10 Greatest Blues Rock Guitarists

As the 60's got underway, the British rock scene was taking inspiration from American blues traditions and turning it into the British Invasion. While bands like the Rolling Stones and the Animals had that dark bluesy feel to their music, every musician about England was talking about one guitarist: Eric Clapton.

Of all the musicians from the British Invasion, Clapton was the biggest blues aficionado, with a deep background of everyone from Howlin Wolf to Muddy Waters. With the power trio Cream, Clapton knocked out some of the most mind-boggling blues rock that had ever been committed to tape. Through the aesthetic of pop and psychedelia, Clapton took his smooth blues tone to the rock masses.

After the trio's demise, Clapton found even more ways to improve his guitar skills. Clapton settled into other acts like Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominoes, where he continued to flex his artistic muscles with some of rock's greatest contemporaries like Duane Allman and Steve Winwood. As he moved onto his solo career, Clapton changed up his playing style to a more emotional clean tone that would move any guitarist to tears.

With 50 years of professional development, Eric Clapton has turned into the very definition of a guitar god.