I just read through an amazing article about the astonishing life of Patty Boyd, the gorgeous model who married George Harrison, but left him years later for the greatest guitar player of all time, Eric Clapton. Patty Boyd was the inspiration for both George Harrison's greatest hit, Something, and Eric Clapton's Layla.
Clapton apparently fell hard for the wife of his friend Harrison, and fell into heroin abuse and alcoholism for years when she spurned his advances. Finally, Harrison's infidelities (including Ringo's wife Maureen), and Clapton's persistence won Boyd's hand.
That time of trials lead to the greatest guitar duel of all time: Harrison v. Clapton in the kind of heart-rending, inspriational, soul-destroying battle that legends are made of.
One evening the actor John Hurt was with us. Eric was due to come over too and George decided to have it out with him. John wanted to make himself scarce but George insisted he stay.John remembers George coming downstairs with two guitars and two small amplifiers, laying them down in the hall, then pacing restlessly until Eric arrived - full of brandy, as usual.
As Eric walked through the door George handed him a guitar and amp - as an 18th Century gentleman might have handed his rival a sword - and for two hours, without a word, they dueled. The air was electric and the music exciting.
At the end, nothing was said but the general feeling was that Eric had won. He hadn't allowed himself to get riled or to go in for instrumental gymnastics as George had. Even when he was drunk, his guitar-playing was unbeatable.
What expression of power and soul filled the room that night? The world will never know, it wasn't recorded, and only the four of them heard the music first hand.
This is not The Greatest Song in the World, No
This is just a tribute.
Cool article.