Eric Clapton’s demonstrations of his loyalty to the blues have just as often been forced (Me and Mr. Johnson) as defensive (From The Cradle). Yet the very devotion to the genre that compelled him to leave the Yardbirds and join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in the mid-sixties also provided a significant underpinning to the 1968 formation of Cream (with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker). As depicted in this 1967 broadcast of “Outside Woman Blues,” Clapton’s contributions to the seminal power trio invariably focused on blues material and so provided effective contrast to the more esoteric material the aforementioned bassist and drummer were composing for the group’s studio to recordings.
