If you close your eyes and think of 1967, you probably see a blur of neon, incense, and kaleidoscopic swirls. It was the Summer of Love. Everything was changing. For Eric Clapton, that change wasn’t just in the music—it was in the wood and wire he held in his hands.
Eric Clapton The Fool isn't just a guitar. It's a fever dream with strings.
Most people see a 1964 Gibson SG covered in "trippy" paint and assume it was just a hippie fashion statement. Honestly? It was a lot more than that. This instrument was the mechanical heart of the "Woman Tone." It was the visual avatar of Cream. And it has a history so messy and strange that it makes a standard rock biography look like a Sunday school book.
The Birth of the Psychedelic SG
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. Despite what a lot of vintage "experts" will tell you at guitar shows, this wasn't a 1961 model. It was a 1964 Gibson SG Standard.
You can tell by the screw holes in the pickguard—six of ‘em, which Gibson didn't start doing until '64. Before that, they used four.
Clapton bought it second-hand because his beloved 1960 Les Paul Standard (the legendary "Beano" guitar) had been stolen during Cream rehearsals in '66. He needed a new weapon. But he didn't want it to look like every other cherry-red SG on the shelf.
He handed the guitar over to a Dutch art collective known as The Fool. These guys—Marijke Koger and Simon Posthuma—were the "it" designers of the London underground. They’d eventually paint the massive mural on the Beatles' Apple Boutique and even decorate John Lennon's Rolls Royce.
What’s actually on the guitar?
The artwork is a "psychedelic fantasy." It’s basically a cosmic comic book.
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- The Centerpiece: A cherub (an angel boy) holding a triangle, surrounded by yellow stars. Fun fact: the angel’s curly hair was modeled after Clapton’s own perm at the time.
- The Landscape: On the pickguard, there’s a tiny "Dutch miniature" representing paradise, complete with mountains and a red sun.
- The Back: While the front gets all the glory, the back is covered in concentric circles and waves of color.
They used oil-based enamel. They didn't use a sealer. This was a massive mistake from a practical standpoint, but it looked incredible under the stage lights of the Fillmore.
Why Eric Clapton The Fool Still Matters
You can’t talk about this guitar without talking about the sound. When you listen to the opening riff of "Sunshine of Your Love," you’re hearing The Fool.
Clapton was chasing something he called the "Woman Tone." It’s a thick, creamy, sustaining sound that mimics a human voice. To get it, he’d roll the tone knobs on the SG all the way down to zero and crank the volume on his Marshall stacks to ten.
The SG’s mahogany body and humbucking pickups were perfect for this. It provided a warmth that his later Stratocasters just couldn't replicate. It was heavy. It was dark. It was loud as hell.
The Long, Strange Trip After Cream
When Cream imploded in late 1968, the guitar didn’t just go into a glass case. It went on a journey that saw it nearly destroyed.
Clapton eventually gave the guitar to George Harrison. Some sources say he loaned it to Jackie Lomax, an artist signed to Apple Records, while working on Lomax’s album Is This What You Want? Either way, by the early 70s, the guitar was in Lomax’s hands, and it was in rough shape.
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The paint was flaking off in chunks because of that missing sealer. The wood was soaked in sweat. The neck was a mess.
Enter Todd Rundgren
In 1972, Todd Rundgren bought the guitar from Lomax for a measly $500. He called it "Sunny" (after "Sunshine of Your Love") and spent a fortune getting it playable again.
Rundgren didn't treat it like a museum piece. He played the absolute soul out of it on tour for years. He even had the headstock repaired after it snapped and replaced the original "Vibrola" tailpiece with a more stable stop-tail bridge.
The Million-Dollar Hammer
For decades, Rundgren was the keeper of the flame. But eventually, even rock stars have tax bills. In 2000, he sold it at auction for about $150,000. At the time, that felt like a lot.
Fast forward to November 2023.
The guitar went up for auction again at Julien’s. The final price? $1.27 million.
It was purchased by Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts and one of the world’s premier guitar collectors. It now sits alongside David Gilmour’s "Black Strat" and Prince’s "Cloud" guitar. From a $500 "broken" instrument to a million-dollar artifact. Not a bad ROI.
What Most People Get Wrong
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the guitar was always "perfect." Honestly, it was a bit of a nightmare.
The paint on the fretboard actually made it hard for Clapton to play, so he scraped most of it off almost immediately. If you look at high-res photos of the original, you can see where the artwork was worn down by his belt buckle and pick. It was a tool, not a trophy.
Another myth is that it was Clapton's "only" psychedelic guitar. Not true. The Fool also painted a Fender Bass VI for Jack Bruce and a drum kit for Ginger Baker. But the SG is the only one that truly captured the public's imagination.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Players
If you're looking to capture the spirit of Eric Clapton The Fool, you don't need a million dollars. You just need the right approach.
- Chasing the Tone: If you have a guitar with humbuckers, flip to the neck pickup and roll your tone knob all the way to zero. Use a tube amp with a lot of gain (or a good "Plexi" style pedal). That’s the "Woman Tone" in its purest form.
- The DIY Route: Many fans buy "Fool" decals or paint kits for modern SGs. If you do this, use a sealer. Don't repeat the mistakes of 1967. Oil-based paints will flake off if they aren't protected.
- See It in Person: Jim Irsay often takes his collection on tour. If "The Jim Irsay Collection" is coming to a city near you, go see it. Seeing the actual texture of the paint on that mahogany body is a religious experience for any gearhead.
The Fool represents a moment when rock and roll was brave enough to be colorful, loud, and slightly ridiculous. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best art comes from a broken guitar and a bucket of Day-Glo paint.
To truly understand the legacy of this instrument, spend an afternoon listening to the Disraeli Gears album with a good pair of headphones. Pay attention to the way the notes sustain and bloom. That isn't just a Gibson; it's a piece of history that refused to fade away.