"Clapton is God" is a 1960s meme referencing the English guitarist Eric Clapton. The line was popularised after being spray-painted on a wall in London during the mid-1960s, when Clapton was a member of the Yardbirds and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, creating the cult of the guitar hero. [2]
The earliest known use of the phrase appeared in the form of graffiti spray-painted by an unknown admirer on a wall in Islington, London. [3] [4] Commentators traced the year of origin variously to 1965, [4] early 1966, [5] and 1967. [3] Soon after, the proclamation could be seen scrawled at numerous spots around London, [6] such as on club bathroom walls and construction sites. [7] It also appeared around New York. [8] [9] In 2016, Clapton speculated that the original graffiti was painted by Hamish Grimes, a promoter who worked for the Yardbirds' manager. [6]
Clapton was initially humbled by the slogan. [10] Later, he said he had become embarrassed by it, saying in his The South Bank Show profile in 1987, "I never accepted that I was the greatest guitar player in the world. I always wanted to be the greatest guitar player in the world, but that's an ideal, and I accept it as an ideal." [11]
"Clapton is God" is a 1960s meme referencing the English guitarist Eric Clapton. The line was popularised after being spray-painted on a wall in London during the mid-1960s, when Clapton was a member of the Yardbirds and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, creating the cult of the guitar hero. [2]
The earliest known use of the phrase appeared in the form of graffiti spray-painted by an unknown admirer on a wall in Islington, London. [3] [4] Commentators traced the year of origin variously to 1965, [4] early 1966, [5] and 1967. [3] Soon after, the proclamation could be seen scrawled at numerous spots around London, [6] such as on club bathroom walls and construction sites. [7] It also appeared around New York. [8] [9] In 2016, Clapton speculated that the original graffiti was painted by Hamish Grimes, a promoter who worked for the Yardbirds' manager. [6]
Clapton was initially humbled by the slogan. [10] Later, he said he had become embarrassed by it, saying in his The South Bank Show profile in 1987, "I never accepted that I was the greatest guitar player in the world. I always wanted to be the greatest guitar player in the world, but that's an ideal, and I accept it as an ideal." [11]