History YMMV / EricClapton

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Clapton is best known in recent decades for his unplugged solo material, his blues revival efforts, and his lighter pop hits, but back in TheSixties he was a certified rock god who essentially defined the role of lead guitarist. His work with Cream and John Mayall may not sound as innovative today, especially since it was almost immediately followed by the even more revolutionary work of Music/JimiHendrix (who was a great admirer of Clapton), but rock audiences had never heard anything like it in 1966.
** In fact, Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses", which wound up on the B-side of "Strange Brew" in the spring of 1967, was the first record to utilize a wah pedal, beating Hendrix' "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" by several months.

* FaceOfTheBand: Much as he tried to avoid this, Music/DerekAndTheDominos is best known for Eric Clapton. On the other hand, while Music/{{Cream}} is best remembered as one of Clapton's bands, back in TheSixties all three members got equal attention. Bassist Jack Bruce [[LeadBassist was even the front-man]].
** Music/DerekAndTheDominos was in fact an attempt to avert this. When the song "Layla" appeared on the compilation album ''The History Of Eric Clapton'', sales shot up for the band's ''Music/LaylaAndOtherAssortedLoveSongs''...all because people realized Clapton played on the record.
* GenreTurningPoint: Clapton's one album and subsequent live performances with John Mayall's Blues Breakers, particularly their cover of Freddie King's "Hide Away". There had been great rock guitarists before (e.g., Music/ChuckBerry and Music/LinkWray), but Clapton took the role to new levels, effectively creating the role of guitar hero.

* OvershadowedByControversy: As Clapton becomes older and his hit-making years are further behind him, many younger people are far more likely to associate him with his multiple charged and controversial statements than anything to do with his music. The first incident of note was him going on stage, dead drunk in 1976, and stumbling into an anti-immigration, anti-black rant including such choice sayings as "Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" and extolling the rightwing British politician Enoch Powell. Clapton has tried to explain it in the past as drunken trolling aimed at hecklers, but mostly him, his fans, and his numerous multi-ethnic collaborators all just pretend it never happened (although he continued to speak positively of Powell well into the 2000s). While it didn't waver his reputation at the time, it came back to the limelight after his anti-vaccination, anti-quarantine statements in the midst of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. This soon extended to him giving support of musicians who publicly express similar sentiments, as well as refusing to play in any venue that requires proof of vaccination. This bouts of racism and anti-vax sentiment have gone to make those aspects his defining feature to many, despite his immense influence and the prolific nature of his work.

** Most people know "I Shot The Sheriff" was originally a Music/BobMarley song, but Clapton's version is still heard more often.

* OvershadowedByControversy: As Clapton becomes older and his hit-making years are further behind him, many younger people are far more likely to associate him with his multiple charged and controversial statements than anything to do with his music. The first incident of note was him going on stage, dead drunk in 1976, and stumbling into an anti-immigration, anti-black rant including such choice sayings as "Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!". Clapton has tried to explain it in the past as drunken trolling aimed at hecklers, but mostly him, his fans, and his numerous multi-ethnic collaborators all just pretend it never happened. While it didn't waver his reputation at the time, it came back to the limelight after his anti-vaccination, anti-quarantine statements in the midst of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. This soon extended to him giving support of musicians who publicly express similar sentiments, as well as refusing to play in any venue that requires proof of vaccination. This bouts of racism and anti-vax sentiment have gone to make those aspects his defining feature to many, despite his immense influence and the prolific nature of his work.

* AdaptationDisplacement: Clapton almost exclusively played the UnpluggedVersion of "Layla" in live shows for a time due to the [[EpicRocking extreme difficulty]] of coordinating the song outside the studio. These days, it mostly depends on which sidemen he has. A rare example of an artist displacing their ''own song'', as the acoustic version is the version you are most likely to hear on pop stations these days and it is the version younger listeners are more familiar with, although the electric version still remains a beloved classic as well.

* NeverLiveItDown:
** Going on stage, dead drunk in 1976, and stumbling into an anti-immigration, anti-black rant including such choice sayings as "Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!". Clapton has tried to explain it in the past as drunken trolling aimed at hecklers, but mostly him, his fans, and his numerous multi-ethnic collaborators all just pretend it never happened.
** His anti-vaccination, anti-quarantine statements in the midst of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, as well as his support of musicians who publically express similar sentiments, are well on their way to becoming this as well.

** His anti-vaccination, anti-quarantine statements in the midst of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic are well on their way to becoming this as well.

** In fact, Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses", which wound up on the B-side of "Strange Brew" in the spring of 1967, was the first record to utilize a wah pedal, beating Hendrix' "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" by several months.