How did Eric Clapton Get to be Called "Slowhand?"

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E.C. has become a guitar legend through the years. Having a career that spams about five and a half decades, he penned a lot of great hits throughout his lifetime, including his signature song and one of the greatest of all time.

But it's not his string of hits that's been such a mystery through the years. It's actually how his nickname - Slow Hand, came about.

So, how did it happen?

 Chris Dreja of the Yardbirds once recalled that Clapton would stand on stage and try to fix a guitar string if it broke where the crowd would do a slow-hand clap. Brits tend to associate the "slowhand" with boredom or impatience.

There are three possible theories presented with how Clapton got his nickname.

1985 Interview

 Circa 1985, Clapton told his official biographer, Ray Coleman, and I quote. “My nickname of 'Slowhand' came from Giorgio Gomelsky. He coined it as a good pun. He kept saying I was a fast player, so he put together the slow handclap phrase into 'Slowhand' as a play on words.” Gomelsky was a popular filmmaker and even a Yardbirds producer at one point.

 1999 Live Chat

 In an online chat with his fans, E.C. gave a different perspective. “I think it might have been a play on words from the “Clap” part of my name. In England, in sport, if the crowd is getting anxious, we have a slow handclap, which indicates boredom or frustration." He went on to say that it wasn't his personal idea, rather a comment from someone else.

 2007 Autobiography 

Clapton explained that he often used light-gauge strings with a thin first string (the "E" string). It was not unusual for the strings, especially the thin one, to break. It was the crowd's "slow hand clap," that inspired ex-Yardbirds producer and movie maker Comelsky to come up with his nickname, "Slow Hand."

So, next time someone asks you about this, you know what to say.



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