Beatlemania was a truly global phenomenon, with the Fab Four seemingly unable to travel to any far-flung corner of the world without being met with legions of adoring, often screaming, fans.
However, the screaming teenagers in the audience of The Ed Sullivan Show were certainly not the extent of The Beatles’ fan base; the group also achieved an unparalleled level of respect from countless other musicians and artists. After all, no band has managed to toe the line between mainstream appeal and profound artistic innovation quite like The Beatles.
Therefore, as you can imagine, the thought of playing alongside The Beatles is an ultimate fantasy shared by a plethora of musicians from across the artistic spectrum. Not only did the band inspire an unimaginable number of young people to pursue musical exploits, but they also inspired multiple existing artists to change their approach or way of thinking. Whichever way you spin it, the landscape of popular music would be virtually unrecognisable were it not for the impact of The Beatles all those years ago.
For the most part, though, the Merseyside outfit operated as a closed shop. Aside from a handful of session musicians, the band’s discography focused almost exclusively on the four members themselves, particularly after they became a full-time studio band in 1966. However, a select few figures were invited behind the curtain to collaborate with the iconic group, including the likes of Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and Eric Clapton.
Clapton defined many of the rock sounds of the 1960s in his own right, cutting his teeth with blues rock pioneers The Yardbirds, before helping to popularise his psychedelic rock mastery with Cream. In his spare time, the guitarist struck up a friendship with George Harrison, leading the pair to work together on multiple occasions. During the White Album sessions in 1968, Harrison invited Clapton into Abbey Road studios to aid in the recording of his track, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’.
Although the guitarist was not formally credited for the iconic guitar solo he recorded for the legendary White Album track, he certainly seemed to prove his worth to the rest of the ‘Mop Tops’. In fact, John Lennon called upon Clapton a year later while recording his solo single ‘Cold Turkey’ for the Plastic Ono Band. However, Lennon wasn’t particularly pleased with the final results.
‘Cold Turkey’ was not a major hit for Lennon, and many radio stations – particularly in the United States – refused to play the song, owing to its drug-related content. As it turns out, though, one of the songwriter’s biggest regrets about the song was the recruitment of Eric Clapton for the guitar part. This was a fact which was revealed years later, to Cheap Trick guitarist and songwriter Rick Nielsen.
Nielsen was a disciple of The Beatles, so when he was given the opportunity to record with John Lennon for 1980’s Double Fantasy album, his fantasies were being realised. Although none of Nielsen’s rough and ready recordings were used on the final mix of the album, Lennon was reportedly enamoured with the guitarist’s work. As Nielsen recalled to Classic Rock, “I was in the studio, playing, and John looked at [producer] Jack Douglas and said: ‘God, I wish I’d had Rick on ‘Cold Turkey’. Clapton choked up.’”
A comparison to Eric Clapton is a sure-fire way to inflate the ego of any rock guitarist, but to be told you are superior to the Cream guitarist, by none other than John Lennon, it must have sent Nielsen’s ego into outer orbit. Still, when you compare Nielsen’s Double Fantasy sessions – later released on John Lennon Anthology in 1998 – to ‘Cold Turkey’, it is difficult to disagree with Lennon’s gushing praise for the Cheap Trick guitarist.
