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Location: Central Florida | Those of us that have been digging our Ovations since the late sixties-early seventies will no doubt recall that at the time Eric Clapton was considered an Ovation endorsee. Does anyone here know how that came about? I'm a huge Clapton fan, but in all the years I've followed his career I've never seen an Ovation in his hands (except for the pencil art rendering of him from the 1970 catalog). It's puzzled me for years how he came to be an endorsee for a guitar he apparently never played. Was there a "behind the scenes" connection with Eric that led to his name being used to promote Ovations?
Jeff |
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Location: NJ | Whatever it was, it probably had something t'do with Peruvian Marching Powder . . . . |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back ... |
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Location: Central Florida | Thanks for the replies Cliff and an4340,but seriously, does anyone know (or at least have a theory) about how Clapton's name became associated with early Ovation marketing?
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| Given the time period we're talking about there really wasn't anything else for him to play plugged in at the volumes he operated at. He barely played acoustic on record/stage back then so an O would have been a good starting point. Remember - that was still the time of BIG stacks and little PAs. |
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Location: NJ | Also . . at the time, Clapton was showing up in a lot of different places, and on a lot of people's tours (like Delaney & Bonnie). It very well coulda' been that he picked up somebody's Ovation for a tune, somebody snapped a pic (or he showed up in the background of a pic of someone else), "Marketing" got a hold of it, yada,yada,yada . . .
I'm sure that back then, artists weren't overly "discerning" about being associated with various products (as they are today . . . $$$$).
Remember, these were the fledgling days of "artist endorsements".
Besides . . . it's a pretty shitty drawing . . . at the time, I always thought it looked more like Leslie West than Eric Clapton . . . . |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | Leslie West....another whateverhappenedtohim? |
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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Originally posted by Tim Chapman:
Leslie West....another whateverhappenedtohim? He was on tour with the latest version of Mountain this past year. They were promoting the tour on VH1 Classic. |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | :cool: |
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Location: NJ | I just heard Ozzie Osbourne on Stern this morning hawking a box set and Leslie plays with him on a couple new tracks. Saw him a while ago on a promotional video for DiMarzio as well . . .
I'll never for get him passing a football with a bunch of us out in the middle of the street outside of the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ in '76 while wearing the biggest friggin' platform shoes I'd ever seen!
Damn fine guitar player . . |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | ...just found this:
Leslie West/Mountain :cool: :cool: |
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Location: Converse, Texas | On a classic rock radio station here, I heard a GREAT version of Ozzy doing Mississippi Queen. Anyone else in this forum heard it?
EDIT: Just looked at that Leslie West page. Leslie West has gained fame the world over during his 30-plus year career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music.
I'm not sure I agree that he is one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music. |
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Location: NJ | ". . I just heard Ozzie Osbourne on Stern this morning hawking a box set and Leslie plays with him on a couple new tracks . ."
MississippiQueen was one of the tracks.
did'ya REALLY think there was gonna be an "objective" opinion exhibited on the guy's OWN webpage?? |
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| He may not have been the best, but he was the biggest. |
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Location: Converse, Texas | Of course not, clifford. BUT ... do you agree with me or not.
Schroeder: He could be that big because of a medical condition. :) |
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Location: NJ | He IS a Diabetic.
Do I think he's one of the MOST "innovative and influential"?? ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . nah.
But . . . "Theme from an Imaginary Western" kicks ASS! |
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Spent many too many hours as a youth with my head stuck between the old console stereo speakers listening to "Nantucket Sleighride"!
Still ranks as one of my favorite all time LPs... :cool: |
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Location: Converse, Texas | LP? Isn't that one of those 12-inch CDs that you have to turn over? |
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Location: Orlando, FL | Leslie West always got great tones out of his guitar. He probably influenced a few guys out there. |
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Ovation / Clapton Connection?
