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Podcast: The Johnny Beane Podcast
Episode: Exclusively Van Halen: Clapton vs. Eddie + Kinks vs. Van Halen! The Truth Behind the Riffs! 6/26/25
Description: What happens when one guitar god pays tribute to another… and it backfires?
In this episode, we dive deep into the surprising fallout between Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton — two of rock’s most legendary players. It all started with a jam session in 1983, featured on Brian May’s Star Fleet Project, where Eddie and Brian recorded a slow blues track called “Blues Breaker” — dedicated to Clapton himself.
But Clapton hated it.
He called it “horrible.”
He said Eddie and Brian “can’t play” the blues.
And he delivered a scathing verdict:
“If he was that tuned into me and missed that point… the...