Eric Clapton Inducts The Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994

Eric Clapton inducts the Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
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[@SilentKnight43]

When a legendary guitar god says how badly he wanted to be in The Band - well, that's perhaps the greatest accolade anyone could say. Great speech by Clapton. RIP Robbie Robertson - passed away yesterday at 80. Canadian legend and icon.

[@DH-ij9pe]

What a speech. Tells you everything you need to know about how talented and amazing this band was.

[@Pitsku]

What a wonderful speech by Clapton. Integrity indeed. Nice one, Eric.

[@peggymurphy6747]

So humbly said. Amazing story. Watching Eric Clapton play with Robbie Robertson in the Last Waltz is absolutely stunning. You can see how they both LOVE what each other is doing and love playing together.

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

Totally genuine, sincere and heartfelt tribute to The Band from Eric.

[@bcask61]

Great tribute by EC. Incredibly honest and sincere. He’s a good bloke.

[@AdvenuringTime]

@@TheRevolverDen The coda section was written by Rita and Jim while they dated as 'Time' before she gave it to her sister. Its possible Clapton didn't know Jim had stolen it at the time of recording. However this doesn't change the fact that he almost certainty knows of the songs origin now and management hasn't credited Rita in rereleases.

[@Robin-Cale17]

​@@TheRevolverDenEric Clapton talked about the Layla coda with Uncut magazine in October 2006: “The piano part was a pure accident. It came from Jim Gordon, the Dominos’ drummer. When the band left the studio, it turned out that, unknown to us, Jim would sneak back in and use the time to make his own record. Basically, he was poaching. One night I went back to the studio to collect something and I caught him, playing that piano riff. I think the deal we offered him was that we’d let him carry on using our studio time to make his record if we could have that tune for the LP. I don’t think he ever did finish his album, but the piano theme fitted what we were doing perfectly and now the song just doesn’t sound right without it.” Getting Jim Gordon’s side of the story is difficult. He murdered his mother in 1983 and is serving time in a California prison. He suffers from Schizophrenia and still thinks his mother is alive.

[@fattygonzolas]

What a classy job Eric Clapton has done in this speech. Interesting and sweet.

[@Nazzz65]

What a gentleman. Eric is so modest and so self-effacing.

[@toddsalvati5694]

Jesus Christ, no shit, talk about humility, a great musician humbled by other great musicians. The respect they all had for each other back in the 60's and 70's, to be asked to play together.

[@waynej2608]

Eric's a class act.

[@pkoven]

i think it's the sign of a self-actualized person.

[@korail4]

"I wanted to be in the band" It's so amazing. What a great man, and what a great band.

[@hdrk59]

Wow No words..RIP Robbie .

[@DonVal86]

Clapton is quite an articulate man.

[@Humblemumble7]

He's British

[@Mysterywhiteboy78]

@@Humblemumble7 LOL.

[@MrCarlopstar]

Beautiful , sincere speech

[@pts5217]

I love how Clapton is literally called a god, yet he is so humble. It’s hilarious how he couldn’t build up the nerve to ask if he could join the group. That would’ve been interesting, but probably wouldn’t have worked out.

[@hannelehiidenkari1129]

What a wonderful man with a talent he has given so much joy to all of us.Thank you Eric.

[@chriswinter8255]

Humble? I think he's self-righteous and self-absorbed. Notice how every story he tells is mostly about himself, even when it's supposed to be about someone else. Sure, he's a terrific guitar player, singer, songwriter, all of that. But it's always about him whenever he speaks. Can't stand listening to his self-absorbed bullshit anymore. Shut up E.C., your time was over a long time ago.

[@davidrice3337]

He almost joined the Beatles ! And he actually came close to joining the Rolling Stones - Ole Mick knew Eric would cock block him every chance he got cause that's what Mick does - I bet Mick was like - " hell no - he's too damn good lookin !

[@pattyajones]

He is not now, nor has EVER been humble. The "Band" knew he would have ruined it for them. Not that I don't love his music, but he was then and is STILL an egotistical ass.

[@benmacdui9328]

"Literally" is literally the most over used word.

[@Free1108]

I remember this time, my favorite band ever that I saw in concert, was by far...The Band!!!

[@davidrice3337]

I think Eric is the coolest dude ever - I know he's aware of the impact he has made on music - but I don't know if he knows how much he has inspired people like me to pick up a guitar

[@moultonditcher6187]

Check out claptons eyes,not scripted,not reading from a telecaster,notepad,right from the inside,the way he see's it.Very cool.

[@susanroberts1128]

I love that he’s not reading-completely extemporaneous.

[@pabloperez4063]

True

[@gordonbradbury8996]

Eric completely from the heart. Wonderful!

[@colinstewart3699]

Classy and classic mr Clapton ,

[@simonvaughan6017]

Like his guitar-playing.

[@HelenaRusso-ex4em]

@@gordonbradbury8996Hello Mr. Gordon I hope you had a wonderful weekend 😊

[@keegan343]

he played with the band many times and his performance in the last waltz on further on up the road is great.

[@davidrice3337]

Love it

[@SuperC888]

He looked so happy. Dream come true for Eric.

[@gregstaton128]

Clapton is a Rock and Roll ICON

[@calchick82]

Eric Clapton has made it known for years that he really wanted to be a member of the Band; I think a lot of people didn't believe that, and others just never knew that about Clapton...but here's proof positive straight from the man himself!!

[@Kedbuka]

This is a wonderful induction speech by a major artist acclaiming The Band. It's such a bummer Levon wasn't there.

[@m.s.l.7746]

Kedbuka why not?

[@waterfordrs22]

M. S. L. The result of a longstanding grudge Levon held. He write about it. I can't remember if his book was called "This Wheel's On Fire" I've always thought the first two Band albums, are absolute iconic recordings, the second is just magnificent.... so I personally have distanced myself from the Robbie bashing. Look around any typical Band focused post and you will find Robbie bashing..... The music remains timeless

[@m_tias]

@@waterfordrs22 pretty sure he was stuck in a limo

[@waterfordrs22]

Not true. I think I heard him tell a story along those lines on Letterman years ago. He was deflecting, he refused to be onstage with Robertson

[@TRamone01]

Levon didn't even write the title of "This Wheel's on Fire." He probably had to ask Danko and Dylan to use it. And his book was done with a ghost writer Stephen Davis. Levon didn't write. John Simon, producer for the 2 classic Band albums, said Robbie brought the songs. That should have settled it. @@waterfordrs22

[@interstategar]

I saw The Band once in 1974 in Philly at The Spectrum with Bob Dylan. I was in the 7th Row on the Floor, center stage. I took some great pictures, black and white with a good Canon 35mm. I wanted to use black and white because there music reminded me of the 1800's. They sounded even better live than their records. Very tight. I feel grateful for the experience.

[@deirdre108]

Hey, I saw that tour also, but in Seattle, Key Arena. I think it was called the "Before the Flood" tour. Unbelievable how good that was, and Dylan even did a solo set. I'm also grateful for having been there.

[@tbrackett9344]

Thank You for sharing a great memory and experience. I was 3 at that time but being the youngest of 4 I was introduced to a variety of music. The Band and Boston was it for me in the late 70s.

[@threeg6966]

Do you still have those pictures?

[@taragreenetarotastro]

I was there at that concert too. they were awesome.

[@mikegalante6909]

i was at the afternoon show at the Spectrum , 2nd level up at the top of the Spectrum on Levon's side. Stagefright was a hurrivane of sound and when they turned the lights on for "Like a ROLLING STONE" the roof nearly blew off again.

[@stevenwelp7165]

Eric's honesty proves Truth is a powerful life changing experience.

[@kathif17]

Love this Eric is so humble and honest and that is why you will always be my favorite and I will always be your Forever Fan

[@poliziagrammaticale9430]

Eric Clapton is the coolest guy ever.

[@kevindriscoll6809]

Eric at his best, humility! Beautiful.

[@allenf.5907]

Beautiful speech. Classy induction. He's humbled in doing this.

[@kristoscan]

the best induction of ANYONE. loved this.

[@1Phoebus]

If ever there was an eloquent ....CLEAN induction speech from a person of international renown...Eric Clapton gave a heartfelt, very tasteful and moving introduction for the band...a lesson many rock n rollers could apply .

[@johnathancross7465]

That is so badass!!! It just shows how amazing The Band was and is that Eric Clapton ERIC CLAPTON! wanted to join. The Band is my all time favorite groups ever!!!!

[@brucestewart5939]

He is the essence of music and embodyment of humbleness...completely!!

[@liamgallagherrr]

super eloquent speech

[@danielmelo7146]

Slowhand and The Band. A match made in heaven.

[@Bodhi364]

For those of you that are so concerned with who's Canadian or who's American....it's music! That's the whole point..music transcends all boundaries, geography, and language. Stop griping and relish that one of the greatest bands of all time is being acknowledged!!!

[@robertoponce8077]

Y por entonces Levon Helm andaba vagabundeando por México acompañado de Dylan, ¿quizá?

[@stephenhenion8304]

Music can be like romance...So many times in life, You're on the Outside....Looking In.... 🎵🎶🎵... that could be a song, too...

[@GEGE-bx3fj]

That has 2 b one of the BEST compliments a band cud get.... I enjoyed that....

[@jaredf921]

Amazing, gracious Eric.

[@ericcook4665]

thats some heavy stuff comeing out of Clapton wow one helll of a comment to the band wow

[@stevecleary2839]

I gotta say ERIC CLAPTON IS A MAN OF PURE CLASS DIGNITY AND AMAZINGLY TALENTED HUMBLE MAN AN I TRY TO DO EVERYTHING TO WALK IN HIS SHOES I HOPE BEFORE I DIE I CAN PLAY GUITAR WITH EC SO IF U SEE THIS OR KNOW EC PLEASE REPLY TO ME GOD BLESS THE BAND I HAD MANY A BEERS TO THERE TUNES

[@verbaud]

An honest and beautiful speech. One of the few in the RaRHoF.

[@dougpeters1625]

What a magnificent introduction

[@SuperC888]

And now, with Robbie’s death, 😢Garth is the last living member of the Band.

[@stephenmccollum1391]

Incredible speech and legacy

[@bernieritters7206]

Its very sad Levon couldn't be there that night but I bet Eric will never forget when Levon thru him the towel after he played Further on up the road at The Last Waltz lol 🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵❤️

[@krisscanlon4051]

Slowhand was like all of us; he was are eyes and ears. I get this testimony and still refer to it constantly.

[@josephdirvin401]

The Band were enjoyable all the time.

[@wolfwilliams]

When The Band performed "...Dixie Down" at The Last Waltz, Clapton was watching from offstage. He called it the highest point of American music. Hard to disagree.

[@ernieolea101]

Agree ,when I first heard the band" this year totaled blew me away n listen to the music daily , Robbie rocks why did he walk away ,Rick sings like no other,Manuel great talent ,singer ,musician,writer,Levon , great summer singer he loved it! Couldn't let be without it ,but Robbie could ...Ernestine olea

[@deirdre108]

RR was having more fun hanging out with Scorcese.

[@m.s.l.7746]

Beautiful.

[@christineblack4654]

YESSS Canadiens :)

[@billvallier3852]

Well done Eric.

[@vaughnsalem]

Like some have said ,The Band were Canadians except for Levon ,he is from Arkansas

[@FOXLIES]

Let this FACT sink in, The Greatest American Rock Band was 4/5ths Canadian!!! HELLO!!!!

[@dirkevans3443]

Clapton got it. 100% What a Great Group. Ladies & Gentlemen……The Band Says it all I think

[@GagarinCCCP]

*The Greatest Band of all time

[@donhopper9946]

Imagine if Eric had joined The Band where would that have gone. WOW

[@CB-xr1eg]

Right down the pan, that's where.

[@mjkrbjcw]

FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD from the last waltz is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen

[@deirdre108]

Yeah, that duet (I refuse to call it a duel) with EC and RR is iconic--EC was in the zone and you could tell he loved playing with the Band!

[@viz8746]

There was this whole entire period during the early 70s “EC was here” etc timeframe right after “Bluesbreakers” with Mayall etc. that Clapton was called God and literally became the apotheosis of guitar playing (with good reason) - then he heard The Band and everything changed.

[@shonblackwell860]

good lord, he's coming off like a Fry and Laurie scetch.

[@lynnturman8157]

Thanks!

[@steevert420]

Best american band from canada

[@ustheserfs]

Bingo! Could not have encapsulated these guys any better. If it struck EC with such poignancy, then surely it did for the person with no musical backdrop.

[@jlbsr1959]

my all time favs

[@jamesmorris4397]

Very poignant Eric. Amazing tribute for some of the most underrated musicians of all time.

[@fisterklister]

I have always found them the most overrated

[@IsmailsGuitarWorld]

​@@fisterklisterdon't care.

[@pkoven]

if you listen to what their peers [not just clapton] say about them, then you'll understand that the metric by which you measure them isn't the metric of the real pros and artists.@@fisterklister

[@adish6]

Well said. I share your sentiments my friend.

[@mo9504]

WOW! No words

[@Marc-py1qn]

Robertson made sure everyone knew he wrote all the songs. Right. What a piece of work. Helm wasn't stuck in traffic. He was particular about who he was seen with.

[@TRamone01]

In Levon's mind, being from the South and singing a song about the South made him co-writer. He denied Robbie the credit that Robbie deserved. Stuck in traffic is what he wanted to be.

[@hoboscientist5651]

This is Clapton Alex Turner-ing The Band.

[@johnscialfa7391]

great speech...never seen it

[@truth04teller81]

Integrity indeed Eric, maybe its time to give credit to Rita Coolidge for your greatest composition Layla. You would surely know by now the piano piece is definitely lifted

[@TRamone01]

Water off the back of a duck with Eric. And shouldn't you be blaming Jim Gordon????

[@Tom_Radigan]

it would have been killer if Clapton did an album with them

[@drdrew3]

It’s called “No Reason To Cry”

[@danceswithcarsdc]

Clapton considered a guitar god wanting to be part of The Band 🤯

[@Bodhi364]

Very very well put Lynn. Well put indeed!

[@redding3542]

charming

[@josephcarpenter6921]

Thanks E.C

[@madeleinehague648]

Yes, there were more records. I just bought "Jericho" - 1st album without Robertson (and very cool Peter Max cover). It's great! I bet Eric has it too.

[@kimh5566]

Yes, Jericho is fantastic. And there were more great shows after Robertson left. Levon, Garth and Danko brought some very hot players into the band before and after Manuel died. When I saw them in St. Louis they had just come up from Memphis and wore Sun Studio t-shirts on stage. Maybe they were ramblin' around Levon's boyhood home in Turkey Scratch, AK, too. Who knows? But, I wish I'd taken a photo of them dressed like that! First-ever uniform for The Band. What a sight. Great show. RIP Levon, Richard, Rick.

[@Summerbreeze1201]

May God grant you (Levon) eternal peace.

[@martinmcdonald4207]

Good ol` slow hand. Respect E.C.

[@mayordennis2150]

Such humility is not common anymore.

[@ApocalypsePlough]

Canadian band who, like most Canadian bands and Canadian artists, have to go to the USA to "make it." Eric Clapton's father was a WW2 Canadian soldier. How many of you knew that?

[@mojopin70]

Of British descent.

[@lincolnmaceachern2410]

Not quite that simple; I'm rereading Levon's book this week. When Ronnie Hawkins persuaded Levon to join the Hawks, part of the attraction was going up to Canada to play on what was a lucrative circuit at the time. It was during that time that the Hawks brought on all these Canadian guys, one at a time. It wasn't simply leaving Canada to make it in America. Levon even went through a platonic marriage to get landed immigrant status, to keep the draft board at bay.

[@pretorious700]

The music they played was American through and through.

[@TRamone01]

"They" being Canadians, right?

[@eddieblack4568]

Sorry but with Levon coming from the deep south and being one of their lead singers ,well that was enough Americana influence for them to be not only a band that re introduced Appalcian music back into the mainstream, but to infuse it with their own American Canadian influence and create their own indelible musical mark!

[@alanwinter607]

Funny but by coincidence at this moment I'm watching The Cream reunion on pallaida. As far as " The Band' is concerned Mr. Black's remark is right on the money. Watch and listen to The Last Waltz again. I dont care where Robinson came from. When I watch that concert I can really imagine what it must have been like in the Deep South when they sing the night they drove Old Dixie down. And don't forget when Danco plays the fiddle while he was stoned screeching out that little little Appalachian tune as mentioned above . How American can you get?

[@eddieblack4568]

In Garth Hudson's thank you speech he thanks among others in the business, Bruce Garfield who I went to grade school and Jr High with who became a mover and shaker at Capital Records, yea Bruce!!!

[@somethingdifferent9547]

Picture Eric Clapton slaying off a blues upbeat rockadilly weird solo, only for it to work itself out to a chorus or bridge laid by Clapton. I know we have Clapton with the Band on recording. But picture him as an actual member. He went out with Delanery and Bonney, if he integrated himself as a full comfortable player in The Band, maybe it would have prolonged their split up. Or....brought it on faster fuck idk any more lol

[@skinnerman100]

It was a great speech but what would robbie have done if eric had joined He was the lead guitarist

[@christineblack4654]

geez I wish the rest was in the same video.

[@supermash1]

He was quite articulate here.

[@SecsSells]

Funny how EC says he loved American music, but all but Helm were Canucks.

[@estyle40]

Ah, cool; Im first again: Go, Clapton!!!

[@wabankik]

w/respect to AR,.Levon and Ronnie Belong up here with us!!!

[@Wezuhley]

I was just the 666'th thumbs up. Life's good.

[@inatizzy2]

Say from Canada or U.S. ,the music is Americana.

[@kristoscan]

agreed...back to basics...dont forget elton john and little feat were TRYING to be the band early in their careers.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Elton was trying too hard. Little Feat were magical in their own right.

[@jshepard152]

That tape became Eric's drug. That's quite a thing, coming from Clapton.

[@chuvalog]

You mean the greatest 20% American band. When 80% is Canadian they can't be the greatest "American band"

[@HyzersGR]

Canada is part of America

[@eargasm1072]

Both Eric and George became enamored with the Band and their music...it was destiny that they would end up chums

[@kimmedley6740]

Chest Fever influenced Layla.

[@amlewiscanada]

Good point... but the band was Canadian! :)

[@ryanperron8309]

Adam Lewis still North America 😉

[@prideoverfire1]

Levon was an Arkansan.

[@clintnicolan6929]

No my friend not all levon I'm pretty sure was from Arkansas

[@ryanm776]

Omg WHAT an introduction!! And it's from Eric Clapton!!! However, Eric you are talking like you did nothing with your career😳lol

[@ptflats]

yeah American : North American!

[@Au60schild]

Just listen to the songs, melodies and words. I cannot be convinced that they were the work of Robbie Robertson and to think that I grew up idolizing him! Being one of rocks' greatest guitarists wasn't enough for him. He even felt the need to pretend that he was singing live when his voice was so poor that it's known that his microphone was rarely if ever turned on when they performed. Pathetic but The Band is undeniably genius. Thank god for them.