The Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty recently appeared as a guest on Rock History Music hosted by John Beaudin and revealed that Eric Clapton is no longer in his circle.
When Beaudin asked how he would describe Clapton, the musician said:
“Well, he’s not really in my life. He was. He transited my life at one point, and we had some fun, and we had some laughs, and we played together and traveled together and stuff, but then he sort of disappeared. He’s not someone I could pick the phone up and say, ‘How are you?'”
McCarty’s Last Interaction With Clapton
The host then wanted to learn about the last time he spoke to the guitarist, to which McCarty replied:
“It must be years, years ago. Probably 40 years ago.”
In a 2018 conversation with the Arizona Republic, the drummer gave a more detailed perspective on his relationship with Eric by explaining:
“He [Clapton] was a very dedicated player, always very enthusiastic about playing blues. He was very keen about how he looked, very fashion-conscious. When I first met him, I thought he was a bit — you know, he was quite keen on himself, so to speak. But I got to like him, and we had a good relationship — a jokey, fun relationship, in a way. But he’s the sort of person that would be very intense as a friend for a while, and then he’d move on, and you wouldn’t see him.”
Reasons Behind Clapton’s Exit From The Yardbirds
Clapton left the Yardbirds in 1965 after being a member for two years because he was unhappy with their shift from blues rock to pop music. Reflecting on the reasons behind his departure, McCarty noted in a February 2023 interview with Goldmine Mag:
“Eric had issues with some of the other guys in the band, and to be honest, it became obvious that he wasn’t a team player. As we all know, Eric was much more of a solo player. And though he did go into other bands before he went solo, we really needed a hit record, and Eric wasn’t interested in that direction.”
The drummer also said back in March 2023 that he hadn’t been in contact with Eric for a while. He explained that Clapton often cuts ties and moves on when he leaves a band, not staying in touch with former bandmates. McCarty described this as a typical behavior for Clapton, who tends to focus completely on his new projects.
You can watch the rest of the conversation below.
