Forty-seven years ago today -- March 13, 1965 -- guitarist Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds. It's one of the best things that ever happened -- period. Clapton, a self-declared blues purist, thought the band -- which included vocalist Keith Relf, guitarist Chris Dreja, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and drummer Jim McCarty -- was getting too commercial.

In the mid-1960s, The Yardbirds revolutionized modern rock by turning super guitar players into superstars. The group -- which made the jagged shift from traditional blues to psychedelic rave-ups -- was the launching pad for Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Several Yardbirds songs, including "Shapes of Things," "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" and "Over Under Sideways Down" are considered mini-masterpieces of mid-'60s rock guitar -- prime examples of the power of perfectly placed notes.

On a new DVD available at the Guitar World Online Store, GW editor and instructor Andy Aledort takes you deep into Clapton's style during his Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers and Cream years, breaking down "The Cream of Eric Clapton."

Eric Clapton has earned a place on a very short list of guitar legends. Some people even went around calling him "God" back in '66. But what is THE Eric Clapton guitar album? Which one simply says it all or captures his style in a nutshell? Or which one would you take with you if you were going to live on a deserted island for 12 years, armed only with a Gibson Les Paul R-0 Reissue ... and an amp ... and maybe some sandwiches?