Eric Clapton disliked his 1992 album Unplugged so much that he tried to talk then Warner Brothers president Lenny Waronker out of releasing it. But more than 40 years later, Slowhand admits that the record changed the world’s perception of him.
Unplugged was recorded live in England as part of the MTV music series of the same name, which spawned a number of similar releases. The Clapton record — which features pared-down versions of “Layla,” “Tears in Heaven,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” and more — won three Grammys and became the best-selling live album of all time.
Clapton recalled his backstage negotiations in a recent interview with Guitar Center.
“I didn’t want it out,” he admits. “There’s a $100 bill on the wall of Lenny Waronker’s office that he won from me, because I said, ‘I bet you $100 it won’t even go into the top 50.’
“I wanted to do a deal with them, to put it out as a limited edition — just 500 copies or something. I just didn’t want to hear it anymore… I had a real aversion to it for a long time.”
Its success made him think again.
“I found out over the next 20 years or so that the Clapton on that album is the one people know. Because a lot of what I was doing before Unplugged was either too far one way or too underground or too poppy,” he says. “And I thought, ‘Well, I have to listen to this again.
“So, yeah, I have to acknowledge it — but I still have a funny thing about it. It’s just a little bit polite or something to me.”
One thing he doesn’t regret his his use of Martin guitars during the MTV filming session, which proved a godsend for both player and manufacturer. Chris Martin IV, the executive chairman of C.F. Martin & Company, once said the the album “saved the Martin guitar” brand while renewing interest in 000-style instruments.
“When I was a kid I saw a Martin dreadnought,” Clapton said of a memorable day in London. “There was a crowd gathered round this guitar case, and they opened the lid, and there was a dreadnought in there. I thought, Wow! One one day I’m going to have one of those. That’s the most beautiful shape. Picasso could have done that!”
His relationship with Martin continues with the recent release of his Crossroads 2026 range,
