Eric Clapton has paid an emotional tribute to his former Bluesbreaker bandmate John Mayall, who . Mayall and Clapton formed one of the most potent and influential forces in British blues during the ’60s, when the two teamed up under Mayall’s burgeoning Bluesbreakers collective. After starting the group in 1963, Mayall recruited Clapton – who, at the time, had just left the Yardbirds, and was on the verge of quitting music altogether – a few years later, and the pair went on to record 1966’s (aka ).
The record is considered a classic, and helped to establish a young, disillusioned Clapton as a blues force to be reckoned with, and earmarked Slowhand as an up-and-coming guitar player destined for greatness. The Bluesbreakers platform helped reinvigorate and catapult Clapton’s career following his Yardbirds departure, so it’s no exaggeration to say Mayall proved to be one of the most influential people in Slowhand’s life. Such sentiments are reflected in Clapton’s video tribute, in which he thanked his “mentor” for “rescuing me from oblivion” at a time when he was close to quitting his guitar career.
“I want to say a few words about my friend John,” Clapton begins. “I want to say thank you, chiefly for rescuing me from oblivion and God knows what when I was a young man around the age of 18, 19 when I decided that I was going to quit music.” “He found me and took me into his home and asked me to join his band,” he continues, “and I stayed wi.