CLASSIC CORNER COVER : BACKTRACK STORY
“ Layla ” was a stiff .
Clapton was not God , certainly not in today ’ s way , everybody did not know his name , he was not all over the papers , he was not Drake and he was not Taylor Swift , he was just a guitarist in bands who those paying attention knew of and were blown away by .
“ Sgt . Pepper ” might have caused the shift to albums , but it took years for radio to catch on outside the metropolis . There was underground FM in San Francisco and New York , but unlike today ’ s wired world , where they ’ ve got wi-fi in Dubuque , never mind cable , used to be if you didn ’ t live near the signal of the big city , which was approximately fifty miles , you were out of the loop .
But if you did ... It was a cornucopia of greatness , a veritable smorgasbord of experimentation . The Bluesbreakers broke on college campuses , but Cream was embraced by these new FM outlets and eventually “ Sunshine Of Your Love ” crossed over to AM radio and became a ubiquitous hit but you only knew who Eric Clapton was if you were paying attention .
And most people were not .
Most people were listening to AM . But things were changing .
A gold album was five hundred thousand dollars in sales ! The shift hadn ’ t been made to units . There was something happening here , but it wasn ’ t exactly clear , we were moving toward it .
Oh , I ’ m overstating the case a bit . Albums were moving , but usually only their frontmen were famous . Only a sliver knew who Jeff Beck was . As for Jimi Hendrix , he had no airplay whatsoever on AM radio . So music was a cult ,
“ Anyday ” by Derek and the Dominoes
MARCH / APRIL DIGITAL EDITION GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER 23