Explaining his move, Cray points out that the slavery lyrics in Clapton's 'Stand and Deliver' coupled with the drama surrounding the latter's anti-vaccine stance turned him off.
- November 12, 2021
AceShowbiz - Bluesman Robert Cray stepped down as Eric Clapton's U.S. tour opener after falling out with the Brit over slavery lyrics in his new tune "Stand & Deliver".
Sources tell The Washington Post Cray emailed Clapton upon hearing the anti-lockdown song over its controversial lyrics.
Clapton compares the COVID lockdowns to the immense pain and suffering caused by slavery with lyrics that include, "Do you wanna be a free man/Or do you wanna be a slave?/Do you wanna wear these chains/Until you're lying in the grave?"
Cray says, "His reaction back to me was that he was referring to slaves from, you know, England from way back."
The artist also took issue with a recent photo of Clapton and Jimmie Vaughan with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, just after he had signed one of America's strictest abortion laws. Cray compared the shot to one taken of Clapton, Vaughan and the late B.B. King.
"There's this great photo at Madison Square Garden after the show, with B.B. King sitting in a chair, Jimmie Vaughan, myself and Eric sitting behind him," Cray tells The Washington Post. "And I looked at that picture of Governor Abbott, Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton in that similar pose, and I'm going, 'What's wrong with this picture? Why are you doing this?' "
The slavery lyrics controversy coupled with the drama surrounding Clapton's anti-vaccine stance turned Cray off the tour. "I'd just rather not associate with somebody who's on the extreme and being so selfish," he says.
"We started playing a type of music that wasn't particularly popular to start off with at the time we started playing. We've gained some notoriety, and I'm fine with that, but I surely don't need to hang out with Eric Clapton for that to continue."
