Since the late '60s, however, that purism has been balanced by a trendsetting savvy: With Cream, Clapton drafted the blueprints for psych rock and heavy metal as a solo artist in the ‘70s, he imported reggae into the mainstream by covering Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” and shaped the arena-rock canon with his tough-as-nails take on JJ Cale’s “Cocaine.” But while several of his biggest hits have been reinterpretations, Clapton has channeled his own struggles into unforgettable moments of emotional bloodletting. Never one for the outsized theatrics of peers like Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, Clapton favored a more graceful style that mainlined the pain and longing at the heart of the blues. After all, this was a guy who left British Invasion trailblazers The Yardbirds in 1965 because he felt they were becoming too commercial.

In the mid-60s, the words “Clapton is God” became a familiar spray-painted sight around London, but throughout his career, the artist born Eric Patrick Clapton in 1945 has carried himself with the humility of a mere mortal.

Top ten best eric clapton songs