Few opinions in the guitar world carry as much weight as Eddie Van Halen’s. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential players in rock history, Eddie revolutionized technique, tone, and the very vocabulary of the electric guitar. So when he pointed to someone else as the greatest of all time, the world listened.
And he did, more than once.
Eddie Van Halen’s Pick For The Greatest: Eric Clapton
While Eddie admired countless players, the guitarist he consistently singled out as his number one was Eric Clapton. In interviews going back decades, Eddie repeatedly referred to Clapton as his biggest influence and the musician who shaped his entire approach to the instrument.
Eddie once summed it up with characteristic bluntness:
“Clapton is the best in my book.”
How Clapton Became Eddie’s Blueprint
Long before “Eruption,” the Frankenstrat, and the world-changing finger-tapping revolution, young Eddie Van Halen was locked in his room, needle-dropping Cream records. Not the blues albums, not the later solo work, specifically Cream’s live recordings and the explosive interplay between Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker.
Eddie said he learned every single note of Clapton’s work during that era. Not just solos, whole performances.
- “I could play everything he ever did,” Eddie once said.
- He also admitted that Clapton was the only guitarist he ever genuinely tried to emulate.
That’s extraordinary coming from a player known for sounding like no one else.
Why Clapton Stood Above The Rest
Eddie’s admiration for Clapton came down to a few key qualities:
1. Feel Over Flash
Despite being one of the most technically dazzling players of his time, Eddie insisted that technique meant nothing without emotion. What he heard in Clapton, particularly during the Cream years, was pure fire and melodic storytelling.
2. Raw, Improvised Power
Eddie grew up listening to extended Cream jams where Clapton pushed the boundaries of blues form. That improvisational fearlessness became a core part of Van Halen’s DNA.
3. Tone That Spoke Like a Voice
Eddie famously chased tone his entire life, and Clapton’s thick, vocal-like “woman tone” was an early north star. In some ways, Clapton showed Eddie what was possible.
A Choice That Surprised Some, But Made Perfect Sense
Many guitarists Eddie admired, such as Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, or even his own brother-in-arms Sammy Hagar, were technical monsters. But Clapton had something deeper to Eddie: he was the spark that lit the fuse.
If Eddie Van Halen says someone is the greatest, it speaks less to objective ranking and more to the personal, foundational impact that shaped him as a musician.
The Student Who Became The Master
Ironically, Eddie’s reverence for Clapton only increased as he became a legend himself. Even after creating a whole new guitar vocabulary, he still traced his lineage back to that first love.
He once said:
“People think I grew up on Zeppelin or Sabbath. Nope. I grew up on Cream. Clapton was my guy.”
For a guitarist who changed the world, that’s the clearest admission you could ask for.
In The End: One Master Recognizing Another
So who was the best guitarist of all time, according to Eddie Van Halen?
Eric Clapton, the man who unknowingly set Eddie on the path to becoming a generational innovator himself.
Eddie may have redefined what the electric guitar could do, but in his own eyes, Clapton remained the unreachable summit, the one he called:
“The best in my book.”
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