"Crossroads" lesson--Andy Aledort

Eric Clapton's playing on Cream's iconic live version of "Crossroads" from the "Wheels of Fire" album has been regarded as one of the greatest blues/rock performances ever; in this video I demonstrate how to play every lick--hope you dig it!--Andy Aledort

[@VileNirus]

I just found your channel as well. I'm a 73 year old, Vietnam Vet, Clapton guy. I like my blues hard, like in 1969 on a gibson.

[@AndyAledort777]

Rt on very glad you dig it!

[@fasteddie8782]

Awesome... This is the f****** version that I always tried to learn, yes sir

[@AndyAledort777]

Rt on Eddie glad you are digging it-this the definitely the one!

[@shawnbryant60]

Thanks again andy! There's something authentic warm about going back to the blues, Im a big fan of yours, keep on keep' n on! Tahuya shawn-

[@pereztube2]

I just found your KZbin channel. When i was a teenager and first picked up guitar your guitar lesson DVDs ( I think they came in guitar world mag) were the fist lessons i ever had on guitar. I learned so much from you. thanks Andy, much love.

[@AndyAledort777]

thanks so much for the kind words and great to hear from you--I will keep the vids comin' so i hope you dig 'em!

[@JaniceLalla]

That was great!

[@Unclemoparman]

Can't get enough of this!

[@AndyAledort777]

Awesome glad you dig it! I should do a few more classic Clapton Cream solos; “Badge” is a good one…

[@johnbatesowen9708]

Wow amazing tone appreciate the lesson something to aim for to try and improve , thanks.

[@AndyAledort777]

Thx glad you dig it John!

[@donvape336]

I wish i could remember all this.

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

Great lesson Andy! Critical piece to learn and you’ve broken it down very well!

[@AndyAledort777]

thx very glad you dig it! Always a challenge and always an inspiring one too!

[@jstrato2034]

WHAT A GREAT TEACHER!! best crossroads lesson don t ever stop....que du bonheur!

[@AndyAledort777]

Thank you J glad you dig it!

[@3rdtonefromthesun]

Just stopping by to say a perpetual thanks for your contributions to guitar transcription over the years also including the late Jesse Gress. The work you both did for the Hendrix Blues tablature book greatly influenced my guitar playing and developed my ear significantly! I’m a bit late to Crossroads (20+ years…) but will be giving this version of the tune some rightful attention. Thanks again!

[@AndyAledort777]

Absolutely & thank you for the kind words! It was always great working w/Jesse; he was a wonderful person and fantastic musician. Very glad the instructional stuff has been helpful to you over the years-there’s tons more on my website so chk it out if you like…all the best!

[@3rdtonefromthesun]

@@AndyAledort777 Thanks for the sincere reply! I will have a look, wishing you all the best! Dave

[@AndyAledort777]

@@3rdtonefromthesunthank you Dave & all the very best to you too!

[@scottcummings8602]

Andy has always been a great teacher, and a class act. Great video Professor Aledort.

[@AndyAledort777]

Thx so much Scott for the very kind words-really glad you dig it! One of the great gtr solos ever…

[@CarlWinter-oy8uf]

wow ---a lesson by the master --Andy Aledort -never thought we would meet again --you taught me so much --thankyou

[@AndyAledort777]

Thanks so much Carl-what do you mean when you say “meet again?” Glad you dig the lesson!

[@Guto-df3hq]

Muito obrigado por compartilhar!

[@olecranonrebellion9976]

Love this version. Seems Clapton played it like this one time only.

[@AndyAledort777]

This is definitely the best version from the many I’ve heard-there are other good ones but this one is magical…

[@Fatstrat1079]

Wow- Excellent lesson. I have been playing the Intro wrong for 40 years! I was basing the lick on the 5th fret. I never expected the basic chords here, but now it makes sense! TY Andy

[@AndyAledort777]

Thanks so much-really glad you dig it!

[@toutou6308]

I am so glad I found this,I have worked out some parts on my own before (yea kinda proud of that haha)but this opened my eyes .Thank you.Time to get it down

[@AndyAledort777]

Rt on glad you are digging it!

[@LP-qi8hs]

Great song, EC is a true blues player. Great performance Andy as always, your are a great player. Thanks for your time.

[@AndyAledort777]

Thanks so much and really glad you dig it!

[@jnagarya519]

But never an innovator. But most important was that he wasn't Black.

[@danadeerwester8294]

Thanks Andy

[@AndyAledort777]

Sure thing glad you dig it

[@seancolligan5726]

So good Bro❤️🤘🔥

[@AndyAledort777]

Thx Sean glad you dig it!

[@hhonez6538]

Thank you Andy. Ditto the last comment. Breaking my ass to do this for forty years.

[@AndyAledort777]

Fantastic really glad you dig it--a must learn solo for the last 54 years!

[@johnnyresistance]

awesome :)

[@AndyAledort777]

thx Richard much appreciated!

[@CarlWinter-oy8uf]

HiAndy. --I was given a dvd and booklet in 2008 taught me how to play country licks by Chet Atkins and others --and many many rhythmic and country lead styles --cover featured a young Jimmy Page and others ---this was my bible ---eventually got stolen --irreplaceable --thankyou for your inspiring booklet and DVD !

[@AndyAledort777]

That’s great & thx Carl-so glad that DVD was helpful to you & sry it was stolen…if you know which one it was perhaps I can find one to send you…

[@Danlord8391]

I've learned more from you, your books an videos then anyone else. An in my opinion understood more about theory an the little nuances that make a players style when you explain it. Don't ask me why, I find you slow down an explain an show the things I'm thinking or need slowed an explained why an why it works. You've cleared up so much theory for me. I think it would only be right to say your a huge influence of mine. An in my opinion you have influenced probably millions of players. I'm a fan of your music to it's great stuff😎 thank you

[@AndyAledort777]

Thx so very much Dan & I am so glad the vids & lessons have been helpful to you over the years…getting a message like this from you means a great deal to me-thank you so much! More videos on the way soon!

[@Danlord8391]

Thank you so much Mr. Alderot for taking the time to write back to my comment. I'm like jumping up an down telling my wife, friend's an bandmates about your message it means so much thank you again for your time. I mean way before this you tube shit. I've still got all your books an videos to this day. I still go back an reference em. I'm a big Iommi fan an those Sabbath ones we're some of my first. An to this day this first page I turn to in my Guitar World are your articles. The wealth of actual useable theory you can apply anywhere is everything in my opinion. Thank you again, I'll save the screen shots of these messages for the rest of my life.

[@AndyAledort777]

@@Danlord8391 thank you Dan & it means a lot to me too-all the very best to you & I hope some of the new(er) videos will be helpful to you too!

[@andrewmather9267]

Man, I love you and want to have your babies. They would have been strong, and fine. If only it wasn't for the fact that I am a heterasexual, cisgender male with no current access to a womb... Been trying to learn this song for ages and just found your walk-through today, which is absolutely the best I've found so far. From your hand positioning in the 2nd solo, you can clearly see why they called EC slowhand, back in those days. If only the cameraman who shot the original footage hadn't been using a potato and out of his face on LSD!

[@AndyAledort777]

Much thx Andy and so glad this video has helped with this classic solo--I still love it as much as I did when I first heard it in '68 and it's always a challenge to play; chk this video if you haven't seen it: facebook.com/622292782/videos/10158282473567783/

[@Guitaroverkill]

You’re the best 👍

[@AndyAledort777]

thx glad you are digging it!

[@Guitaroverkill]

@@AndyAledort777 I learned Babe I’m gonna leave you from your Comcast music channel. Check it out on my channel. I changed the way you played the last chord of the descending riff. I think it’s easier. Thanks

[@AndyAledort777]

@@Guitaroverkill i will check it out--I based my version on the live versions of Jimmy playing it that I could find...

[@steveinmidtown]

cool...still love the Clapton interview where he says how much he hates this version. Still think the coolest lesson out there is your "Swamp Thing" about Hooker...can only find part 1 & hoping someday the Guitar World gods will put out part 2 again.

[@Hackjob-Extraordinaire]

god you always have such killer tone

[@AndyAledort777]

thx so much Carlo really glad you dig it!

[@Hackjob-Extraordinaire]

@@AndyAledort777 Seeing you perform live is at the top of my bucket list, you are one of the guitar greats in my book.

[@AndyAledort777]

@@Hackjob-Extraordinaire Thx Carlo really appreciate the very kind words--come on down to NY and catch a show if you can! All the best!

[@mikemurdoch2891]

Dang it man

[@robertlyon1360]

Hey Andy - Love the detail that you always dig down to. I have a few of your instructional DVD's from back in the day Hendrix Axis Bold As Love and a few more. Crossroads is such an iconic song by Cream (yeah I know they didn't write it but.....) and the solos are so well known that most guitar players can hum them note for note which leads me to my question : "How much of the solos do you reckon Eric C improvised on the spot and how much were memorized phrases"? Cheers Rob from Melbourne Australia

[@AndyAledort777]

hey Rob--thx for the kind words and glad you dig it--Eric's solos are always totally improvised; listen to as many live versions of "Crossroads" as you can and you will see that even though he utilizes stock "themes," the solos are all completely spontaneous, which is why the "Wheels of Fire" "Crossroads" solo is so amazing--it comes from pure musical inspiration and his playing is ridiculous, which is why we are still studying it more than 50 years later!

[@Jack-lg9bu]

You have it note for note and sound great! My only suggestion is to also play it extra slow as part of the instruction (I know that solid help me!).

[@AndyAledort777]

You can use the “gear” on the lower right to slow down the video .75 or .5; I use that all the time when studying gtr videos on YT…

[@nckwlch]

I liked Clapton’s guitar sound in that period too. Red 335 I think. Never sounded better.

[@AndyAledort777]

I’m almost positive he is playing the “Fool” SG on “Crossroads;” it was his main gtr at the time of the performance & he also has a very easy time playing the second solo which is up in 17th position; playing these lines up here on a LP or 335 is much more difficult but is not an issue on the SG…and yes his sound is phenomenal…

[@nckwlch]

Thanks for that - I am guessing ‘the Fool’ SG is the one with the psychedelic floral design? The one he uses in the Farewell film to demonstrate ‘the woman tone’? (And to show how he burns off aggression with with those blues riffs). To check your theory, I picked up my SG and sure enough there are more frets available there than either LP or Strat. The 335 might have even less (my 330 does). I’d love to get that sound but I suspect it is mainly due to high volume amps and natural reverb.

[@petertorro]

Hi Andy very good lesson only could you can do it a bit slower? How do you get that sound, what kind of pickups,amp, values of treble,bass etc?

[@AndyAledort777]

You can easily slow it down by setting the speed of the video to .75 or .5; use the “gear” on the bottom right of the screen…the gtr is a 2006 R8 that the Gibson custom shop made for me, w/BurstBucker pickups; I think the amp is my Bruno Underground 30 but I’m not sure what pedal…I don’t recall the setting of the knobs either but maybe T=4, B=5, Pres=4…

[@Unclemoparman]

❤🎉🎉🎉

[@rgsliwa8298]

The blues lives on inspite of all the junk the music industry purports as music.

[@jamesball5743]

Die boomers

[@dave261055]

Wish my fingers worked like that and my brain wasnt so slow

[@robl6821]

I couldn't have done it better myself, and I don't even know how to play !! Lol.

[@MrFenderbender87]

could you do duke robillard's, gee i wish?

[@AndyAledort777]

I will chk it out John-I love Duke!

[@MrFenderbender87]

@@AndyAledort777 thanks a lot Andy, been following your work for years, what an amazing and humble player you are brother.

[@AndyAledort777]

@@MrFenderbender87 thx so much John & im glad the vids have been helpful to you-Dukes a great player & im sure that’s a cool one; looking forward to checking it out…

[@MrFenderbender87]

@@AndyAledort777 I think your gonna dig it.

[@AndyAledort777]

@@MrFenderbender87 hey John that tune is a amazing--he plays a lot of killer shit! I will have to work on tht sucker before shooting a vid of it so i will keep it in mind...

[@stevewilliamson4635]

You have an unusual tone , sounds kinda like it's double tracked in real time..

[@AndyAledort777]

That’s just a little bit of MXR Carbon Copy delay…

[@stevewilliamson4635]

@@AndyAledort777 At first I thought it was because of playing along with the recording but it stood out even more when you played it Acapella.. I'm going to have to check the carbon copy out...