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Eric Clapton, certified guitar god, says guitar-based music may be over
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Guitars are on display during a press preview for the Guitar auction at the Bohemian National Hall in New York. (Agence France-Presse/Timothy A. Clary)
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ioneering rock guitarist Eric Clapton, who found fame with British psychedelic outfit Cream and later scored multi-platinum hits with his solo outings, has said the era of guitar-based music may be over.
Responding to a question posed by Billboard magazine which noted that guitar sales were down, teens were flocking to electronic dance music (EDM) and music education charities for schools, typically leaned toward brass, woodwinds and strings, Clapton said:
"I’m out of touch. I mean, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know where it’s gonna go either. I think anything that has a natural process will end up where it’s supposed to be. I don’t know. Maybe the guitar is over,” Clapton said.
Calpton was talking at a press conference for his new documentary, Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars, on Monday.
Clapton also said the only reason his children still listened to guitar-based music was that he made them do it.
"My kids listen to classic rock, but that may only be because of me, because that’s what I’ve played to them. I mean, from the time of their conception, they’ve been listening to music through the womb," he said.
In June, the Washington Post reported that sales of guitars were down to 1 million a year from 1.5 million, and that major manufacturers (Gibson and Fender) were having financial difficulties.
