IT'S TRUE!

Eric Clapton received an acoustic Hoyer guitar, made in Germany, for his thirteenth birthday, but the inexpensive steel-stringed instrument was difficult to play and he briefly lost interest. Two years later, Clapton picked it up again and started playing consistently. Influenced by blues from an early age, he practised long hours to learn the chords by playing along to the records. He preserved his practice sessions using a portable reel-to-reel tape recorder, listening to them over and over until he felt he'd got it right. He eventually went on to become one of the most influential guitar players of all time, being the only musician to be inducted in the Rock 'n' Roll hall of Fame thrice – as a solo artiste, and with bands The Yardbirds and Cream.