and if something had great sound and feel, he'd buy it. Then, of course, as he became the spokesman for the blues, every manufacturer would give him their guitars with the hopes that he'd bring one on stage, bringing notoriety to the manufacturer, so he amassed quite a collection of vintage acoustic and electric guitars as well as new oddball guitars from the 1980s on up to the present - literally hundreds of them.
And the information and detail about each one and the history of the model is an education for anyone who loves the guitar or music in general - you don't even have to be a Clapton fan to learn a lot from this book.
And Clapton talks about many of these guitars as well, giving great anecdotes about his favorites.
Having seen Blackie on stage in 1985 and up close at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Play It Loud" exhibit, it was still great to see all the photos and foldout large images of the front and back of Slowhand's all-time favorite guitar.
Lastly, it's a manageable size. If you read my review of the last book I read, Beatles "Get Back," you'll note that I mentioned it's tough to read because it's so large. Six-String Stories is about an inch shorter and two inches narrower - so it's 4 inches narrower when you open it - and much easier to handle while you read it.
Get this book, again, whether you're a fan or not, because it's great!
January 8, 2022
Book Review
Six String Stories by Eric Clapton
If you ever wanted a coffee table book about the hundreds of guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals, and associated equipment that guitar hero Eric Clapton has played throughout his six-decade career, then Six String Stories is the book that you have been waiting for.
Here we have, direct from Eric Clapton himself the stories of his most important guitars, and how they were used on albums, live in the studio, and what they meant to him. We have the stories of his first guitars, the Hoya and the Kay that he used in his first band, The Roosters, the guitars he played during his time in The Yardbirds, Blind Faith, and throughout his storied career.
We see the guitars that featured on only one tour, and the stories behind Blackie and Brownie, two of the most well-known guitars in his armoury. Blackie was constructed by Clapton himself out of the best bits of three Stratocasters he bought cheaply in the 1970s, when on tour in Nashville. The guitar became his number one choice for stage and studio work, clocking up many hours and notes in service of its master, before being sold at auction for nearly a million pounds, raising funds for Clapton’s Crossroads Foundation.
We also hear about the acoustics that powered his critically acclaimed and best selling Unplugged album, as well as all of the amplifiers and effects that powered his sounds in Cream, and later on through the more laid back sounds of Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends into his solo career.
Although primarily best known as a string bending master of face-melting blues solos, Clapton’s aural hinterland has also seen him collaborate on film soundtracks, such as Rush, the Lethal Weapon Series and The Van, as well as working alongside any number of names, from Dire Straits, Phil Collins and Roger Waters as well as the stories of these efforts, we also hear about them.
Throughout the book, we see many high-quality photos of the guitars, being used in concert, or as the subjects of still life photographs. The book is nothing short of a well-written love letter to the guitar, and what they have meant in the life of one of the world’s best known, and most acclaimed players of the instruments, who set trends and explored new sound-worlds in the 1960s, appeared on record with the Beatles, and on-stage with the Rolling Stones and who’s work with Cream still stands up as some of the fieriest, idiosyncratic and virtuosic guitar playing committed to tape, and still studied by student players and fans years after it was first created.
Six String Stories by Eric Clapton
If you ever wanted a coffee table book about the hundreds of guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals, and associated equipment that guitar hero Eric Clapton has played throughout his six-decade career, then Six String Stories is the book that you have been waiting for.
Here we have, direct from Eric Clapton himself the stories of his most important guitars, and how they were used on albums, live in the studio, and what they meant to him. We have the stories of his first guitars, the Hoya and the Kay that he used in his first band, The Roosters, the guitars he played during his time in The Yardbirds, Blind Faith, and throughout his storied career.
We see the guitars that featured on only one tour, and the stories behind Blackie and Brownie, two of the most well-known guitars in his armoury. Blackie was constructed by Clapton himself out of the best bits of three Stratocasters he bought cheaply in the 1970s, when on tour in Nashville. The guitar became his number one choice for stage and studio work, clocking up many hours and notes in service of its master, before being sold at auction for nearly a million pounds, raising funds for Clapton’s Crossroads Foundation.
We also hear about the acoustics that powered his critically acclaimed and best selling Unplugged album, as well as all of the amplifiers and effects that powered his sounds in Cream, and later on through the more laid back sounds of Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends into his solo career.
Although primarily best known as a string bending master of face-melting blues solos, Clapton’s aural hinterland has also seen him collaborate on film soundtracks, such as Rush, the Lethal Weapon Series and The Van, as well as working alongside any number of names, from Dire Straits, Phil Collins and Roger Waters as well as the stories of these efforts, we also hear about them.
Throughout the book, we see many high-quality photos of the guitars, being used in concert, or as the subjects of still life photographs. The book is nothing short of a well-written love letter to the guitar, and what they have meant in the life of one of the world’s best known, and most acclaimed players of the instruments, who set trends and explored new sound-worlds in the 1960s, appeared on record with the Beatles, and on-stage with the Rolling Stones and who’s work with Cream still stands up as some of the fieriest, idiosyncratic and virtuosic guitar playing committed to tape, and still studied by student players and fans years after it was first created.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews